Amy Lamé

Amy Lamé (born 21st January 1971) is an  American-born, naturalised  British  performer,  writer, TV and radio  presenter, known for her one-woman shows, her performance group Duckie, and LGBT-themed media works.

Early life and debut
Amy Lamé was born and raised in  New Jersey, and moved to London in 1992. In 1994 Lamé made her stage debut in her first one-woman show 'Gay Man Trapped in a Lesbian's Body' as part of  ICA London's 'Spring Exhibitions' programme.

Radio
Lamé presents alongside Danny Baker on BBC London's afternoon show between 3-5pm Monday to Friday. She is the co-founder and co-presenter of HomoLab, a weekly queer cultural and current affairs podcast. On the 1st November 2012 it was reported by Danny Baker that the show had been axed and that Lamé earnt £50 per episode.

[edit] TV
Lamé was a presenter on the BBC2 show GaytimeTV for 3 series and then went on to create and host her own panel game-show, The Staying In Show for Channel 4. Lamé has appeared on ITV reality shows Celebrity Fit Club and CelebAir, and on Market Kitchen She was the mentor for LGB teenagers on C4’s My Big Gay Prom.

In 2009, she appeared in a Doctor Who related documentary titled 'Look 100 Years Younger', included on the DVD release for The Twin Dilemma, in which she discussed with actor Colin Baker the various costumes worn by the character of the Doctor over the decades. In 2012 she appeared on Channel 4's live satirical comedy/news programme 10 O'Clock Live to discuss the current state of the National Health Service.

[edit] Writing
Lamé has contributed short stories to the anthology Typical Girls. She also writes regular features on culture, travel and food for The Times.

From May 2010 to May 2011, she was Mayoress of London Borough of Camden alongside Mayor Jonathan Simpson.

[edit] Duckie and other works
In 1995 Lamé co-founded the Olivier-award-winning performance-club-night and collective, Duckie, with Simon Strange, which she hosts every Saturday night at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern. In 1996 she curated, produced and hosted Keep The Faith at Tate Britain which explored the links between the gallery's permanent collection and faith. She commissioned new work to be shown in the gallery for one night only including an interactive performance installation tea party with 30 Anglican priests; Joshua Sofaer's tale of meeting his Jews for Jesus missionary namesake, Joshua Sofaer, in Namesake: The Story of a Name; Jonathan Allen/Tommy Angel's performance exploring evangelism and belief using magic and illusion; and a Buddhist tour of the gallery. The event had the highest ever recorded number of participants - over 5,000 - for a Late at Tate.

In 1996 her second one-woman show, 'Cum Manifesto', a show about safer sex for gay men, debuted on Hampstead Heath and toured to gay male cruising grounds around the UK and Scandinavia. Working with the Duckie collective in 1997, Lamé produced and hosted The World's First Lesbian Beauty Contest.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">In 2006 Lamé created her third one-woman show 'Amy Lamé’s Mama Cass Family Singers'. The show debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1em;">[8]  and was later performed at the Soho Theatre, London, toured the UK and performed atThe Powerhouse, Brisbane, Australia<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1em;">[10]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">She founded the social enterprise Pom Pom International and has held pom-pom making parties at Duckie, London's Lesbian and Gay Festival 2008 and in Northern Ireland where she held the 'Pom-poms for Peace Project'.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;">

Politics
Lamé is an active member of the Labour party. She is mentioned in Sarah Brown's 2011 memoir Behind the Black Door, where she details Lamé's hen night celebrations in Downing Street.