From the latest issue of Scotsgay Magazine (page 16)

Beth Becomes Her
with Bethany Black

Show: Beth Becomes Her
Venue: Baby Belly 3
When: Thursday 31st July-Sunday 24th August at 11.05pm.
Door Tax: £6-£10.50
More Info: www.myspace.com/fairy_gothmother

Are you looking forward to Edinburgh 2008?
I really am - it’s my first time performing my own show and doing a full run. It’s been a childhood ambition so I’m really excited!

What should ScotsGay readers expect from ‘Beth Becomes Her’?
60 minutes of true stories that will make them laugh their collective bottoms off about everything that happens on a journey
transitioning from male to female, oh and bring a hankie for the ending... no I don’t get naked.

You were a nominee for ‘Best Debut Show’ at the ‘Leicester Comedy Festival’ - that must have felt good!
It was brilliant, I’ve never won anything before - well I won a drag competition when I was 7, - but that doesn’t really count. This
was the first time I’ve even been nominated for anything, I was really excited up until the awards ceremony when they read out the nominees and gave them all a big build up, listing their achievements and what their shows were about, and then they announced me by saying “next is Bethany Black who got some good reviews and is probably taking the show to Edinburgh.” At which point I knew it was going to someone else. The Prize for winning was a bottle of Champagne, and I don’t drink anymore, so it’s just as well. Still, I got to fill my face with chocolate covered strawberries.

We don’t see many comedy shows about trans issues? How did you come up with the idea?
Well it’s the story of the last 8 years of my life really. So I didn’t really have to come up with anything, I just try to tell the truth and be as honest and open as I can. I realised that the experiences I’d had and the story I’ve got to tell were different than pretty much any other comedian on the circuit. And most of all living through it has brought about some of the funniest things that have ever happened to me.

You discus and make jokes about sensitive subjects in your show. Do you fear coming across as ‘politically incorrect’?
I hate the term “politically correct”. I find it’s often used in the pejorative by people who are upset that they can’t call me a queer or a tranny, or be prejudicial about people based on race gender or sexual orientation. Political correctness is essentially treating people fairly and not being offensive to people for prejudicial reasons. All the comedy I try to do comes from a place of love and understanding, I talk about abortion in the show and I talk about suicide and nervous breakdowns and I touch on race, but it’s generally coming from a place of highlighting the stupidity in all these things, confronting my own prejudice and stupidity. If ever I’ve offended people it’s generally because they don’t think that these should be topics that are up for discussion, but all I’m doing it highlighting them.

Are you the ‘black sheep’ of the family?
Not at all, my parents are both quite liberal, aging hippies who live in France and my sister travelled the world and worked for sexual health charities in India and is now a nutritionist and about the most lesbian straight woman I know, and when we get together we all know how to party. If anything My Brother’s the Black sheep, he settled down and got married when he was 21 to the eldest daughter of the biggest family in the village we grew up in and has two kids a cat and a dog and a well paid job he loves and a lovely house less than half a mile from where we all grew up.

What was your worst ever heckle?
In Exeter just before Christmas I was hosting a gig that was going really badly, there was a table of fitness instructors in - all of whom thought they were funnier than any of the acts on. One in particular was a nightmare to try and deal with, but I tried to talk to him and give him some attention before trying to stop him from talking. It was fairly base stuff - I said something about him going home alone and wanking in his bedsit wondering why he had no friends whilst I’d be going home with my girlfriend. His response was “yeah, well neither of us will be having sex then, lesbians can’t even have sex.” I was floored by his ignorance and
tried to explain how it was possible but he wasn’t having any of it. As far as he was concerned if it didn’t end with a sticky cock it’s not sex. Later that evening I think I adequately proved him wrong.

Which other comics do you admire?
I love Stewart Lee, watching him work is just a master class, Josie Long was a big influence when I first decided to give comedy a go, I love her whimsy and good clean honest fun. Richard Herring I love because he has the same over analytical mind that I do. Brendon Burns has been a big influence, watching him doing “Sober Not Clean” when he was just out of rehab and seeing that blistering honesty was just immense. Glenn Wool and Craig Campbell too, those two are about the funniest comedians I’ve ever seen, Glenn is just amazingly funny, it exudes from every pore of him, and Craig has the ability to make me laugh like no one else on this earth. As a comic you find you stop laughing at other comics and get analytical about what they do, admiring the structure and the rhythm, but every time I go and see Craig I wake up the next day with aching muscles from laughing. Plus just knowing that he exists makes me smile. And finally, and possibly most importantly, Jason Cook. Jason took me under his wing when I first started and taught me loads, he got me my first paid 20 minute set and just over a year ago whilst chatting one night he persuaded me to do this show. His show “My Confessions” was the best show I saw last year and really deserved to win Best international Act at the New Zealand comedy festival. I owe a lot to Jason Cook.

Do you see yourself as a role model for other trans women?
Good God no! If I ever did that would be me setting myself up for such a fall! I suppose by putting myself out there and using this platform and being so open about being trans - and attempting to start a debate - I’m putting myself in a position where I could be considered a role model, but I think if anything it’s just important to be who you are and not let anyone tell you different.

What’s next for Bethany Black?
I’m going to find out who keeps changing all the “shes” to “hes” on my Wikipedia page.