XNTHONY is taking over the UK right now with a Bingo event, a Robyn tribute, an Irish-themed club night, a creative werkshop and interactive-story-telling for kids! Loverboy catches up with him to discus his many projects, including his upcoming show ‘Confirmation’, and to bond over the ever-relevance of The Cranberries’ ‘Linger.’

What events are you working on at the moment?
I tend have a few pots on the boil at one time. At the moment my main focus is bringing my show ‘Confirmation’ to Pleasance at Edinburgh Fringe in August. ‘Confirmation’ explores my upbringing as a queer child in rural Ireland. The impulse to create the show came after my home town became the only place in Ireland to vote no in the marriage equality referendum in 2015. I became curious about why that was and how queer people from my home felt about it. The result is a fabulous mix between pop music and spoken word that I can’t wait to bring to Edinburgh! I am also throwing a big celebration to raise money for my Edinburgh Fringe tour at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club on May 9th. Come celebrate with me!

What came first – the club gigs or the theatre?
The genesis of my persona XNTHONY and my work was actually at art school in Dublin. I was studying painting, but actually I am a terrible painter! I decided to flip the expectations of art school which was actually quite stiff, structured and patriarchal. I began to create live performances using food materials like ice cream while singing to power ballads by our favourite divas. It was quite vulnerable and naive but looking back there’s something refreshing about that. I wasn’t thinking about 20 years down the line, I just wanted to express myself in there and now. Now I have a clear line between what exists in the club and the theatre. I treat them like super competitive sisters: each demands a different kind of support and serves the audience in different ways. Indeed club work for me is all about enjoyment while theatre is about going deeper than a club performance can allow.

Are you writing all these plays/musicals yourself? This is major work, no?!
It would be really fabulous to just say I am a multi-talented genius but this is just not true: I work with a lot of amazing people! Perhaps my greatest ability is bringing people together to commit to a vision but from that point onwards the designers, musicians and producers and I all work together to serve that vision.

Do you want to leave Ireland or move somewhere bigger? What’s the dream?
I live in London and work in Ireland almost weekly. I’m what they call a ‘bi-locator’. People in Dublin think I am in London and vice versa. I am almost always permanently in transit! I could never see myself moving to NY or somewhere else; London and Dublin provide all the sustenance and challenges I need. The dream for now is continue developing my work, being brave and staying grounded. I think when I have those check anything is possible. I also try hard not to get distracted by the idea of ‘being the biggest star ever.’ This takes your focus away from present and doesn’t make good work.

Tell us about this shoot. What’s the idea behind it?
The make-up is 100% my usual style. It’s clowny. It’s funny because my aesthetic gets a bit of slack in drag circles which pushes me on to keep doing it. It’s a comment about perfection and about embracing our weirdness. It’s also a fairly disarming kind of style. When people see me they might perceive me as maybe a bit silly and goofy, and that’s all true. But my style allows me to take audiences off guard and then I can hit them with my story, my songs and my voice. The shoot was all Jakub’s doing. He has seen me perform and knows about my style and energy. The aim here was to capture the range of emotions and vulnerability I portray in my work, and he hit the nail on the head.

I’ve seen you’re a fan of The Cranberries’ ‘Linger’. What’s the significance?
I run a queer celebration of Irishness at The Glory in London throughout the year called Sodom & Begorrah. At this event we always sing ‘Linger’. The song speaks across nationalities because of the power of The Cranberries’ reach so I see the song as a fantastic celebration of the complexities of life beyond borders.

Loverboy is named after the infamous Mariah Carey song. What is your favourite Mariah song?
I wanted to make a joke about the most recent series of Drag Race and the Mariah Carey fiasco…so…Emotions. I think. Right?

Images by Jakub Gessler
For more on XNTHONY see www.xnthony.com or follow him on Facebook/Instagram