Gay drag queens

Arts correspondent, BBC Scotland

Certain performances at the Edinburgh Festivals are practically guaranteed to halt traffic.

However, it presents a practical consideration for Mary and Danielle, who, besides maneuvering the city's cobblestone streets in exceedingly high heels, are also hard of hearing.

Their presentation, Deaffy Drag Queens: Glitter, Gags and GSV, constitutes one of the seventy attractions at this year's Edinburgh Deaf Festival, which initiated over the weekend.

At sixty-four years of age, Mary is poised to retire her footwear, though not before she mentors her successor, the eighteen-year-old Danielle.

"I've been involved in drag for four decades," Mary declares. "And I initially encountered Danielle in Norwich, where I was performing at a festival.

"I had known her family for years, and she possessed a keen interest in drag, even though she was merely sixteen at the time."

Despite her youth, Danielle had grown up watching RuPaul's Drag Race and was particularly inspired by American queen Jinkx Monsoon, who secured victory in the fifth season of the show.

"It transformed my life; I immediately felt a connection with her," she reveals.

"She lacked any knowledge of drag, but then she simply discovered herself, and it genuinely altered every facet of her life. She's such a superb role model for me, and that's precisely why I aspire to be the inaugural deaf drag queen globally to participate in Drag Race."

Mary expresses her delight in passing the baton (or perhaps the scepter) to Danielle, since it would also perpetuate her ardor for GSV - gay sign variant.

A flamboyant rendition of British Sign Language, formulated by the deaf LGBT community, Mary initially acquired this when she relocated from Ireland in the nineteen-eighties and joined the London-based Brothers and Sisters Club.

The language empowered deaf, gay individuals to converse discreetly. During the Aids epidemic, it assumed even greater significance amid stigma and disinformation.

Mary, who by then worked as a nurse, stated it possessed a potent emotional impact when interacting with individuals who were terminally ill.

Currently, it is infrequently employed by the broader deaf community, and Mary is committed to its preservation. She exhibits some of the signs to me, which are adaptations of the BSL signs.

"So, for example, for 'shop,' we sign it as if it's your handbag on your arm.

For 'shoes,' we sign it as though we are donning high heels.

Therefore, it's more detailed, more flamboyant, and accompanied by heightened facial expressions."

Notwithstanding her fluency in BSL, Danielle admits she found GSV challenging to master.

"It's like a novel language," she observes.

"I had to ask Mary to reiterate things, but upon grasping it, I adored it.

"It's incredibly expressive, whereas with BSL, one can sometimes display a neutral expression."

Does Mary believe that Danielle can persuade a fresh generation to embrace GSV and preclude its demise?

"Undoubtedly, absolutely, and I will persist in utilizing it until my demise.

"I will not relinquish it.

"Moreover, numerous deaf individuals are more cognizant of GSV. They express a preference for it over BSL because of its linguistic and cultural richness. It represents a more intensified mode of communication."

The Edinburgh Deaf Festival is taking place in association with the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, and the Edinburgh International Book festival, concluding on August seventeenth.