Tatenda Shamiso on sharing trans joy in NO I.D. at Royal Court Theatre

Tatenda Shamiso brings his acclaimed autobiographical piece NO I.D. to the Royal Court Theatre this month.

Following five-star reviews during its run at VAULT Festival, NO I.D. transfers to the Royal Court’s Jerwood Theatre Upstairs for a limited three-week run from 18 April – 6 May 2023.

First performed at Peckham Fringe, Shamiso tells the story of his experience as a Black transgender immigrant in the UK.

Using the songs he wrote throughout his first year on testosterone alongside letters, signatures and a whole lot of paperwork, he guides us through what it takes to validate Black and queer identities in the eyes of the law.

“NO I.D. is a silly, warm, intimate show about the hoops that trans people need to jump through to accomplish the basic bureaucratic tasks around getting people to call you by your name on the other side of transitioning,” he shares. “It’s also an examination and embracing of the person I was before I transitioned, the person I was when I began the journey of transitioning, and the man I am now.

“I look at the things these three people share, and the ways in which they are different, peppering in the music I wrote in each phase of that journey, and calling on the voices of people who have been in my life throughout the entire thing to fill in the gaps in my storytelling. It’s good fun, it’s heartfelt, and it might make you queerer than you were before you saw it.”

The show sees a personal story told through a distinctly bureaucratic lens, with Shamiso explaining: “Before making the show, whenever I would speak to people about my transition, the thing that shocked people the most was how absurdly difficult it was to sort out my paperwork.

“I liked the idea of presenting a part of the trans experience that people outside of it know very little about, but that everyone can relate to.”Who hasn’t had to sit on the phone listening to crackling, choppy classical music, trying to contain their rage in their attempt to get the disinterested person on the other side of the line to give them what they needed?

“I wanted my audience to be able to recognise themselves in the show even if they weren’t gender nonconforming or queer, to establish some connection before I get into the more complicated parts of transitioning.”

Discussing the show’s history, he continues: “I started writing this play after being encouraged to do so by my director, flatmate and beloved collaborator Sean Ting-Hsuan Wang. We pitched it for Peckham Fringe before I had even started writing, got a slot in the festival and I was performing it in front of an audience about six weeks later!

“Since then we developed and extended the show as part of Theatre Peckham’s Young, Gifted and Black Season before showing that version at VAULT Festival. It’s been a very quick and intense process, which is exactly how I like making theatre, and at times it’s turned my whole house into a sweatshop – I’ve been lifted up, encouraged, aided and pushed by some of my closest and most talented friends, and that aspect of the process has been the source of a lot of my joy in making it.”

The one-man-show is also performed by Shamiso who admits it’s a challenge to put his “writer’s brain on mute” while in the spotlight.

“Since my time as a child actor in community theatre in California I haven’t seen performance as the main event in my practice, but it’s been really fun and healing to get back on stage and perform as myself, as a version of myself that I’m proud to share,” he adds.

NO I.D. features music written by Shamiso shortly before beginning hormones and throughout his first year on testosterone.

He says of the songwriting process: “I’ve always used music to access, process and reflect on my emotions, both before and since my transition. I think the music fills in some of the gaps in the way I describe my journey: I present a case file of my transition in the text, and the music looks at those moments in my life through a more emotional lens.

“I tell you what happened in words, and then explain how I felt about it in song. It also helps me directly compare the person I was before with the person I am, because my recorded voice sounds very different from the live one. It’s cool to be able to sing with someone who literally is me but also isn’t here anymore.”

Meanwhile, Shamiso says he was keen for the story to be an uplifting one, countering negative articles seen in the media.

“With this show I wanted to share the freedom, the joy and the peace that come from self-discovery and self-acceptance,” he enthuses. “I also wanted to show audiences that everyone has space to take part in trans joy. My life expectancy as a Black trans man is short! I want to spend it laughing, and inviting others to laugh with me.”

Looking ahead to the play’s run at the Royal Court, Shamiso concludes: “It means absolutely everything to be doing this transfer. We are a young company, most of us immigrants, all of us queer, who have been taught our entire lives that our stories aren’t taken seriously on big stages.

“I’ve been told many times by people in our industry that I would never be able to bridge the gap between fringe theatre and theatres like the Royal Court with my work. I am so grateful to the Court for giving me a chance to prove those people wrong, and to prove to other young makers and trans artists that our work is worth believing in. ”

NO I.D. runs at the Royal Court from 18 April – 6 May. For more information and tickets, visit royalcourttheatre.com