Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe
“You’re born naked and the rest is drag” – RuPaul
On the 5th of September, O2 Academy will be welcoming Kids Klub’s Queens of Comedy Extravaganza tour – hosted by Bianca Del Rio, and including performances from a whole host of drag artists, including Alyssa Edwards, BenDeLaCreme, Lady Bunny and more.
Doors open at 8pm, with tickets priced at £30 plus booking fee – for direct gig info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.
Leading the show is Bianca Del Rio, whose last appearance in Birmingham was back in February as part of her Not Today Satan tour. A self confessed ‘Clown in a gown’ armed with a ‘Rolerdex of Hate’, Del Rio is flanked by Lady Bunny – the only performer of the night to not have appeared as a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Famed as one of the original Alig Club Kids of New York in the 1980s, Lady Bunny performs frequently with Bianca Del Rio as a fixture on the New York gay club scene and has released tracks such as ‘Shame Shame Shame!’ and ‘The 
Pussycat Song’. Joining them is former Miss Gay America, Alyssa Edwards, and BenDeLaCreme, a burlesque performer hailing from Chicago. Bringing up the rear are Charlie Hides, who’s scathing impersonations of celebrities such as Lana Del Ray and Lady Gaga make for prime YouTube viewing material, and singer Katya who performs regularly in her hometown of Boston.
From the information we could find on the world wide web, Birmingham Review can’t confirm whether the Queens of Comedy Extravaganza at the O2 Academy will be turn by turn or a single extended act. But it will be interesting to see how the show juggles the six large personalities they’re bringing to the stage.
And although Birmingham frequently hosts drag nights in venues such as the 
Nightingale Club or Eden Bar, it’s rare for the city to be treated with a show in a venue as large as the O2 Academy. However with O2 Academy announcing even more shows with Klub Kids, such as their Twisted Circus tour in March 2018, so here’s hoping that Birmingham will be treated to a whole catalogue of bigger stage drag events in the coming year.
Bianca Del Rio & Lady Bunny – hosting season 8 premier of RuPaul’s Drag Race (Chicago)
Klub Kids presents the Queens of Comedy Extravaganza, coming to the O2 Academy on 5th September ‘17. For direct event info, including venue details and online ticket sales, click here.
For more on Klub Kids, visit www.klubkids.co.uk
For more from O2 Academy Birmingham including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham
