Interview: Jimmy Justice, writer and director of Metamorphoses

Heading to The Cockpit this month, Metamorphoses is ‘a radical reimagining’ of Ovid’s notorious poetry. The play consists of scenes based on the deeply influential classic myths from the source text. We spoke to writer and director, Jimmy Justice, to find out more about the show.

Can you tell us a bit about the show?

I’ve loved Greek myth since I was a kid and have always been super interested in stories of transformation - particularly around gender. So as an adult when I revisited the original text for Metamorphoses I was confronted with a play that was crass, vulgar and mean spirited. Nothing like how it read when I was younger. I felt compelled to honour the beauty within these myths I found as a child. 

What have you enjoyed the most with staging this show?

The actors. We have an all trans cast and it has been a joy and gift to work with them on some of the oldest trans stories on record. I love them all dearly, the three of them are incredible human beings and brilliant artists in their own right.

Why is it important to be staging shows like this in your opinion?

Visibility. We are adapting one of the most famous pieces of literature of all time and doing it in an authentically DIY, grassroots way. We are allowing people who have been creating experimental, radical work to attack and dissect this cornerstone of western storytelling.

You’re very focused on representation, what difference do you think that makes?

If you don't see it you don't know it can happen.

What have you tried to bring to the show in your roles?

With this adaptation I want to rip apart and remix these stories to interrogate my relationship with them. Sometimes the beauty is easily found and I can isolate it from the shit that surrounds it but sometimes the shit is too much. I think it’s important to expose that shit to the light of day so that we as trans people can regain a true sense of ownership over the stories that have defined how people see us.

What would you like to see more of/less of within theatre at the moment?

More trans people, less rich kids. 

Lastly, why should people come to see the show?

I want an audience member to walk in not knowing what they’re in for. I don't want to speak to the content (as that’s up to you to decide) but what I really want is audiences to leave knowing that trans people can make theatre using epic mythology that looks, sounds and feels like their own.

Catch Metamorphoses at Cockpit Theatre from 16 May - 1 Jun 2024.