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A painful but indeed necessary watch on transphobia and identity politics. Flawless. Summary
Rating
Unmissable!
“What came first, the burger or the box it goes in?” That is the exact question Travis Alabanza asks a willing audience member as he comes on stage to help them make a burger. Burgerz is based on the abhorrent transphobic attack Alabanza was subject to when a burger was thrown at them in a public place and in broad daylight. Not a single person reacted to this act of violence. This is the backbone to this performance piece, which is a heartbreaking but absolutely necessary watch.
We start with a big crate on the simple stage: inside, we see more cardboard boxes wrapped in fluorescent pink tape and a kitchen island, which takes centre stage for the burger making. Alabanza then invites a volunteer cis, white, heterosexual man on to the stage to assist in reading the instructions. The dynamic between the both is gentle. Alabanza asks the gentleman about himself, his experience with non-binary people and his thoughts on his own identity. They perfectly keep the conversation logical yet emotional, with elements of comedy peppered throughout. Ad libs and off the cuff audience interaction is impeccably smooth, with the audience, many times, in fits of laughter.
Alabanza intentionally blurs the line between reality and performance with their contemporary and witty writing style. As an audience member, I almost felt intrusive listening to the intimate details of Alabanza’s identity and the racially charged transphobia they have faced. There’s a moment of heightened tension when the burger patty is sizzling away on the grill, Alabanza reliving the details of their painful and horrible attack; we are met with an extra layer of intentionally uncomfortable music score (beautiful composed by XANA) as the sizzle and smoke of the patty burns more and more. “I wasn’t born in the wrong body, I was born in the wrong world,” Alabanza tells us. From audience members exhaling a held in breath, to those nodding and ‘snapping’ along, they had us all hanging on, captivated.
The format is almost abstract and non-conformative in itself. The whole time I was trying to fit it into a box: was it a monologue, spoken word, comedy skit? But the reality was, it was just that – a telling of reality. A person telling a room full of people about their lived experience, through the analogy of the burger and the heavy burden it held.
The strength and emotional toil it must take performing this every night is indescribable. Alabanza reminds us that silence is compliance and leaves us wondering ‘what would I have done.’ It was an honour and a privilege, thank you for sharing your story Travis Alabanza.
Written by: Travis Alabanza
Directed by: Sam Curtis Lindsay
Produced by: Hackney Showroom, Molly Sharpe
Burgerz plays at Southbank Centre until 12 March. Further information and bookings can be found here.
