Pantomime in THE LIBRARY

We interview Sab Samuel, creator of Drag Queen Story Hour UK®, on his persona Aida H Dee, the importance of Drag and reading stories in a nursery

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Sab Samuel, I’m 26 and I started something called Drag Queen Story Hour UK®, which takes Drag performance as the fun, interactive, pantomime performance it is but thrusts it into the world of education by teaching children about people who are different.

When did you first become interested in Drag as an art form?

I first performed when I was 15 years old at an all-boys school. At a boys’ school, doing drama, somebody’s got to play the female character. There was a play where there was an evil villain and I was like: “Yeah, I do that. I’ll do that. Sounds pretty fun, actually.” While I was at school, I was really badly bullied. I had the police involved,

I was spat on, I was called a feminist. It was gay bullying before I even knew I was gay. Regardless, I still chose to perform in Drag. The day after one of the bullies came up to me and said: “You did Drag in the school play didn’t you? Fair play, mate.” I remember that moment, it was an eyeopener. Sometimes being yourself and letting yourself go can be ten-times more powerful than hiding in the corner.

What can you tell us about your Drag persona, Aida H Dee?

From the outside, she’s a hyperactive person jumping around all the time, a bit like ADHD. But she isn’t just hyperactive, she knows how to hone that skill to make it work for her, which is key. She shows kids that you can be who you want and you shouldn’t let anybody tell you otherwise. I’d just released my first children’s book and I was doing a signing when a young person with ADHD came and we both spoke about having ADHD. They were talking about it as if it was a bad thing, as if there was no hiding from people.

I sat there, I listened and then I said: “What are you hiding? Look at me. Having ADHD or autism, or being deaf, you may need to learn different communication pathways, so yes, okay, you probably have more stairs to climb – but when you get to the top you’ll have stronger legs than everyone else around you.” That moment – that’s what Aida is all about.

What can you tell us about Drag Queen Story Hour UK®?

Drag Queen Story Hour UK® has five separate areas of teaching according to the five flavours of acceptance: orientation, gender, race and culture, age, and disability. If somebody goes to a storytime and comes away not having enjoyed themselves then we’ve failed. But equally, if somebody goes away not having learned something about acceptance then we also fail. It’s 50/50. A story hour comprises three stories, two songs, and one ‘meet the queen’. All three stories have a ‘message’ about either orientation, gender, race, culture, age or disability. It’s always one of those but it has to be made fun – that’s the key thing. Drag Queen Story Hour UK® is pantomime in the library.

What was your motivation in setting up Drag Queen Story Hour UK®?

When I was 21 I was pushed down some stairs and had my left shoulder blown out of its socket, causing permanent damage. It was based on the premise that I was somebody who acted effeminate, and I think their words were: “This is what happens when you act like a girl.” This was prior to me being a Drag performer. I sent a letter to the person who threw me down the stairs inviting them to my first performance as Aida. They didn’t come but it was a metaphorical middle finger. Aida H Dee was born out of a need to try and teach somebody that people are different. I got into Drag not to start a career but to teach one person that being different is okay. Now I try to teach children the same message.

Why is Drag important?

In the grand scheme of things, Drag is not important. What’s important are the results of Drag. The LGBTQ+ community has empowered themselves through Drag. Drag in itself is dressing up, it’s fun and it’s great for the opportunities it gives people, but empowerment is the important part of it. There are many ways to get LGBTQ+ empowerment and Drag is only one of those. Why do Drag in the first place? Because it’s fun, but what you get out of it is important.