In Conversation: Subira Joy
Subira Joy is a spoken-word performer and activist, based in Brighton, UK. Their work weaves together the personal and political, through experiences and imaginations, spoken with rage, softness, and laughter. Ahead of their performance of 'Kill The Cop Inside Your Head' at Trinity on 23 Feb, we spoke with Subira about the themes underpinning the performance, the influence of their queer identity, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and much more.
Please introduce yourself and share a little about how you got into performance arts.
Hi, my name’s Subira, I’m a spoken word performer, writer and artists and I got into performing through the spoken word and poetry scene, and made my way into the queer theatre scene in Brighton.
What was the inspiration behind Kill The Cop Inside Your Head?
The phrase Kill The Cop Inside Your Head shows up in activist circles often, and I found myself going over and over this phrase in my head and thinking about police, police violence and oppression, and the way that it impacts particularly Black and queer, Black and trans communities and how we learn to police ourselves.
How has your queer identity helped shape this work?
My identity of being queer, being trans and being a mixed Black person definitely shaped the work insofar as I’m really speaking from my experience as an over-policed body. I think I’m interested in how those of us who live at the intersections of marginalised identities are specifically impacted.
"I’m interested in how those of us who live at the intersections of marginalised identities are specifically impacted" - Subira Joy
What are some of the themes that you explore in the performance?
So one of the themes that comes up in my performance is that of ancestral technologies. I’ve collaborated with some incredible people throughout the process of making this, one of those people was Cole Alvers, who was generous enough to share that language of ancestral technologies and really looking at the way that we can reach back through our ancestries and heritages to find tools to resist the oppression and policing that we’ve taken in. That’s featured a lot in my work – looking backwards to find the tools to move forwards.
What was it like taking your performance to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival?
It was a really brilliant experience taking my show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I was supported by Eclipse, a cohort of Black and queer performers, which was brilliant as I think oftentimes Edinburgh can be challenging for artists of colour, but actually I was really supported and had a lot of great people around. I was also supported by my twin because I had recently broken my ankle and couldn’t do a lot of the dancing and physicality which is in the show, so they came through and we reimagined the show for the two of us, and I had a lot of fun with that.
What can audiences expect from Kill The Cop Inside Your Head?
Audiences can expect powerful imagery, poetry, dance, movement and fruit, so come through!
Click here to get your tickets to 'Kill The Cop Inside Your Head' at Trinity on 23 Feb.
