4 minute read
The Doyenne of Drag
Lee Cooper, of Proper Charlie Productions, made “an intimate portrait of ageing and friendship”, following the life of David Raven, the performer behind Maisie Trollette, in the run-up to their 85th birthday. Lee talks to Jaq Bayles about the project
Britain’s oldest performing drag artiste and scene treasure Maisie Trollette, aka David Raven, is the subject of a new documentary by Brighton film-maker Lee Cooper, who set out to make a piece of work that addresses the twin concepts of ageing in the LGBTQ+ community and the “dying art” of panto-style drag.
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Lee describes his 75-minute “passion project” as: “An intimate portrait of ageing and friendship in the LGBTQ+ community. Viewers can follow David as he counts down to his 85th birthday [in 2018] and all the celebrations on the way.
“It’s very much about exploring ageing in the community and it’s a warts-and-all look at that. In some of the backstage footage he was generous enough to let us see everything when the curtain falls. David can be challenging at times and it was an eye-opener, but it’s quite touching in the way he was so open to exposing himself and the frailties of old age.
“There are many amazing coming out stories on film, but what about the other end of our experiences? It’s just not sexy – trying to raise money to help make the film was difficult. A lot of younger people in the community think drag is RuPaul and that very British, endof-the-pier, panto-style of drag faces being replaced by pageant queens – which I do think are brilliant – so it’s a dying art form.”
In order to complete the documentary Lee and his cameraman, Sam Parsons, and sound expert Shane Gravestock, spent three years “on and off” following the cabaret legend around.
Lee picks up the tale from the beginning. “I am relatively new to film-making, my background is in fashion art direction. But I went to film school and as part of the course we were tasked with creating a documentary.
“I’m a huge fan of the cabaret scene in Brighton and have lived here for 15 years. I love all the performers and somebody gave me an introduction to David, saying he was lovely, colourful, and he let me into his life. I just sort of fell in love with him.
“He’s such a character and has led such a colourful life. He was really generous about letting me into his life.
“When I finished the course I did a complete left turn and made a horror film in Spain. At the premier a director, who is known, came up and said she enjoyed the film but where was the documentary about Maisie? She reignited that interest in me and I realised it had been a scratch I had not quite itched.”
At that point Lee only had around four minutes of footage, exclusively put together for his course work, so filming then began in earnest and the ensuing research unearthed an unexpected bonus.
“We knew David was the oldest performing drag artiste in Britain, but we wondered if there was anyone older doing the same thing elsewhere in the world.”
Guinness World Records put Lee on the trail of Walter Cole, aka Darcelle XV, who “comes from a long line of drag queens”, lives in Portland, Oregon, and is two years older than David.
“We contacted Walter when we found out he was the world record holder and said we would love to have his involvement in the film and would he record something for David’s birthday? He told us he was going to be in London the next month, had never been to Brighton and would love to come here. The stars aligned.”
The two artists did a performance together at Legends, but “before they met as their female alter egos they met as men for afternoon tea,” says Lee. “It was the big meeting of the US Pageant Queen with Britain’s Panto Dame.”
While exploring the ageing theme, the documentary doesn’t skimp on the fun stuff either, featuring other well-known cabaret names such as Miss Jason and Dave Lynn, “really exploring how the cabaret community supports and look after David”.
Then, of course, there are the songs. Luckily, the BFI Doc Society came on board and helped to pay for the usage of the songs, permission to use them in film not coming cheap. “This means we will be able to distribute the documentary worldwide and everyone will be able to enjoy it. As well as watching behind the scenes they can enjoy the scenes in the cabaret.”
Among old favourites that feature are The Lady is a Tramp and the “big finish is one everyone knows and loves him for, If I Never Sing Another Song”, while viewers will catch in the background the likes of Sonia, The Three Degrees and Rozalla. Lee is currently seeking distribution and hopes the documentary will be released in the summer.
Lee Cooper
But the work doesn’t stop there. “We are talking to a number of charities, including the Brighton Rainbow Fund, and are planning on releasing a charity single of The Trollettes singing Two To One, which was written for them.
“When we get confirmation of a release date for the film we will release that and hopefully release the soundtrack to the film.”
