Despite the disappearance of La Cage Aux Folles to Broadway, drag in London is really quite exciting at the moment. With jobs and even auditions hard to come by, it seems like more and more talented actors/dancers are getting involved in the scene as a way to show off their sextuple pirouettes and beautiful bevels. Madame JoJo's has been leading the way in great drag and putting on some really exceptional cabarets and late-night performances by artists.
On one hand you have the more traditional drag artistes like Dusty O, Soho legends who compere with panache and on the other you have the West End types, whose main mission is to lip-synch perfectly to a bouncy pop tune as they jump into an effortless split. Chief amongst this lot are groups like the Transisters and Velma Celli and Her Screaming Queenz.
The Transisters, though currently seemingly on a bit of a hiatus – original member Ben Bunce is currently touring the country with Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, which may have something to do with it – are a high-quality quintet formed from former La Cage Aux Folles cast members Bunce, Scott Spreadbury and Gary Murphy, as well as Darren Carnall and Matt Krzan (the latter two don’t drag up). Their style is hi-energy pop/r’n’b synching with acrobatics included. Their most recent gig saw SheriDan Smith guest star in a Legally Blonde skit and they are well worth seeing upon their return to the scene.
Rather more recent additions to the scene are Velma Celli And Her Screaming Queenz. Former Chicago cast member Ian Stroughair has gone for something a little different with this cabaret act – he intersperses synching dance routines with his own versions of showtune classics (his vocals are stunning – husky and incredibly powerful). He has also made the clever choice to get a real lady involved in the show – at the group’s latest gig, which inspired this post, Genevieve Nicole (Spamalot) also showcased her powerful vocals and comic abilities.
Stroughair is superbly supported by a drag team of four (including Dane Quixall and Simon Archer), who sadly don’t get to sing live (maybe something for future gigs?) but who provide strpng support on the dance side. Chicago and Chorus Line are just two of the musicals ably parodied by the team, while their version of Glee's Don't Stop Believing (complete with a not-very-impressed wheelchair-bound dancer!) was one of the highlights of the night. This is a much more chilled out evening – where the Transisters go for the club night crowd, the Screaming Queenz take the seated cabaret style instead. This show is a real treat.
There's a real resurgence in drag's popularity on the West End and Broadway at the moment, with La Cage Aux Folles scooping Tonys galore and Priscilla preparing for its Broadway run. It's extremely exciting to see this replicated on a more local, affordable and personal level but at a similarly high standard.
