Shooting From Below fuses musical theatre, drag, performance art, and movement. The work describes Tamm as “What occurs when you gaslight a dwarf star to the point of combustion.”
For centuries, performance has been written into dwarf bones without consent. They are local celebrities with very limited power wherever they go, from mines to palace courts and from cabaret to the big screen. In modern times, they’ve frequently been a fixture at performing arts institutions and it’s in a setting such as this that Bardot claims her right to get even.
With Shooting From Below, audiences are set to find out what happens when a dwarf star is gaslit to the point of combustion.
With a healthy dose of subversion, Midgitte Bardot questions why she seeks violence and what might happen if the little guys get the upper hand. As well, she muses on what a land might look like if designed and ruled by Midgittes, and whether non-dwarfs could perhaps end up on their knees… All of this and more is delivered in an hour-long show that utilises the artist’s signature take on musical theatre, live art, movement, and drag.
The name Midgitte is pronounced ‘midge-eat’ as opposed to the slur still used against a community who continue to be mocked and harassed by the public and mainstream media.
Shooting From Below comes to the Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room courtesy of Midgitte Bardot AKA artist Tamm Reynolds on 9-11 April 2026.
“I started performing in drag because I have trust issues with audiences. I wasn’t sure if they were laughing or staring at me because I’m hilarious and stunning or because I have dwarfism. As Midgitte (pronounced: midge-eat) Bardot I beat people to the gag. I didn’t plan on being beautiful nor incredible at performing. I was born with my physique and due to society’s response to it, hyper-vigilance was thrust upon me, contributing factor to my gravitational stage presence.
Tamm Reynolds
I can and only wish to punch up, calling myself a French twist on my slur and naming myself after a right-wing (now dead, still French) glamour icon is an attempt of subverting whatever expectations people may have of a performer with dwarfism. I went towards performance art because I eat subversion for breakfast and 10 minutes on a cabaret stage is never enough for me.
I’m not your run of the mill renegade, normative standards have never been made in my size, but I am on a mission. I don’t want inclusion, I demand domination, nowadays it’s the only equitable outcome. We turn heads wherever we go, influence isn’t enough, it’s power we seek”
More About Tamm Reynolds.
Tamm Reynolds makes live art, text-based work and music and is adept at the art of piss-taking. They’re a speechwriter and speaker, always addressing themes of power dynamics, absurdist social commentary, and the pressing issue of small dogs playing with big dogs.
They began performing as their drag alter-ego, Midgitte Bardot in 2014. Since then, they have made the refusal to be slighted on stages into an artform.
Tamm Reynolds has been awarded several prestigious grants and commissions, including the LADA Katherine Araniello Bursary, an Artsadmin Award, a New Queers On The Block Commission, and a Parallel Perspectives Residency. They are also a recipient of a BAC Bloom Commission. Their work has been featured in British Vogue, and they starred in the Royal Court’s “Sound of the Underground.” Additionally, they regularly host experimental performance nights, such as “Midgitte Bardot’s Personal Spot,” produced by Willy Amott, and frequently perform with Duckie, Marlborough Productions, and various cabarets and festivals across the UK. A sold-out work in progress of Shooting From Below, was originally performed at the Southbank Centre in 2024.
