Another blast from the past... it's Edinburgh Festival time again and a regular on the bill is the Lady Boys of Bangkok cabaret show. Went behind the scenes to speak the 'girls' and find out a bit more. Left feeling just a bit unsettled, not because of who they are but why... who pays for their surgery? What route do they take to get where they are? Unanswered questions thanks to a language barrier but my overriding feeling was not a good one...
HER hair is honey blonde, her pink and white robe is pulled primly closed and her long legs daintily crossed while she perches on her chair, peering forward, gazing intently at her own reflection.
A sweep of mascara across eyelashes that flutter provocatively, another flamboyant 'mwah' pout into the mirror, then back into the overflowing make-up bag for some bright, sparkling eye shadow and the transformation is well under way.
Nice - pronounced 'Nee' - is ten minutes into her laborious make-up routine, an hour away from slipping into a sparkly, foxy little 'Kylie' outfit and 90 minutes from becoming part of one of the longest running, most successful Edinburgh Fringe acts around.
Look harder at this striking young woman as she sits at the dimly-lit backstage changing rooms at the rear of a massive theatre tent, and it becomes clear why she's such an attraction.
Nice's bone structure - with those delicate high cheekbones, feline eyes, heart-shaped face - is, close up, strangely larger than you might feel it really should be. Her hands, albeit perfectly manicured, just a bit on the big side. Her feet, compared to the average girl's, are absolute whoppers.
When she speaks and gestures, it is with comic-book exaggerated femininity, an over-the-top flick of the hair here and an affected 'head thrown back' giggle there, the way only a 5ft 10ins bloke pretending to be a woman can really do.
Indeed that is exactly what Nice is - or, to be more accurate, was, until not that long ago when surgeons completed the eye-watering operations to give her breast implants, remove her masculine - ahem - appendages and, with a daily cocktail of hormones to create smooth, hair-free peachy skin, make a new woman out of him.
Since then, Nice - like her fellow Lady Boys of Bangkok, born a boy, now very much one of the girls - has never looked back.
Last week, Nice and her fellow Lady Boys gave the grey-suits at the council a flavour of their unique 'third sex' show when they crammed into the public galleries of the typically-staid council chambers in full sequins, feathers and make-up in protest to a proposal that will move them from their Festival home in the Meadows.
Perhaps, it was mooted, they could relocate to somewhere like Sighthill, a proposal that led to much high-pitched squealing, dramatic hair flicking and sobs.
When the decision, after a long debate, came, it was in favour of the Lady Boys. Today, as they rummage through their overflowing make-up bags, it's in the knowledge that next year, their 12th year in Edinburgh at festival-time, they'll be back in their high heels, entertaining crowds, churning up the Meadows' grass once more.
Nice loves Edinburgh, she whispers breathlessly between digging out a sparkling silver eye shadow and smearing it on across her already heavily made-up lids. "I like the shopping," she says. "Top Shop, I buy a dress there."
Mention Harvey Nichols and three of her fellow Lady Boys perched in a row in front of a line of mirrors suddenly swivel around, grinning broadly, and say: "Yes, Harvey Nichols! Is good!"
Suddenly there's a flash of bare flesh as 27-year-old Tui dashes past in a tight vest top and even tighter red knickers which, judging by their smooth outline, seem to suggest that she too has said 'sayonara' to her masculine extras.
In fact, most of the cast have opted for full surgery - possibly less painful than the alternative which involves the longest-serving cast member, 40-year-old Sac, aiding and abetting an eye watering 'nip and tuck' rearguard action of pushing unwanted masculine assets well out of the way.
It turns out that Tui was once a strapping six-foot tall lad, studying resource management at university. Now he is a she, vital statistics of 32-25-37ins with endless, cellulite-free legs and a sparkling pink mobile phone.
The surgery, she explains in what she hopes is a sultry feminine husky tone, didn't hurt at all.
It might well have hurt her wallet, however the explanation as to how Tui made the leap from struggling student lad to fully-qualified 'lady' - a route which for some of Thailand's transsexuals can take them deep into the country's sex trade, suddenly becomes lost in the language barrier.
"Yes," she says. "Very good being Lady Boy. I like to dress beautiful costumes, I like to see the people clap their hands. I wanted try something new with life, see new people, be a new woman!"
Certainly, Edinburgh has embraced their show since their Fringe debut in 1996. When the troupe opted out the following year, their management found themselves fielding questions from fans desperate to see them again. This month, they'll hit the stage 70 times.
As a crowd of giggling women arrive to take a table beside the stage, Lady Boy Sak
says he is delighted the Lady Boys of Bangkok have won the right to return to the Meadows next year. "Edinburgh is like our second home. I love the Scottish people, they are friendly," he says.
"We come back here next year. We love Edinburgh."
FRINGE STALWARTS
THE Lady Boys of Bangkok have become a regular and popular feature of the Edinburgh Fringe, having first appeared in 1996.
* There are 16 performers, supported by front of house and backstage staff.
* Their cabaret style show is a blend of mime, dance, comedy and glamour. Each Lady Boy dances the equivalent of 1.2 miles per show.
* They are the largest Thai company of performers to appear in the west.
* So-called 'lady boys' or 'kathoey' can often be found in Thailand's cities where the attitude towards their lifestyle choice is often relaxed.
* A large number work in entertainment and cabaret shows, however some are linked to the sex industry.
Appeared
25 August 2009
Edinburgh Evening News
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