Kat Clifford, 28, leans nonchalantly on the bar in Brighton's “Caroline of Brunswick” . She clearly feels comfortable in the intimate, dimly lit pub, in which she has previously performed, and in which her individual, punk style looks no way out of place. Piercings and short, bleached hair contrast with her charmingly awkward, friendly persona. As she sips on an alcohol-free lime soda, it is difficult to imagine her ferocious, political side “stomping around a stage and kicking things over” as the lead singer in a punk band.
But this is not the only transformation Kat makes during performances. On stage, her drag king alter-ego, Richard Reckless, takes the reins.
Having a laugh with a friend at 24 when Kat discovered her love for cross-dressing. Over the pub’s atmospheric bustle, recounts her drag journey. While early drag queen idols such as Pink Flamingo’s “Divine” and RuPaul were iconic to her, she remembers thinking “I really wish there was something the other way round!” After looking into it more and introducing her drag-self to Brighton, she decided Richard was here to stay.
“I really wish there was something the other way round!”
Kat’s modesty underplays the impression she has made on the drag scene. She casually describes appearing on Channel 4’s ‘Body Fixers’, Brighton Fringe festival’s “King of the Fringe”, and Richard DeDomenici’s “Brighton Rock Redux” to name a few. Without batting an eyelid she adds: “And I’m currently in an international drag competition online.”
She beams while speaking of the RuPaul-esque international drag king competition, “King me: Rise of a Drag King” in which she is currently taking part. We can’t help but laugh at the image of Kat, or Richard, dressed as a reptilian Donald Trump as part of the shows weekly challenges.
Although often in the spotlight as Richard, Kat spends more time on the other side of the camera as an indie filmmaker. When not working her day job in a shoe store, she focuses on her dream of a career in film. The quirky nature of her visions becomes apparent as she speaks intently of her upcoming Brighton-set B-movie horror film based on a shark.
As the bartender interrupts our conversation, I sit back and imagine Kat’s second identity performing as I’ve seen in videos. Hours of makeup, tape and snippings of her own hair transform the cheerful woman into a snarling Richard Reckless. He sports a black checked shirt, sleeves ripped and front unbuttoned to reveal a male chest. A matching bandana pushes his scruffy, bleached fringe over his eyes as he belts fiery, political lyrics to the audience.
Kat explains that Richard’s confidence does not resemble her own. She admits: “I’m definitely more confident as Richard. Like when we did the King of the Fringe they’d ask questions and there is no way I would usually answer those questions as me on a stage – I hate anything like that!” She adds: “It’s not me, so it’s fine. I can say whatever I want!”
She cringes, but laughs, as she recalls the inspiration for her character’s name. “I went for a job interview when I was at uni, a launderette, and it was me and four other girls and when the woman got to me she was like, ‘you must be Richard.’” When creating her drag persona she recalls thinking, “It’s gotta be Richard.”
Watford born and raised, Kat reminisces falling in love with Brighton in college. While regularly visiting for beach parties at 16, she recalls thinking: “I am not going anywhere else for uni.”
Being gay herself, Kat speaks of an instant attraction to the seaside city’s LGBT friendliness. As the UK’s gay capital, and home to the biggest pride festival in the country, it seemed the perfect formula. With all this in mind, I question whether she would have discovered her love for drag if she hadn’t moved at 18. Being from somewhere “not as liberal as Brighton”, she says: “I definitely think it would have taken me longer to get the nerve to do it.”
An accepting support network means Kat can express herself freely. Although her girlfriend of eight years finds the concept slightly strange, she still appears at Richard’s shows. She jokes: “I do a lot of weird shit so people are just like ‘whatever floats your boat!’ My parents are now okay with everything, so when i told them they were kind of just like ‘cool.’”
While female performers have challenged traditional gender binaries in theatre since the 1700s, the term “drag king” is still one not so instantly recognised as “drag queen”. Despite the city’s acceptance, this is still very much true in Brighton. When I raise this, I get the feeling Kat has had the conversation before.
She explains her theory: “In a patriarchal society, it’s not threatening for men to dress as women but it is threatening for women to dress as men. It’s like undermining a patriarchal society, so isn’t allowed to be as known about.”
Living in the diverse, accepting haven that Brighton is, Kat is not often confronted with negativity. Whilst Wikipedia’s description of drag kings focuses on members of the LGBT community, she believes anyone can get involved. “There are a lot of straight drag kings out there. There’s all sorts of people- you have lesbians, you also have f-to-m Trans, transgender people, and non-binary people. Everyone can do it!”
After 10 years in Brighton, a change is on the horizon for Kat. While drag will always have a place in her heart, a break could be in store to focus on her passion for film. With a visa to Canada under her belt, and a longing for a new beginning, who knows what’s around the corner.
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