Reuben Kaye
Born (1984-09-22) 22 September 1984
NationalityAustralian
Genrescomedy, cabaret, drag
Websitehttps://www.reubenkaye.com/

Reuben Kaye (born 22 September 1984)[1] is an Australian singer, writer and comedian.[2] Kaye's career is primarily based in the UK, but he has performed at comedy festivals internationally, including in Melbourne, Montréal, and Edinburgh. He is recognizable for his cabaret-style performances in drag makeup.[3] Kaye's 2023 Edinburgh fringe show was the second-highest reviewed show at the festival.[4]

Kaye has also appeared on television programmes like Spicks and Specks, The Project, and Celebrity Letters and Numbers.[5] Kaye has cited Wayne County & the Electric Chairs, Patti LaBelle, and Maryanne Faithful as some of his inspirations.[6]

Personal life

Kaye was born in 1984 to Jewish immigrants,[7] and was raised in the Melbourne suburb of Kew.[6] Kaye's father, who was an artist, emigrated from post-war Warsaw, and his mother emigrated from East Berlin before the Berlin Wall was built. He was diagnosed with ADHD as a child, but his parents chose to not put him on medication.[8] Kaye came out as gay at age 14,[9] and faced bullying from his peers at school which left him with a scar on his eyebrow.[7] He studied musical theatre at the Victorian College of the Arts, and moved to London at age 25, where he became more involved in the cabaret scene.[7]

Career

Live performances

Kaye became began performing cabaret while living in Melbourne, but became more involved in the scene after moving to London.[7] Kaye began wearing makeup during his performances in 2011, attributing the choice as a channel for his material, rather than self-expression.

His first solo show, Success Story, debuted in 2017, and was performed at the Perth and Adelaide Fringe festivals.[10] In 2019, Kaye created the self-titled show Reuben Kaye, as well as a late-night variety show The Kaye Hole, and brought both shows to the Edinburgh Fringe.[11] Kaye returned to performances in 2021 after the COVID pandemic and vocal surgery[12] with his new show The Butch is Back, which he performed through December 2023, including in at the Edinburgh and Melbourne comedy festivals, and at a nearly month-long residency in London's Southbank Centre.[13] In 2024, Kaye will perform his new show World War Me, starting at the Perth fringe in January.[14]

Television appearances

In 2019, Kaye appeared on British television on the Channel 4 show Kids React to Drag.[15] He has also appeared on other UK shows, such as The Apprentice: You’re Fired in 2023.[16]

Kaye has appeared on Australian television as a contestant on Celebrity Letters and Numbers, as well as on the ABC music quiz show Spicks and Specks.

In 2023, Kaye appeared on an episode of the Channel 10 news and talk show programme The Project, where he controversially joked about Jesus: "I love any man who can get nailed for three days straight and come back for more!"[17] The Australian Communications and Media Authority reportedly received over 200 complaints about the incident.[18] He received significant backlash for this both from publications like the Daily Mail, as well as from social media users, some of whom sent him death threats.[19] Subsequent live performances by Kaye were postponed due to protests against him.[19]

Podcasts

Since 2019, Kaye has hosted Come to Daddy, a podcast about the parental upbringing of various comedian guests, including Rosie Jones, Desiree Burch, and Daniel Sloss.[20] At the 2023 Just for Laughs festival, Kaye hosted the first live version of the podcast with guest Urzila Carlson.[21]

Kaye has also guested on numerous other podcasts, including Jordan Gray's Transplaining, Catherine Bohart and Helen Bauer's Trusty Hogs, and Abigoliah Schamaun and Joe Wells's Neurodivergent Moments.

Awards

In 2021, Kaye won the Best Cabaret award from both the Perth and Adelaide fringe festivals,[22] and was nominated for the Most Outstanding Show award from the Melbourne Comedy Festival.[23] In 2022, The Butch Is Back won three Green Room Awards for Best Cabaret Artist, Best Production and Best Musical Direction.[24] In 2023, it also was nominated for NextUp's Biggest Award in Comedy,[25] and placed second on the British Comedy Guide's list of the highest-reviewed shows of the 2023 Edinburgh fringe.[4]

References

  1. ↑ @ReubenKaye (22 September 2021). "It's my birthday and Melbourne just had a pretty substantial earthquake. It seems I really am God... Or she's very angry at something. Wonder what that could be *hides under bed*" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 November 2023 – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ Guide, British Comedy. "Reuben Kaye". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  3. ↑ "Reuben Kaye". itsoutnow. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 Guide, British Comedy (4 September 2023). "Best-reviewed Edinburgh Fringe shows 2023". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Reuben Kaye". Chambers Management. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  6. 1 2 Myers, Matt (14 August 2021). "Reuben Kaye". The Celebrity Whisperer. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "His joke about Jesus caused outrage, but Reuben Kaye's comedy is more complex than you might think". ABC News. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  8. ↑ Bunbury, Stephanie (6 March 2023). "His Jesus joke on The Project sparked outrage, so who really is Reuben Kaye?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Hughes, Ethan (21 October 2021). "Interview with Reuben Kaye". A Modern Gay's Guide. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Review, Arts (10 February 2017). "Reuben Kaye – Success Story". Australian Arts Review. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "Reuben Kaye". Opera Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Reuben Kaye is subverting our expectations". ABC listen. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  13. ↑ Hall, Margaret (22 August 2023). "Reuben Kaye's The Butch Is Back to Tour U.K. and Europe". Playbill. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "Tour Dates". REUBEN KAYE. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Kids React to Drag!". YouTube. 23 December 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Reuben Kaye – Century Artists". Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  17. ↑ Bennett, Steve. "Reuben Kaye's Jesus joke causes a stir : News 2023 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  18. ↑ Sharma, Yashee (3 March 2023). "Hundreds call on media watchdog to act after The Project's Jesus joke". skynews.com.au. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  19. 1 2 Hall, Margaret (21 June 2023). "Drag Performer Reuben Kaye Is Combating Death Threats with Comedy". Playbill. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  20. ↑ "COME TO DADDY!". Spotify. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  21. ↑ "URZILA CARLSON...COME TO DADDY!". Spotify. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  22. ↑ "2022 Nominations & Recipients – The Green Room Awards". Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  23. ↑ "Melbourne International Comedy Festival". Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  24. ↑ "2022 Green Room Awards Recipients | Stage Whispers". www.stagewhispers.com.au. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
  25. ↑ Guide, British Comedy (14 August 2023). "NextUp Biggest Award In Comedy 2023 nominees". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
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