From December 4–6, Duke Arts presents Taylor Mac’s Holiday Sauce in the Reynolds Industries Theater—a glittering, heartfelt spectacular that celebrates holidays with chosen family and radical, creative joy. Created by award-winning performance artist Taylor Mac, the show honors the multitudes within the LGBTQIA+ community and celebrates the mentors who paved the way.
Holiday Sauce is dedicated to the memory of Mac’s drag mother, Mother Flawless Sabrina, a legendary drag performer and activist who embodied the defiant spirit of authenticity and community that runs through all of Mac’s work.
Each stop on the Holiday Sauce tour crowns local “Queens” – elders whose artistry and advocacy reverberates through community mentorship. For the Durham performances, Duke Arts is delighted to celebrate four extraordinary local leaders who have shaped our region’s cultural landscapes.
Founders of Durham’s influential Manbites Dog Theater, Storer and Hunt built one of North Carolina’s most important independent theater spaces, championing new voices and bold stories for more than thirty years. Their work expanded opportunities for local artists and helped make Durham a vibrant hub for the arts in North Carolina.
A pioneering attorney and advocate, Thompson has spent her career advancing equality through the law. Her work in family and LGBTQIA+ rights has helped transform lives and families across the state of North Carolina. Thompson’s deep commitment to fairness and community well-being has strengthened and empowered families for decades, and her dedication to mentorship and education ensures the continuation of her legacy. Learn more about Sharon Thompson.
A prominent activist based in Durham, Carter brings nearly six decades of movement leadership to the Queens lineup. From 2003-2005 Carter served as co-executive director of Southerners on New Ground (SONG) and established many projects, including the Bayard Rustin Project in honor of the openly gay Civil Rights leader. Co-founder of SONG and the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), Carter’s work models intersectional solidarity and an ongoing dedication to racial, gender, and queer justice.
Throughout the run, Duke Arts also remembers and honors Allan Troxler, the late Durham artist, teacher, and activist whose life of creative resistance continues to inspire this community and whose presence will be deeply missed.
Learn more about the Holiday Sauce tradition here, and book tickets to the show at dukearts.org.
Taylor Mac takes on the holidays to celebrate the season in all its dysfunction. “For all those who find caroling, eggnog and enforced family visits destabilizing” (Los Angeles Times)
Taylor Mac, Ibsen Award winner, MacArthur Fellow, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and theater artist, brings their heartfelt spectacular show, Holiday Sauce, to Duke University from December 4–6. In this conversation, Mac …
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