El Alto | Queer: Gender Sexuality and the Arts in the Americas

El Alto 122 Renata Carvalho
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en la interpretación de personajes femeninos en
puestas de obras de los mejores dramaturgos
del mundo. Antes de ser invitada a interpretar
a Jesús en El Evangelio según Jesús, Reina del
Cielos, Renata pasó diez años trabajando como
directora de teatro, y de forma simultánea, como
trabajadora social brindando atención médica
preventiva y asistencia a travestis y transexuales.
Es a través de este trabajo que se auto-percibe
y entiende como travesti, y que se da cuenta del
potencial político de la identidad travesti y de la
necesidad de liberarlo del estigma y abandono
sociales. A pesar de los premios obtenidos y del
reconocimiento de la crítica, los obstáculos para
encontrar un lugar dentro de la escena teatral se
convirtieron para ella en un problema recurrente.
Y ella sabía la razón detrás de todo esto: portar
un cuerpo travesti, cuya condición se encuentra
marginada de los espacios de poder en la
sociedad y en el mundo de las artes. Su actuación
en El Evangelio le dio reconocimiento como
artista. La producción generó una conmoción
nacional y fue ser censurada y atacada por
grupos que buscaban censurar y boicotear las
expresiones artísticas de la comunidad trans/
travesti, erigiendo a Renata como emblema de
resistencia y resiliencia. Renata es hoy una de
las voces más activas dentro de la comunidad
LGBTQI+ brasileña, y realiza investigaciones
sobre el cuerpo trans en el teatro. Es una
de las fundadoras del Coletivo T, compuesto
exclusivamente por artistas transgénero, y
participó en la creación de Monart (Movimiento
Nacional de Artistas Trans), que lucha por una
mayor representación y visibilidad trans en los
espacios artísticos en Brasil. Co-desarrolló la
obra Domínio Público, que se ha presentado en
festivales alrededor del mundo. Recientemente
estrenó su monólogo Manifiesto Transpofágico,
donde utiliza su cuerpo como vehículo para
historizar la experiencia travesti.
1 - Transpología es, según Renata, el estudio que combina
el análisis, la compilación y diseminación de la historia
física, social y cultural de la comunidad trans.
Renata Carvalho as Queen Jesus / Renata Carvalho como la
Reina Jesús © Ligia Jardim
‘QUEEN JESUS’ IN
SCOTLAND
AND BRAZIL
The Brazilian Jesus, Queen of Heaven began her
life in August 2014 during the Edinburgh Fringe.
It had taken me five years to make this happen.
First, because the intense hatred provoked by
the show’s first performances in Glasgow in 2009
had left me so traumatised; and second because
the Fringe venue which I was convinced would be
the show’s natural home kept cancelling at the
last minute.
This was the Just Festival, formerly the Festival of
Justice and Peace, which used St John’s church
as its venue. St John’s is a prestigious church at
the West End of Edinburgh’s main street, Princes’
St., which is well known for its commitment to
social justice.
For three years they had declared their intention
to host Queen Jesus, and then at the last minute
became frightened and changed their mind. And
this is the church Renata still mentions at the
beginning of the Brazilian productions as the
church that has refused to receive her. Because,
in fact, their commitment to justice clearly did
not extend to trans women.
The first two years I was on my own and too
unsure of myself to insist on finding another
venue.
By 2014, however, things were different. Susan
Worsfold and Annabel Cooper were fully
committed to the play and these two magnificent
women gave me courage to persist. It was at the
last minute, very few venues were available, but
Jo Clifford
we found another church, St. Mark’s Unitarian,
just round the corner.
The only slot left was late at night (22:30) but we
took it. I couldn’t get any public funding for the
play at that time; but I had just sold my house,
and so paid for the performances with my own
money.
It was a little known venue; known, if at all, for
music; and at that time of night Fringe audiences
really go for comedy. They certainly didn’t seem
much interested in Queen Jesus.
So I can’t claim the show was a big success. I
remember one night we had four people in the
audience, and two of them walked out half way.
Mostly we managed about 15, and one of them
came up to me after the performance at the very
end of the run. She was deeply moved, and asked
me if she could have a copy of the script as she
wanted to translate it and present the show in
Brazil.
I liked the look of her, and said yes.
She told me her name was Natalia Mallo and when
we met for lunch a few days later she told me
she’d sat up that night and translated the play.
She’d had to.
We met again a few months later when I was in
Brazil to teach playwriting as part of the Ciclo
de Dramaturgia, an education programme run by
SESI and the British Council. I was able to read the