In a dark and cozy bar in the heart of the East Village, New Yorkers meet to talk about dead ladies. Beginning in 2018, the KGB Bar hosts the “Dead Ladies Show” bi-monthly, where guests present eccentric and comedic lectures about women who made an impact, big or small, during their lifetimes.
Created by two German creatives, Katy Derbyshire and Florian Duijsens, the original show debuted in Berlin in 2015. It was brought to New York City in July 2018 by Molly O’Laughlin Kemper, a freelance translator and writer. She hosts the East Village show alongside co-host Sheila Enright, a writer and editor based in New York City.
“We found that everybody is hungry for intellectual but approachable feminist entertainment and history,” Enright told WSN.
The KGB Bar has a long history of hosting village creatives, from poetry slams to open mic nights. They started in a little clearing on the bar’s floor, before outgrowing it and moving to a slightly larger performance space in the attic. This year, the show moved for the last time to the newly renovated 99-seat Kraine Theater on the bar’s first floor.
In their September performance, the eclectic space filled quickly, with newcomers and regulars who mingled freely and ordered drinks as if they were about to see an underground concert rather than a series of lectures. When the show began, Enright welcomed the crowd and announced the presenters.
“We only have three rules for our dead ladies: they have to have been dead for at least a year, they have to have identified as a woman at some point in their lifetime and, perhaps most importantly, no fascists,” Enright said, receiving cheers from the crowd.
The show featured three presenters whose subjects varied widely — from an ancient Egyptian princess, Zenobia, to Rose Schneiderman who led the labor movement in New York City, to June Bacon-Bercey, the first African-American woman to earn a degree in meteorology. The sold-out house laughed at the presenters’ quips and ordered more drinks during intermission. The affordable tickets — $15 at the door or $10 online — help keep the show accessible, contributing to the show’s success.
“It’s nice to have a place to learn that’s fun and also reasonably priced,” said returning audience member, Stephanie Shwartz.
Kemper, the original host of the New York City production, is hoping to fill that niche again in Kansas City as she moves west this fall, with plans to debut the first event by late winter or early spring. Back in New York, the show is partnering with Green-Wood Cemetery for a walking tour on Sunday, Oct. 26, and will return to the Kraine Theater on Thursday, Nov. 13.
“There are so many dead ladies out there who are so interesting — it’s wild,” Enright said. “Everyone has a dead lady on their mind, whether they realize it or not … or maybe it’s just us.”
More information for both events is available on their Instagram and Stubstack.
Contact Rebecca O’Reilly at [email protected].