Interview: Embodying Androgyny with Richard Peacock

If you’ve visited Can Can’s theatre, you know Richard Peacock.

And if you know Richard Peacock, you know he hasn’t left a single crumb on our stage ever since joining the Can Can family in 2018.

From the adorable Sugarplum in Wonderland to the hilarious Frankly My Dear in Hitchcock Hotel, Peacock’s performances are, without a doubt, show-stealers. His current performance as Queen Astral in House of Hearts, however, absolutely demands (and deserves) the entire span of Can Can’s spotlight.

“I'm in awe of Queen Astral’s size as an entity and as an experience,” the Cornish alum admits of the larger-than-life role. “I want to do this character justice.”

Oh, Richard, we promise you achieve more than just that.

Read on to learn about what inspires Richard’s iconic blending of masculinity and femininity, his experience of being a Black, queer performer, and what it means to welcome “family” into the audience at the Can Can theatre.

Richard Peacock in the Hitchcock Hotel (2022) | Photo by Nate Watters

THECANCAN.COM: What was your journey in the performing arts before you found yourself on Can Can’s stage?

I went to a boarding arts high school called the Idyllwild Arts Academy for musical theater. When I graduated, I decided that I would rather get more into dance, so I took a year off after graduating and auditioned for a couple of schools. I ended up getting accepted into Cornish in Seattle and started working professionally in musical theater while going to school.

I was working at Village Theatre and at 5th Avenue Theatre. Then, after a few years of doing that, I traveled abroad to India where I danced as an apprentice with an international company called Navdharra India Dance Theater.

When I came back, I did a couple of shows at The 5th and was introduced to the Can Can by one of my cast members because they'd been performing there. I got connected to Shadou, and then my first show at Can Can was Wonderland in 2018.

THECANCAN.COM: What does “identity” mean to you as a performer? How has Can Can’s stripped-back and glittery world helped shape who you are both on and off the stage?

I’ve thought about this a lot. I have friends or people who come see the show and they're like, “So, do you have a persona? Do you become someone else when you're on stage?” And I think that every performer has their own journey finding out what experience they bring to the stage and how they convey it.

For me, I’ve never really felt like I was becoming somebody different or that there was this persona that I was putting on it. It has always felt like a heightened or more exaggerated version of myself, or perhaps an aspect that already exists inside of me.

I think my journey at Can Can has been this strong sense of self. With the way that these shows are set up, performing here empowers you to lean into, and trust yourself, to find the things about you that make you shine.

THECANCAN.COM: You and your characters often emulate a beautiful blend of masculinity and femininity, comedy and sensuality. What – or who – keeps you inspired when portraying these juxtapositions?

I've always resonated with androgyny. I feel like that gray area between masculinity and femininity is the most interesting space, especially with all the ways that you can express it.

The spectrum of comedy and sensuality is the thing that took me a while to find for myself. I feel like I used to get very nervous about being sensual or sexy. And so, I would just fully lean into comedy and whenever the time to be sexy came up, I would be like, “This feels weird!” Can Can has actually really helped me say, “No, no, you can be sexy and you can be sensual!” It is empowering, and it's beautiful.

When it comes to those who inspire me, I think about Eartha Kitt, I think about Billy Porter, I think about Prince. I think about Annie Lennox and Grace Jones. I even think about a few mythological figures. I have an affinity for Hindu culture – which is one of the reasons I ended up in India. There are a lot of beautiful deities that embody this androgyny and the spectrum of gender expression. Those are the things that I feel swirling around inside of me. Those are the things that come to the surface whenever the show starts and I hear that music.

Richard Peacock in the Hitchcock Hotel (2022) | Photo by Nate Watters

THECANCAN.COM: What character of a Can Can show has resonated with you most and why?

I think Frankly My Dear from Hitchcock Hotel is probably the character that resonates with me the most, and I think it's one of the reasons why Hitchcock is my favorite show that I've done at Can Can so far. It’s this story of weirdos all talking about breaking out of these so-called rules that we convince ourselves we have to follow every day and saying, “This is what I want to do, and who I want to be!”

At some point, Frankly tells Jon Kingsley, “I've seen thousands of men just like you. In fact, I used to be one – so buttoned up with the suit and haircut, the blah, blah, blah. It's time to unleash that inner beast you’ve kept caged up, Mr. Kingsley. The choice is yours…”

There’s a moment later on in the show where we do “If You've Got It, Flaunt It.” There's a breakdown in the music – if you listen to the Broadway recording, it’s the girls giggling and squealing in the background – but I was like, “Why don't I take this as an opportunity to empower the girls?” At some point during the run, I found myself telling the audience: “Live your truth!” Oh, I’m getting emotional! It was just this break in the music where everyone is watching these dancers on stage, but I would take the opportunity to make eye contact with somebody in the audience every night when I said that line. I wanted to give that to them. That’s why Frankly My Dear means a lot to me.

THECANCAN.COM: We’ve heard a lot about how many of Can Can’s patrons undergo a transformation after seeing a show. What is it like opening eyes and widening perspectives, one thong at a time?

It's one of the best feelings in the world. I think that it breaks down into many different levels. It's always important to understand that, in a professional aspect, we've entered this agreement – I'm giving you this performance, and you are receiving it. But, I also think it goes beyond that. There's something spiritual that happens. The shows are so up close and personal, and I find that I'm always touched when I talk to people who have allowed themselves to fully lean in and have this cathartic experience.

One of the most important and touching experiences I’ve had after a show, during either Hitchcock or Wonderland, was when I met a mother out for girls’ night. She told me that her son, who was in high school, was just starting to come out and explore his queerness. She just got really emotional and she was like, “It's just really beautiful to see somebody on stage as unapologetic as you are about being queer. I want to bring my son here so that he can see that.” I'm gonna get emotional. Oh my God. Anyway, I told her: “Well in four or five years, you better bring him here.”

It just made me think of my own mom, right? My mom could see that I had this flare. I remember my mom giving me the film version of Kinky Boots as a gift, and she was like, “I want you to watch this movie because I feel like when I watch this character, all I can see is you.” Watching Chiwetel Ejiofor’s portrayal of Lola meant so much to me, especially as this very androgynous character. Even though Billy Porter is brilliant in the musical and imagines that character beautifully, the film’s version of Lola sings her song as a baritone – she’s down in the basement. I don't know how to describe it, but there's a different texture to the way Lola is portrayed in the film that I just find myself in love with.

Another thing that I really appreciate as a person of color, as a Black person who's on that stage, is that it means so much to me when I’m performing and I see people of color in the audience and Black folks in the audience. I’ll tell them, “I love seeing family here!” It warms my heart because it's not all the time. But, when I do see it happen, I know that there is this opportunity for me to be like, “Hey, I see you, and you see me. We're gonna have this moment. There's a very special part of this that is just strictly for you. Here you go. I see you, family.”

Richard Peacock in House of Hearts (2023) | Photo by Nate Watters

THECANCAN.COM: And, finally, what show of the upcoming 2023 season are you most looking forward to?

I'll start with House of Hearts, which has been a very big growth experience for me. Usually, in a lot of the narrative shows that we do, the person who's going on the journey and ends up having the life lesson is Jonny's character. I feel like I've gotten so used to embodying a character that is a little more like, “I'm gonna help you figure it out! ” So, it has been a very huge learning and growing opportunity to be the person who has the 180-degree moment or the moment of like, “Oh and this is the lesson that I need to learn.”

I'm in awe of Queen Astral’s size as an entity and as an experience. I want to do this character justice when portraying this Queen who is center-stage and is constantly just like, “ME!” It has been a wonderful opportunity for growth.

The show that I'm looking forward to the most is the return of Hitchcock Hotel. I was jazzed when I saw that Hitchcock would be coming back. I had heard whisperings that Hitchcock was set up to be a recurring show. So, when they made the official announcement, I was like, “Yes!”

The show was lightning in the bottle for me. But, I think I also had to have this moment with myself because it's very easy to fall in love with the experience or the process of something, you know?

I'll explain it like this. I did a production of Mamma Mia once at The 5th Avenue Theater, and it was another moment of lightning in the bottle. The cast got along really well, the music direction was great, and we had a beautiful time on stage. Then, I went to go do Mamma Mia elsewhere. I went in, and I was like, “Yeah, I love Mamma Mia!” But I learned very quickly that what I loved was the experience that I had at The 5th more so than the show itself.

I know that Hitchcock is different. I know that Hitchcock is a blend of both. I loved the experience of doing Hitchcock for the first time, and I love the show that is Hitchcock. I'm excited to see how the experience in this season differs, what stays, and what changes. Because that is what it is – a living, evolving thing.

Come experience Richard Peacock for yourself in House of Hearts, the Hitchcock Hotel, and much more to come. Buy your tickets here.