She’s making her debut at Edinburgh Fringe this year with her one-woman musical FAGHAG – and Dylan Mulvaney can’t wait.
“From what I’ve heard it’s the Disneyland for theatre kids,” she says.
“I’ve never been but my friends Alex Edelman and Catherine Cohen have been successful on the Fringe before so I’ve had lots of guidance from them.”
Dylan became world famous during lockdown when she started making her ‘Days of Girlhood’ series on Tik Tok. She didn’t intend to go global – but she ended up sharing her experience of being trans with millions of people.
“I got into Tik Tok as a way to fill time during lockdown. I no longer had my job at ‘Book of Mormon’. Days of Girlhood started as a silly jokey experiment but turned into so much more.
“I still don’t know the whole extent of what that looked like and how many people tuned into it.”
In conversation Mulvaney is articulate, careful and considered – pausing before each answer and thinking about what she has to say. It’s clear she has her wits about her when it comes to putting on a show.
“My show will be really camp and theatrical and there’s a bit of autobiographical stuff as well. There will definitely be musical moments – my favourite thing to do is to sing on stage.
“I’ve grown up in theatre.”
There’s no danger of it becoming a Ted talk or a political rant – and it’s firmly an adult show – with an age advisory of 16-17. Nor will it be Tik Tok style – although she does promise to break the fourth wall from time to time.
Mulvaney has teamed up with West End director Tim Jackson to create a show that moves smoothly from scene to scene – combining elements of autobiography with plenty of pizazz.
“I think a huge part of the show will be me looking at my trauma – but without getting mixed up in the weeds.”
Mulvaney has no regrets about choosing to live her life in public. “I have had the best two years – I have been bashed but I have met a lot of lovely people.”
She’s proud that she never hits back at her critics. “I pride myself on the fact I’ve never left a nasty comment on someone else’s feed. I know how that feels. I know how isolating that is and I don’t want to be the one to contribute to that.
“Social media has become a real wild west in the way we feel entitled to interact with other people and we have lost a sense of respect and a sense of valuing other people.”
In Edinburgh, Mulvaney is planning to immerse herself in theatre and go to shows by her friends Alok, Patti Harrison and others. “Catherine Cohen and I are going to paint the town red.”
She’s still planning her outfits and says if you see her around town she definitely won’t be hiding under a hoodie and she’ll be happy to come face to face with fans.
Mulvaney is a girl with her eye on the prize –realistic, likeable, modest and with plenty of ideas about how to tackle her first Fringe.
But I warn her she might have to rethink her footwear choices if she’s planning to hurtle around the cobbled hills of Edinburgh with all the other theatre kids.
“I’m not much for wearing flats,” she says
Dylan Mulvaney, FAGHAG, 21.40, Assembly, July 31 – August 25
