Justin Elizabeth Sayre Is A 40-Year-Old Woman - Justin Elizabeth Sayre on bringing Justin Elizabeth Sayre Is A 40-Year-Old Woman to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Award-winning New York writer and performer Justin Elizabeth Sayre brings their celebrated solo show - Justin Elizabeth Sayre Is A 40-Year-Old Woman - to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Inspired by the great divas of old Hollywood, the show is a sharp-witted and deeply affirming exploration of ageing, queer identity and refusing to disappear, reclaiming the idea of the "40-year-old woman" as a state of mind: bold, self-possessed, foul-mouthed and fabulous. We caught up with Justin Elizabeth Sayre to find out more about the show.

For audiences coming in fresh, what kind of evening can they expect from Justin Elizabeth Sayre Is a Forty-Year-Old Woman?

For me and I hope for my audiences, it’s an evening of celebration. I see this show as a huge expression of joy, and I’m hoping to share that joy with everyone who gives me their time. It’s the joy of knowing who you are, and I want everyone who comes to the show to feel more confident, comfortable, and grateful for the life we’re all living. Being a “40-Year-Old Woman,” is all about loving who you are, accepting all the good and the bad and enjoying the chance to be so much more. If I can leave folks with that, I know I’ll have done my job, and they’ll have had a marvelous time. 

The title is instantly memorable. When did you know it was the right frame for the Show?

Well, it comes out of story that I tell in the show, but I think that “A-ha,” moment, if I can be so bold as to Oprah you, was realizing that really, my whole life, I’ve always wanted to be a 40-Year-Old Woman. I always wanted to have that kind of surety, that gravitas and grace, that style and wit, and somehow, around turning 40 myself, I saw that I was. 

I loved that in some ways I’d gotten there. I mean I still have a far way to go, but I guess that’s the blessing of this show, I get to begin a practice with the audience of giving us all our own 40-year-old womanhood. It’s a rallying cry for me, and I hope for everyone who sees the show.  

This piece celebrates confidence and self-possession rather than youth. Was that a response to something you were noticing culturally, personally or both?

You know, I think it came from my own fear, if I’m totally honest. I think that for a long time, I thought of getting older as something terrifying and unknown. Some of this comes from growing up in the vacuum of gay culture in the wake of the AIDS crisis. Growing older was, for so many beautiful people, simply not an option, and I think a really ugly ageism grew out of that fear. 

For myself, I was never a twink. Even when I was very young and nubile, I was told I had an “old soul.” Now my soul matches the rest, but I feel revitalized and ready. I don’t feel old, I feel eager. I feel like I finally, finally, know who and what I am, in a way that feels so blessedly sure, that I can’t imagine being dismissed or discounted, because baby, I’m just getting started. I’m in my Auntie Mame phase, and I’m thrilled about it!

You draw on classic screen and stage heroines. Which of those women has most influenced your voice as a performer?

Oh, that’s a hard one. I mean, legally, my middle name is Elizabeth after Elizabeth Taylor. But as a performer, I would have to say maybe Judy Garland. I created an event in New York called Night of a Thousand Judy’s, a celebration of all things Judy which raises money for the Ali Forney Center for Homeless LGBTQ youth. It’s a show that I’m extremely proud of and that I’ve hosted and written for fifteen years. That show grew out of my love for Garland. She’s always my gold standard, because I think her enormous gift more than her incredible voice or her tremendous acting skill was her ability to connect with her audience. She lived and died for them, and every time I go on stage, I try to do just that. I want that connection. I want you to feel seen, heard, and felt. That’s all Judy for me. With maybe a little Tallulah. And a Bette Davis rising.

Why do you think that fear of becoming “less relevant” is so widespread?

I think we all have to take a moment to think on what is relevant. We all live in little niches now. There’s no real monoculture anymore, so I guess we all have to figure out where, and how, we want to be involved. Like, what would be relevant today? Do I have to open squishy dumplings on TikTok or care about Taylor Swift? I certainly hope not. It’s not that I’m not interested in the world, but I’m more interested in my world. 

I think we’re all in a crisis of fashion versus style. Style is timeless because it’s not about trends or fads; it’s about a true understanding of one’s own gifts and graces. When we get into fashion, that’s everchanging and usually has to do with marketing or, God help us all, the cursed algorithm. I am too selfish to have even a moment of my life dictated by anyone but me.  

You’ve built a career in many forms, from novels to television to live performance. What keeps drawing you back to the stage?

I think it’s that connection that I talked about before. I love the stage. I love that sense of immediacy and danger. I don’t think there’s anything like it, and while I’ve loved all the art forms I’ve been very fortunate to work in, the theatre is always my happiest place. It’s been that way since I was a kid, and even now, there’s nowhere in the world that I feel safer or happier than on a stage. It’s a gift. 

Do you think conversations around ageing are beginning to shift, or does youth still dominate too much of our cultural imagination?

I think we’re in an interesting place about aging. I mean those boomers are holding on for dear life, aren’t they? I don’t really think any of that generational stuff is serious, but maybe that’s a very geriatric millennial thing to say. 

I think there’s an infantilization that seems pretty rife to me. Everyone wants to be fifteen, you know? All the movies are made for fifteen-year-old boys, and the internet is mostly made for fifteen-year-old girls, but no one really wants to be an adult. No one wants to grow up. I didn’t want to be fifteen when I was fifteen. I wanted to have cocktail parties and brilliant conversation. 

I think we have to change the paradigm not just in how we talk about age, but also when we talk about the gifts age can bring us. We don’t have to lose the play or the silliness, but you know, wisdom can be fun. Knowing stuff is cool. Knowing who you are is a blessing. 

Edinburgh audiences are famously eclectic. What kind of atmosphere are you hoping to create in the room each day?

I have this philosophy where I think relationships are like rooms of a house. You have living room friends, who you chit-chat with and grab a drink. You have dining room friends, who you have dinner with and maybe play games, and then you have kitchen friends who go to the real intimacy of things. The kitchen is where the magic happens. I want an evening for just us, like we’re all in the kitchen, getting real about life, and loving who we are. I want that kind of fun and interplay with my audience. 

Justin Elizabeth Sayre is a 40-Year-Old Woman will be performed at 6:10pm at Underbelly Bristo Square from 5^th -30^th August.

Booking link: https://www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/events/event/justin-elizabeth-sayre-is-a-40-year-old-woman