Rumi Missabu - The Cockettes

Rumi Missabu - The Cockettes - in conversation with David Eastaugh

Rumi Missabu is a founding member of the San Francisco-based, glittery drag-spectacle known as The Cockettes. A prominent group within the experimental, psychedelic theater and arts scene, the Cockettes were known for pushing the boundaries of drag and sexuality and exploring gender fluidity from the 1960s on. One of their most well-known and often-revived productions is Pearls over Shanghai, a mock-operetta set in 1937 Shanghai in which issues of miscegenation and white slavery are explored. Film credits for Missabu include the documentaries The Cockettes and Uncle Bob and the short The Glitter Emergency. Throughout the 2000s, Missabu continued to collaborate with artists and musicians as well as be involved in revival shows of Cockette productions