PEPI LITTMAN
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much away, but we do know that the story follows Ari, a Jewish drag king ostracised by their family, who clings to their hero – Pepi Littman. The press release continues: “There are no fiction films about contemporary drag kings, never mind a Jewish drag king. It’s a story about being your true authentic self. Because the central theme is so universal – one of family in all of its forms – it’s a film that has very wide appeal. “In a moment when Ari is looking for acceptance and family, will they finally be able to embrace themselves and their true voice? History and present must come together in this music-loving and brave story.” To find out more about what drove this story and why it has such cultural significance today, I sat down to a Zoom chat with Natalie, LJ Parkinson (aka LoUis CYfer) – the project’s drag king consultant – and its Jewish drag king consultant Ashleigh Loeb (aka Rabbi Schmeckie).
“Everybody has their own personal reasons for relating to drag generally as an art. For me it’s reclaiming some degree of patriarchy and I think it’s also about exploring the variety of gender within you” So what was it about Pepi that resonated so strongly with Natalie? “I know LJ, so that was one thing, but I’d had a conversation about proto drag kings, or male impersonators as they were called then in the early 20th century, as I had come across a whole host of them while I was researching another project. Then coming across Pepi obviously I dove down that rabbit hole and that was a wonderful thing that took me on a two-month journey of investigating and exploring.”
MAKE ME A KING Jaq Bayles gets the lowdown on the inspiration behind an upcoming film about a modern-day Jewish drag king ) Drag kings have been around for centuries,
yet, unlike their male counterparts, have not been popularised in mainstream culture and remain an unknown phenomenon to many. But all that could be about to change thanks to an award-winning film from the women-led Unleyek production company. It was while researching another project that scriptwriter Natalie Arle-Toyne came
across the first Jewish proto-drag king Pepi Littman, the inspiration for her script Make Me a King, which earlier this year won the prestigious Pears Foundation Short Film Fund. The creators of the film, which has to be finalised in time for the UK Jewish Film Festival later this year, play their cards close to their chests, not wanting to give too
LJ chips in: “Drag and drag kinging and breeches roles have been huge since about 600AD, right back to the Tang dynasty. Drag queens are getting a lot of mainstream interest right now. People are sort of thinking that drag kings are a new thing but there are some really interesting turn of the century kings, like Vesta Tilley, and Pepi Littman being another one. There are just a few photos and a bit of documentary here and there so to be able to find someone who’s so intersectional like Pepi and doing something that would have been quite controversial in those days, it’s quite extraordinary. “There’s not that many Jewish drag kings and Natalie is shining a light not only on an underrepresented form of art but also an underrepresented culture, particularly in the UK.” LJ goes on to talk about her idol, Hetty King,
