Fowl play

Back then, queer Londoners without an interest in house music, Ecstasy or the gym weren’t exactly well-catered to by the scene. Enter London drama graduate Simon Casson—a.k.a. Simon Strange—the driving force of Duckie, along with his stage collaborator, New Jersey expat Amy Lamé, who became the show’s compere. They were joined by DJs Mark Wood and Mark Johnston—who called themselves “The Readers Wifes” [sic]—and “door whores” Father Cloth and Jay Cloth, who handle the box office, backup deejaying and other artistic duties. All six remain at the core of Duckie today. “It’s like a family,” Wood says. “We argue, but it’s nothing serious.”

Besides the menu show, there will be a one-off Duckie NYC club night at Greenpoint’s Studio B on January 19 to mark the end of C’est Duckie’s run. Lamé will host a showdown between three of London’s finest performers and three New Yorkers, including nu-jazz comedy icon Dynasty Handbag. Later, the Wifes take to the turntables with their mix of ‘80s electro, punk, reggae, and patron saints Morrissey and Bowie.

So, if Duckie is a quintessentially English show—even its name is an old-fashioned, slightly camp and utterly English term of endearment—will its sensibility translate to New York? Lamé thinks so. “If there’s one thing New Yorkers love,” she notes, “it’s getting involved.” In fact, there are already links between Duckie and NYC. Pastiche artist Taylor Mac will be a guest performer, and Justin Bond, otherwise known as Kiki of Kiki & Herb, provided vocals for the Readers Wifes’ album, Gaslight. Says Bond, who compares Duckie to legendary New York night Jackie 60: “It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s subversive, and it has the cutting edge of New York at its finest. That twisted way of thinking is kind of universal.”

C’est Duckie is presented by P.S. 122 at the CSV Cultural Center Thu 20–Jan 19.

DO’S AND DON’TS

For a night at C’est Duckie
DO wear your finest duds and illegally smoke cigars.
DON’T touch the performers or mention the sex industry—this is art, remember. (Though if you ply them with real cash as well as Duckie dollars, you’ll likely get a bigger bang for your buck.)

For the Duckie club night
DO learn to love bears.
DON’T wear nice shoes (or anything you’re afraid of getting beer spilled on).

GLOSSARY

Some mockney phrases to help you get wiv ve pictchur:

“You’re ’avin’ a larf, incha?”—“I think you’re asking a little much for that.”

“Nuffin’ like a good old knees-up, eh?”—“You can’t beat a good party, can you?”

“I could murder a wife-beater.”—“I’d love a pint of lager.”

“Bloody ’ell, freeze the bollocks off a brass monkey out there!” – “It’s very cold tonight.”