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Thalidomide Acts
‘Thalidomide Acts’ is the first outcome of the ‘Electric Bodies’ strand of D4D, a cycle of transcription poems based on a series of interviews with the performer Mat Fraser.
The poems cover Fraser’s early life, his experiences as someone with a thalidomide impairment, his time as drummer in a punk band and his early years in Graeae Theatre, his work in television and his move to the United States, where he became a leading figure in the New York burlesque scene.
Fraser describes the genesis of such stage shows as ‘Sealboy: Freak’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and his work in the top US TV series ‘American Horror: Freak Show’. He analyses the barriers in mainstream television to a performer such as him, in demand if they need a freak but never cast as the guy next door.
Along the way, ‘Thalidomide Acts’ takes in martial arts, the UK fetish scene, freak shows and disability activism. Fraser gives an intelligent analysis of what it takes to move between these different communities.
The poems cover Fraser’s early life, his experiences as someone with a thalidomide impairment, his time as drummer in a punk band and his early years in Graeae Theatre, his work in television and his move to the United States, where he became a leading figure in the New York burlesque scene.
Fraser describes the genesis of such stage shows as ‘Sealboy: Freak’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and his work in the top US TV series ‘American Horror: Freak Show’. He analyses the barriers in mainstream television to a performer such as him, in demand if they need a freak but never cast as the guy next door.
Along the way, ‘Thalidomide Acts’ takes in martial arts, the UK fetish scene, freak shows and disability activism. Fraser gives an intelligent analysis of what it takes to move between these different communities.
76 pages, ebook
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