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Courage, and what is courage in 21st Century.
Observation, and not in the obvious places either. I just watch everything, everyone, read everything -magazines, books, go to galleries, events, explore places and listen. Some people come out with the most unbelievable things, if I don’t have my Moleskine to hand I’ll text myself notes which I’ll write up when I get home.
Remaining focused on what I want to create without feeling pressure to fulfil others’ preconceptions or keep everyone happy all the time; if I’d done that I wouldn’t have started performing burlesque 12 years ago. For me personally, new ideas have to come from within, and not be limited by what others expect or want. Neither am I interested in being the next someone else, I create all my stage material, my books, costumes etc myself, I don’t have stylists finding outfits for me or people writing acts and music for me, or ghost writers writing my books for me, it’s my work. It can be difficult for me to juggle priorities and ideas – there’s only so much time in a day. Perhaps people don’t appreciate what goes into the job.
Yes, I am well known for my live performance art, but the fact I choose to express myself in other fields can cause some interesting reactions. You’d be amazed how many people think I became an entertainer because I was incapable of doing anything else, as opposed to the fact I chose to perform for creative reasons. If I couldn’t draw or paint or write then how would I design my costumes or have new music for my shows? People don’t realize I actually started out working in film for example, there’s this general assumption in society that once you’ve been put in your perceived pigeon-hole, to do anything outside of that is either precocious or not valid.
I was born in Hertfordshire. I was sent to an all girls’ Catholic school where we had nuns. I am not Catholic although being in that environment for ten years did have an artistic effect.
My novels are inspired by my work. My job takes me to amazing places all over the world and can be quite surreal at times, and I encounter extraordinary people both fabulous and not so fabulous, so I had all the ingredients for a bonkbuster – glamour, fast living, heroes and villains and the scandal was all there in my imagination. I love people watching, I’m always in observation mode when not on stage which means people often find me very reserved in person – it’s just my time to do the watching that’s all.
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