Here at THEGAYUK.com it has to be said we love drag. It’s an art form that when done well is beyond sublime – some of the best drag roles, however, have been witnessed on film.
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2020
Here are all the latest drag shows and films that Netflix has to offer for streaming in the UK.
Drag Race star Alyssa Edwards rules the dance school and the night clubs in this warts and all, fly on the wall reality series. Reality TV at its cattiest.
The Death and Life Of Marsha P Johnson, Documentary
Marsha was known as one of the fearless faces of the gay-rights movement. The cops ruled her death a suicide, but her friends aren’t so sure and demand answers.
Hurricane Bianca, From Russia With Hate, Comedy
Bianca Del Rio returns for another filmic outing when she is lured to Russia under false pretences. She soon turns the country up-side-down.
Paris Is Burning, Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVueHRtpBbg
This Sundance prize-winning documentary is an intimate portrait of 1980’s Harlem drag balls: a world of fierce competition, sustenance, and survival.
Pose
Set in 1987, this drama series follows Blanca as she starts her own house. Starring Billy Porter and Evan Peters. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck and Steven Canals.
RuPaul’s Drag Race
This has pretty much become a staple for Netflix and has helped cement RuPaul as the world’s most bankable Drag Queen. It currently has 12 seasons of the show available to stream. Catch up with all your favourite DQs from Bianca Del Rio to Trixie Mattel.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked
Next from the RuPaul treasure trove of content is Untucked. Although there’s only one season of this, but the reality show gives you the chance to go “backstage” and get all the juicy gossip.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars
A chance to catch up with your favourite queens from past seasons. Netflix only carries season 4 of the show, but if you need more RuPaul – then you can always watch RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular
What’s camper than Christmas? RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular is. Watch as Latrice Royale, Shangela and Kim Chi battle it out to become the number 1 Christmas queen.
Super Drags
Campy, adult animated series with drag queens saving the gay community for an evil nemesis.
Trixie Mattel Moving Parts
Drag Queen superstar Trixie Mattel allows the cameras into her life to document the highs and lows, post-RPDR in this intimate film.
Instagram DQ Phoenix has taken to imitating America’s 45th on her Instagram with hilarious outcomes.
Taking a word (or two) a day, Phoenix is slowly creating a sort of dictionary of Donald Trump terms, helping people to understand the overused words the President says on a daily basis.
So far we’ve seen descriptions of “Tremendous”, “Chicken”, “Impeach”, “Melania” and of course, “Trump”.
Today’s word of the day, saw Phoenix explain what “Trump” means.
The videos, which the drag queen has titled “Today’s Trump Word of the Day”, are keeping fans across the globe amused, especially when explaining how to say the words – like ‘Tremendous’, which she explains must be said like “your lips are on fire”.
For Melania, the President’s wife, Phoenix explains “You may think it’s a viral disease from China, but it’s not. It’s my wife, so one might say, ‘Melania, get back in the plane’
For “Impeach”, Phoenix explains, “It’s a new one for me… no, it’s not the colour of my skin or a peach in something. It’s something they do to try and get rid of a fantastic and amazing, terrific president.
And our favourite “Tremendous”, which the real President Trump happens to say repeatedly, Phoenix explains, “you say it like your lip are on fire… you can use it with anything… If there’s a fire it’s a tremendous fire – hunger – tremendous hunger, Trump? Tremendous.
South Asian Drag has been kept behind the veil for far too long. Brown Drag Exists and it is time for it to be made visible in all spaces, virtual and physical.
On the 11th April Buzzfeed released a list compiled by The Drag Bible, an influential platform highlighting drag performers and drag culture. This list, titled ‘Forty Drag Queens You Need to Follow On Instagram’ was globally diverse in terms of race and geography, however, it failed to include any drag artist of South Asian heritage. After social media commentary on this omission which resulted in the deleting of the list by Buzzfeed, the Drag Bible publicly acknowledged this mishap and strived to be fully inclusive. Buzzfeed however, is yet to comment.
Unfortunately, this is a trend prevalent in mainstream drag and LGBT+ communities, be them virtual on social media platforms, or in physical spaces such as bars, clubs and Prides where few or no South Asian drag performers are featured talent. It is particular to note that the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise has not featured a single queen of South Asian heritage in its many international variants. The South Asian subcontinent does not have its own Drag Race yet, however, the diaspora is far and wide, permeating all corners of the globe including the USA, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia, the West Indies and Africa. To suggest that queens from a South Asian background don’t exist internationally is to be a perpetrator of erasure.
Blocked by The Drag Bible
This is a harsh reality facing those from a South Asian background wanting to follow a career in drag, cabaret, burlesque and the performing arts.
We have to fight the hardest and the loudest in order to be heard or our art to be seen. In many cases we are denied work and opportunities because our art is either not understood, too political or too risky. More often than not this is down to pure ignorance, a lack of research, the unwillingness to listen, understand and blatant racism.
Not ensuring to include a diverse panoply of performers encompassing all diverse backgrounds is risking contributing to the erasure of identities and experiences.
“Erasure is tantamount to racism”
Erasure is tantamount to racism and as performers, we wish for opportunities to be included at the table of mainstream drag.
In this spirit, South Asian Drag Artists from across the world and different spheres of drag [AFAB, Trans, Drag Kings, Drag Queens etc.] came together to compile this campaign video and spill the masala tea.
#BrownDragExists
#BrownDragExists
A response from The Drag Bible was made on their Twitter account on the 16th April:
Netflix has become a bit of a home for the Drag world, especially with its commitment to stream lots of RuPaul content… So what other drag queen shows are worth the watch?
Paris Is Burning
Paris Is Burning is a must-watch film about the 80’s and 90s voguing scene in New York. Deeply emotional and insightful viewing and a slice of drag, trans and LGBT+ history. Not to be missed.
This has pretty much become a staple for Netflix and has helped cement RuPaul as the world’s most bankable Drag Queen. It currently has 12 seasons of the show available to stream. Catch up with all your favourite DQs from Bianca Del Rio to Trixie Mattel.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked
Next from the RuPaul treasure trove of content is Untucked. Although there’s only one season of this, but the reality show gives you the chance to go “backstage” and get all the juicy gossip.
RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars
A chance to catch up with your favourite queens from past seasons. Netflix only carries season 4 of the show, but if you need more RuPaul – then you can always watch RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular.
RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular
What’s camper than Christmas? RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular is. Watch as Latrice Royale, Shangela and Kim Chi battle it out to become the number 1 Christmas queen.
Dancing Queen
Drag Race star Alyssa Edwards rules the dance school and the night clubs in this warts and all, fly on the wall reality series. Reality TV at its cattiest.
Pose
Set in 1987, this drama series follows Blanca as she starts her own house. Starring Billy Porter and Evan Peters. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck and Steven Canals.
Super Drags
Campy, adult animated series with drag queens saving the gay community for an evil nemesis.
Trixie Mattel Moving Parts
Drag Queen superstar Trixie Mattel allows the cameras into her life to document the highs and lows, post-RPDR in this intimate film.
The Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson
As she fights the tide of violence against trans women, activist Victoria Cruz probes the suspicious 1992 death of her friend Marsha P. Johnson. An emotional documentary film about one of the un-sung heroes of the Stonewall movement in New York.
Sharron Davies is taking heat on social media after likening drag to blackface. The former athlete, taking to Twitter, asked if anyone else was fed up of drag shows before stating that drag was a “parody of a real woman” before likening it to the wholly unacceptable practice of blackface.
Her tweet quickly found Davies ratio’d as nearly 1600 people took to comment on the tweet, while the tweet received only 360 retweets.
The majority of the tweets were negative towards Davies’ comments, with many criticising her “stereotyping of women” and ‘narrow mindedness”.
The 57-year-old then reeled off a list of what “real women” do including, juggling kids, cooking wholesome food, doing the laundry and other house chores. She also included “holding down a job” dealing with period pains and “leaky boobs” from breastfeeding.
She finished her tweet by telling drag queens to stop with the stereotypes.
Michelle Visage, judge of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the only Drag show currently broadcasting on mainstream media in the UK (and even then it’s on the digital-only platform BBC 3) hit back at the MBE saying, “or you can see it for what drag actually is, a celebration and homage of all things feminine.
Celebrity Big Brother star India Willougby has slammed the idea of kids doing drag.
(C) MiniKweenKeeKee / INSTAGRAM
India Willougby has spoken out about children performing in drag, saying that drag is “no place for young kids”, before adding that it is a “slippy slope” which could open them to ‘all sorts of abuse and grooming’.
Speaking about Kween Kee Kee who at the age of nine has become one of the world’s most famous drag children, India was clear in her objection to the notion of children getting involved with this type of performance art.
In a tweet, the news presenter wrote “Can no-one see why this is wrong?” in connection to a story about how a nine-year-old drag queen, has become a hit on Instagram.
India continued, “Drag is dripping in sexual innuendo. No place for young kids. Involving kids is a slippy slope. Open to all sorts of abuse, grooming etc.”.
India also asked that people drop the connection between drag and transgender people, adding, “Despite the best efforts of Stonewall and sections of LGBT to make it so, the two are completely unrelated”.
During her time on Celebrity Big Brother, the series which also starred Courtney Act, India Willoughby made it known that she was phobic of drag queens.
★★★★★ | Myra Dubois: We Wish You A Myra Christmas, London
It’s Christmas at the Soho Theatre in the Myra Dubois: We Wish You A Myra Christmas show.
And what a Christmas, and show, it is. Myra Dubois, the award-winning as seen on television, and perhaps the hardest working drag queen on the scene has brought a Christmas show to London, in May, and it works!
Dubois, who just last month was in Bernie Dieters Little Death Club at the Underbelly, and regularly performs at Vauxhall’s Royal Vauxhall Tavern and Clapham’s Two Brewers, is in top form in her ill-timed Christmas show, and all the favorite Myra gags and jokes are there for you adMyra-ers, including bits where she picks on the audience and gives one lucky audience member a gift in the form of a christmas jacket (and hat) that Myra takes back at the end of the show – the scrooge!
But it’s her version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” that will have you, and the rest of the audience, laughing in tears. Go see Myra Dubois: We Wish You A Myra Christmas show pronto, it ends this Saturday!
Myra DuBois: We Wish You A Myra Christmas plays at Soho Theatre until the 1st June, book tickets here.
Drag events have that unique ability to bring fun and excitement to all areas of the community. While they’re a huge draw for the LGBT community, these events provide fun for everyone.
But what really makes a night at a drag show really stand out from the crowd? Perhaps the biggest global events will answer that question. Here are five shows that you simply cannot miss.
If one TV show seeped beyond the reaches of the LGBT community to earn a wider audience, it’s RuPaul’s Drag Race. A reality show designed to find the best drag artist around, it even drew a grudging approval from a host of straight viewers.
The good news for all is that the Drag Race is on tour and in 2019, it’s a global phenomenon. Hosted by Michelle Visage under the title of Werq the World, all of your favourite superstars from the show are here. The event takes in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia so there really is no escape from the Drag Race phenomenon and while the Tour is already underway, it runs right through to the end of 2019 with tickets left for all remaining shows.
Michelle Visage will be your host for the live show and will introduce such great acts as Detox, Bob, Asia. Peppermint and Shangela to name just five of the cast. For fans of the TV show, this is not to be missed. Even if RuPaul’s Drag Race has skipped your radar, this is a night of pure fun that has to be seen to be believed.
Austin Drag Festival
Austin Drag Festival is a fixed event that doesn’t go out on tour – but it’s one of the longer-established events on the drag circuit. For those in the vicinity or for fans who want to make a special trip, it’s well worth the expense.
Held across four days in November, this event attracts hundreds of drag artists from all over the world and it boasts over 400 performances across the weekend. Meet and greets are available with your favourite stars while there is a drag market and even a workshop where you can learn the ropes and become a top drag act yourself.
If your appetite has been whetted by the Austin Drag Festival, the official website offers information on flights and accommodation to make this the most memorable of weekends for fans of drag.
Some of the greatest drag events across the world are held in some exotic locations across far-flung corners of the globe, but for those who are confined to barracks between now and the end of the year, there is a way to enjoy your favourite drag artists in most LGBT cities – at drag queen bingo.
As drag events go, drag queen bingo perhaps an unlikely pairing in a game that is thought of more as a pastime for straight ladies over a certain age. The original concept of Drag Queen Bingo was dreamt up by Judy Werle in Seattle in the 1990s. It was a fun way for the early LGBT community to get together to play and to raise money for the AIDS charity Chicken Soup Brigade at the same time.
While the game remains popular in the US, drag queen bingo is now being held in Amsterdam, London and Berlin. It’s like conventional bingo but with a drag caller and a whole feast of fun so get dressed and look forward to a great night out. Intrigued? Head over to Wink Bingo to learn more about some of the best drag bingo events.
Christmas Queens
The festive season is the perfect time to celebrate all things relating to drag artists and events and Christmas Queens is your perfect partner. This is predominantly a UK event which has been held over the holiday season for a number of years and it tours up and down the country. There is, however, a clear focus on towns and cities with a strong LGBT community including sunny and welcoming Brighton down on the South Coast.
The show largely features the best artists from the UK but there are appearances from overseas acts, too. The festive theme is carried on throughout the performance with sketches and songs including We Three Queens and a unique LGBT friendly look at Let It Snow.
Since its launch, Christmas Queens has grown steadily in size and the 2018 tour will take in 10 dates in the UK before crossing overseas and adding a further six shows across Europe from Amsterdam to Helsinki.
Tickets are widely available from online sources but if you can’t get along, don’t worry because the official site’s webstore has a host of merchandise including CDs and downloads.
Partysane
For so long, Berlin has been a mecca for drag queens, as one look at David Bowie’s music video for Boys Keep Swinging can demonstrate. Watch the video and you’ll see the Thin White Duke dressed as drag queens of various vintages. The drag scene in Germany’s capital preceded Bowie and his legacy lives on, partly in the crazy Partysane event.
In many ways, this event could be the decadent Berlin of Cabaret, and there is certainly a harder edge to the Partysane shows. The host, Gloria Viagra, is the moustache-toting temptress and this is an event that combines the best in drag entertainment with a traditional club night featuring some of the hottest DJs in town.
Not able to get to Berlin? Don’t worry – the Partysane roadshow goes on tour. In 2014, it made its London debut at the Dalston Superstore and it has been gradually making its way around Europe. This is not always a regular show on the annual drag circuit so keep a close eye out for future dates. Even if the event isn’t on the forthcoming calendar then don’t worry as you are sure to find the iconic Gloria Viagra, dubbed as the Empire State Building of the Berlin scene, in one of the many drag clubs around the city.
London has a rich history of drag from the Royal Vauxhall Tavern to the now-shuttered Black Cap, here’s the best place to go to catch some drag in the UK’s capital.
Central London
Admiral Duncan
If you’re in central London, i.e. Soho, there’s really only one place to find drag every night and that’s at the Admiral Duncan. It’s a friendly traditional pub in the heart of Soho (Old Compton Street). It has regular drag from the likes of Mary Mac, Sandra, Baga Chipz and Cookie Monstar. See what’s going on at their website.
Halfway II Heaven
Is another great haunt to see some traditional drag queen shenanigans with queens appearing almost every day of the week, right on the doorstep of Trafalgar Square (where Pride In London is hosted). Whether you’re into karaoke, lip syncing or good old fashion cabaret this venue is a must watch. See what’s going on at their website.
East London
The Glory
The home of East London Drag, the Glory is a highly rated queer space in the heart of East London with events almost every night of the week. See what’s going on at their website.
South London
Royal Vauxhall Tavern
One of the oldest, if not the oldest venue in London just south of the river in Vaxuhall. With shows from Duckie to David Hoyle the Royal Vauxhall Tavern offers a cool, queer as f**k experience that mustn’t miss if you’re in London town. See what’s going on at their website.
Two Brewers
This is a MUST go venue if you’re in south London (Clapham). It’s legendary and it’s drag from wall to wall. It’s also got a great value for money bar and friendly bar staff. See what’s going on at their website.
Drag Race’s “first cis-gender” considered contestant has said that she would consider auditioning for the UK version of the show.
Speaking with THEGAYUKFelicia Heals said “who knows where life will take me” when we asked her whether she’d consider enterting the greatly anticipated UK version of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which is due to air in the UK on BBC 3 in 2019.
Felicia made headlines around the world, when Drag Race Thailand showed a segement where she auditioned to be part of the show. However, unfortunately she didn’t make the top 14, but has vowed to try out again for season three as long as the process remained “open to other genders“.
The bio-queen also paid tribute to UK drag telling THEGAYUK that she was a fan of British drag, “you guys have some amazing queens” but said that the flight to the UK from Thailand might be a little too far for her to join the show.
Championing non-traditional drag, which usually sees men dressed as heightened versions of women, Russian-born Heals said that she hoped the UK would be as open as the Thailand version, saying “I do hope the UK version will be open to all genders like drag race thailand is”.
Casting is currently open for the UK version with queens urged to fill out an application at the Talent Talks website.
Drag RaceThailand has cast its very first cis-gender drag queen called Felicia Heals in the upcoming series on the audition show, which premiered last week. The queen says she’s a “dominatrix diva with the double Ds to prove it” and has only been doing drag for 12 months.
Unfortunately, Felicia didn’t end up in the top 14 queens, but told THEGAYUK.com that she plans to enter Season 3 of Drag Race Thailand, saying “I’m going to be auditioning for season 3 if it (is) open to other genders”
Speaking to GSN Heals says that she decided against being a drag king revealing “it didn’t feel right”.
Felicia Heals has said that she hopes that her appearance in the show will encourage other cisgender drag queens, also known as “bio queens” to be “more accepted and loved”.
