The Perverts Podcast

Join Leo Skilbeck and Campbell X in the historical New Union Inn, Manchester, as they chat with poet and artist Jay Mitra, uncovering a historical "personal massager", and Jay performs an intimate poem. Supported byTrans Vegas.Links She Wants a Dog Milk Presents Museum of Transology Bishopsgate Institute The Queer House Royal Vauxhall Tavern

Join Leo Skilbeck and Campbell X in the historical New Union Inn, Manchester, as they chat with the legendary Kate O'Donnell about gender reassignment surgery, dilators, and loving our trans bodies. Supported byTrans Vegas.Links She Wants a Dog Milk Presents Museum of Transology Bishopsgate Institute The Queer House Royal Vauxhall Tavern

The weird and wonderful world of 1980s Gay small ads is uncovered in this episode. Leo is joined by Georgois Bourgeois, one half of extra-terrestrial duo Bourgeois and Maurice. With the help of post-doctoral researcher Jacob Bloomfield they analyse small ads for the Stud Gay Centre and Poppers by Post, chat about how queer advertising has changed over the decades and finally clear the stage for Georgois' show-stopping ads-inspired cabaret turn.Leo Skilbeck is a writer/director/creator for stage and screen and the artistic director of Milk Presents. Their work spans a decade of queer performance making, and they are co-creator of TRANS FILTH AND JOY, a large scale cabaret made with Trans Creative. For theatre their work includes cabaret Chekhov THE BEAR/ THE PROPOSAL (Young Vic), drag king play JOAN (winner of Off West End Award, Fringe First Award), and Associate Director on FUN HOME (Young Vic).Writer and performer George Bourgeois is one half of acclaimed music-satire duo Bourgeois & Maurice. Born from the alternative cabaret and clubland scene of mid-00s London, B&M have gone on to tour the world with their brand of highly acerbic, ultra-contemporary cabaret. Outside of B&M George has worked as a voice actor for TV, toured with Clod Ensemble and is currently developing a new show about the world's greatest flop musicals.Jacob Bloomfield is a Zukunftskolleg Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Konstanz and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent. Jacob is currently in the process of completing his first book, Drag. A British History, and is also working on a separate book project about the career and legacy of musician Little Richard.Links She Wants a Dog Milk Presents Museum of Transology Bourgeois & Maurice Bishopsgate Institute The Queer House Royal Vauxhall Tavern

A 28,000 year old stone dildo is the queer artefact in the spotlight as Leo is joined by prolific writer, performer Annie Siddons to talk desire, sex toys, enhancing bodies and queer labelling. They are joined by expert in queer histories and founder of the Museum of Transology, EJ Scott.As a response to the ancient stone dildo Annie Siddons weaves and performs the mythic tale of Hag and her mysterious pleasure-enhancing mission.Leo Skilbeck is a writer/director/creator for stage and screen and the artistic director of Milk Presents. Their work spans a decade of queer performance making, and they are co-creator of TRANS FILTH AND JOY, a large scale cabaret made with Trans Creative. For theatre their work includes cabaret Chekhov THE BEAR/ THE PROPOSAL (Young Vic), drag king play JOAN (winner of Off West End Award, Fringe First Award), and Associate Director on FUN HOME (Young Vic).E-J Scott is a curator, cultural producer and academic and was awarded the UK's Museum Activist Award 2020/21. He is the founder of the museumoftransology.com and the British Digital Art Network (Tate/Paul Mellor Research Centre). He is Stage 2 and 3 Leader of the BA (Hons) Culture, Curation & Criticism at Central St Martins.Annie is a writer and performer working in comedy, stage and screen. Projects include How (not) to Live in Suburbia (touring and Edinburgh Fringe), Raymondo, How (not) to Fight a Family Curse (Soho/Royal Court, in development). Her most recent work includes Dennis of Penge (writer/performer Ovalhouse/Albany) Ant and Hop at Unicorn Theatre and Babylon Beyond Borders (Bush Theatre). Her comedy persona Karima Kay has just started gigging in London. She is currently developing work for TV.Links She Wants a Dog Milk Presents Museum of Transology Bishopsgate Institute The Queer House Royal Vauxhall Tavern

The inimitable Ginger Johnson joins Leo and prolific filmmaker and activist Campbell X , who is on hand for historical context and episode expertise. The trio gossip on the RVT stage in a lively night of comedy and chat inspired by an unlikely queer artefact – the agony aunt column from the 1970s. A letter to the 70s agony queen Marge Proops is the inspiration for a comedy monologue par excellence, written and performed Ginger Johnson.Leo Skilbeck is a writer/director/creator for stage and screen and the artistic director of Milk Presents. Their work spans a decade of queer performance making, and they are co-creator of TRANS FILTH AND JOY, a large scale cabaret made with Trans Creative. For theatre their work includes cabaret Chekhov THE BEAR/ THE PROPOSAL (Young Vic), drag king play JOAN (winner of Off West End Award, Fringe First Award), and Associate Director on FUN HOME (Young Vic).Ginger Johnson is a writer, performer and theatre maker with a sweet tooth for the ridiculous. Newcastle's answer to Elaine Stritch, Johnson cut her teeth on the alt-drag and cabaret scenes of East London, where her unique blend of camp laughs and bareknuckle confessional have earned her a reputation for being a risk-taking performer with a big heart and an even bigger mouth.Campbell X is a writer/director who directed the award-winning queer urban romantic comedy feature film STUD LIFE.  His film Stud Life was voted by the Guardian as one of the top 10 Black British feature films ever made. Campbell's latest film Still We Thrive is a call for Black joy in the face of images of Black trauma affecting our mental health.Links She Wants a Dog Milk Presents Museum of Transology Bishopsgate Institute Ginger Johnson @campbellx on Instagram Royal Vauxhall Tavern

Non-binary drag artist, writer, director and ‘femme vers top' ShayShay joins Leo as special cabaret guest with expert input from academic Jacob Bloomfield, honorary research fellow at the University of Kent.The artefact of the episode is a page of personal ads from the Gay Times in 1984, sparking fascinating chats about trends in self-labelling, the challenges of online dating and a show-stopping performance by ShayShay inspired by poems on grindr.Leo Skilbeck is a writer/director/creator for stage and screen and the artistic director of Milk Presents. Their work spans a decade of queer performance making, and they are co-creator of TRANS FILTH AND JOY, a large scale cabaret made with Trans Creative. For theatre their work includes cabaret Chekhov THE BEAR/ THE PROPOSAL (Young Vic), drag king play JOAN (winner of Off West End Award, Fringe First Award), and Associate Director on FUN HOME (Young Vic).ShayShay (they/them) is a Japanese/Irish non-binary writer, director, performer and co-founder of ‘The Bitten Peach,' a gender-diverse Pan-Asian artist collective. ShayShay's work spans across theatre, queer cabaret and shows for children and families with a mission to represent and empower queer audiences, specifically trans folk & queer Asians.Jacob Bloomfield is a Zukunftskolleg Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Konstanz and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Kent. Jacob is currently in the process of completing his first book, Drag. A British History, and is also working on a separate book project about the career and legacy of musician Little Richard.Links She Wants a Dog Milk Presents Museum of Transology Bishopsgate Institute ShayShay Royal Vauxhall Tavern

Host Leo is joined by cabaret legend Mzz Kimberley at the RVT to talk about her very first dress, red and beautifully detailed by hand, which is now an artefact in the Museum of Transology. Mzz Kim chats to Leo about her early life and career in New York and London in the 90s, sharing hilarious and poignant showbiz stories.Also joining Leo to give expert context and fascinating facts about the queer scene and queer lives in the 1990s is EJ Scott, curator, programmer and founder of the Museum of Transology.Leo Skilbeck is a writer/director/creator for stage and screen and the artistic director of Milk Presents. Their work spans a decade of queer performance making, and they are co-creator of TRANS FILTH AND JOY, a large scale cabaret made with Trans Creative. For theatre their work includes cabaret Chekhov THE BEAR/ THE PROPOSAL (Young Vic), drag king play JOAN (winner of Off West End Award, Fringe First Award), and Associate Director on FUN HOME (Young Vic).Mzz Kimberley AKA Kim Tatum is an actor and singer. Kim is also the founding Director of LIFE.  In 2020, Kim was the first trans woman to present the first LGBT+ award for the ‘Black British Theatre Awards' for Sky television. Kim made the 2020 and 2021 LGBT Power List.E-J Scott is a curator, cultural producer and academic and was awarded the UK's Museum Activist Award 2020/21. He is the founder of the museumoftransology.com and the British Digital Art Network (Tate/Paul Mellor Research Centre). He is Stage 2 and 3 Leader of the BA (Hons) Culture, Curation & Criticism at Central St Martins.Links She Wants a Dog Milk Presents Museum of Transology Bishopsgate Institute E-J Scott @mzzkimberley on Instagram Royal Vauxhall Tavern

Leo Skilbeck of Milk Presents introduces the podcast. If you're ready to dive straight in, you can start with episode one.

The Perverts Podcast is an audio cabaret recorded at the legendary Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London, with a live audience. Hosted by Milk Presents' Leo Skilbeck, there will be onstage glamour & backstage goss, celebrating our ‘perverted' queer history. Leo will be joined by expert historians to introduce a scandalous artefact from selected queer archives. In each episode a glittering cabaret star will perform a specially created act. Expect words, songs, chat, comedy and campery!