BREVIEW: Boulet Brothers’ Dragula @ The Nightingale Club 07.09.18

Boulet Brothers’ Dragula @ The Nightingale Club 07.09.18

Words & illustrations by Emily Doyle

The freaks and geeks of Birmingham’s drag scene have arrived at The Nightingale Club in their droves to welcome the Boulet Brothers on their first UK Tour. Dragula has finally made it to the UK, and it’s about time.

For the uninitiated, Dragula is to Ru Paul’s Drag Race what I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here is to Pop Idol. The show started life as a live talent show on the LA and San Francisco nightlife scene, before becoming a straight-to-YouTube TV show with a cult audience. It’s since been picked up by Canadian cable channel OutTV, and with its third season in the works it shows no signs of slowing down.

The Boulet Brothers emerge to the strains of the show’s growling theme music. They are bathed in red light. Making no assumptions about their audience’s familiarity with the show, the brothers Dracmorda and Swanthula brief the crowd on Dragula’s aim to, “locate, articulate and elevate alternative forms of drag.” They make no bones about their stance on inclusivity, throwing only a little bit of shade at the Drag Race model when they declare that it, “doesn’t matter what’s between your legs” in drag. 

Vander Van Odd - Boulet Brothers’ Dragula @ The Nightingale Club 07.09.18Once the formalities are out the way, the Boulet Brothers introduce the first act of the evening: “Birmingham, put those filthy hands together, and welcome to the stage, Vander Von Odd!”

Resplendent in a Batwing cape and winged eyeliner sharp enough to cut a man, Vander Von Odd sets the tone for the evening. Crowned the ‘World’s First Drag Supermonster’ at the conclusion of Dragula’s first season, Odd has a lot to answer for. Her first performance is an impassioned lip sync routine to some euphoric electropop from Sweden’s iamamiwhoami. It’s triumphant, and culminates in an in-your-face nude illusion reveal. When Odd returns to the stage later in the evening, however, she’s upped her game – stumbling out into the spotlight, an umbilical cord of red silk tied around her waist, and disappearing behind the curtains. She wears a white latex ballerina outfit and picks her way across the stage en pointe to the strains of ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’. It’s fragile, arresting, and heartbreaking.

James Majesty - Boulet Brothers’ Dragula @ The Nightingale Club 07.09.18Not all of Dragula’s performers are pitching quite such high brow acts. Season 2 runner up, James Majesty, treats us to two salacious performances, spraying the crowd with beer and slapping the faces of the front row. A provocative routine to glam rockers Semi Precious Weapons sees Majesty fully nude by the end of the song – there’s no illusion here. Alongside her drag, Majesty has been both a sex worker and educator; her shameless attitude is contagious.

Season 1’s Meatball injects a little more humour into the evening with her performances. Strutting on stage with an old McDonald’s advert playing on the screen behind her, she adjusts her yellow bodysuit and produces a paper bag. Her wig is bright red, yellow highlights at the front mirroring the golden arches on the screen behind her. Her lipsync drips with attitude, cutting between Ke$ha’s ‘Woman’ and a monologue ripped straight from YouTube about a woman being denied an extra McRib at a drive-thru (if you’re as clueless as I was, search for ‘tell ‘em Carla sent you’ and all will be revealed). By the end she is tossing room temperature hamburgers (mercifully still wrapped) from the paper bag into the audience. The gentleman behind me catches one and eats it with vigour.

Meatball - Boulet Brothers’ Dragula @ The Nightingale Club 07.09.18The Boulet Brothers take some time out of the show to record a message from the crowd to Season 2’s Victoria Black, who’s had to pull out of the tour due to illness. In their words, however, her loss is our gain. Atlanta performer, Abhora, is here to take her place and presents what might be the most disarming performances of the night.

The word “Abhora” has barely left our host’s lips before the lights dim, and the crashing guitar of Marilyn Manson’s ‘Astonishing Panorama of the End Times’ fades in over the PA system. At the far end of the venue Abhora emerges, wading through the crowd on stilts. She’s draped in bin bags, looking like Disney’s Maleficent if Debbie Harry did her wardrobe. Perched atop her backcombed grey wig are a pair of Mickey Mouse ears. She throws herself against the room’s lit-up pillars, trusting audience members to get out of the way in time. As John 5’s revolting speed metal guitar solo kicks in, Abhora holds aloft a plush Donald Duck, strung up to a wooden crucifix like a marionette. She whirls it around as the crowd ducks to avoid being hit, before collapsing in a daring stage dive.

Perhaps the most hotly awaited performer of the evening is the winner of Dragula Season 2, Biqtch Puddin‘. She has a reputation for pushing the boundaries of weird, even in drag circles. Her first performance of the evening is centred around the unsolved homicide of child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey, a theme clearly chosen for its tastelessness. However, it would probably be more provocative to an American audience – or at least one who weren’t mostly children themselves in 1996 when it played out in the US media.Abhora - Boulet Brothers’ Dragula @ The Nightingale Club 07.09.18

Puddin’s second performance, however, is bang on the money. Dressed in a grubby boiler suit, her hair and makeup feel like a nod to Tim Curry’s Dr Frank-n-Furter. Her lipsync, an old school mix of Whitney Houston, Tiffany, and Berlin, tells the tale of a janitor’s forbidden love for her anthropomorphised cleaning supplies. It’s as surreal as it sounds, and comes to a head with Puddin’ smeared with an ominous brown fluid as she applies a plunger to her face. It’s stomach turning, and it’s exactly what the Dragula fans are here for.

Towards the end of the evening, Dracmorda and Swanthula take some time out of the proceedings for a quick Q&A with the crowd. They refuse to comment on the forthcoming third season, but are otherwise happy to talk about anything from the show’s origins to break-up advice. (“Be polite about it, OK, because you could make a good friend out of that person. Look at what you agree with them on, just make the best of it… otherwise, if they really are awful you could just run ‘em down with your car, that’s another option.”) Fans are clearly heartened to have the chance to put their questions straight to the Boulet Brothers; in a community where the only real mainstream representation of drag queens are Ru Paul’s VH1 vetted glamazons, Dragula represents a punk spirit at the heart of the art form. It’s a breath of fresh air, and a call to arms for would be performers. The brothers have time for one more question:

Aside from filth, horror and glamour, what’s at the heart of a true monster?” muses Swanthula, before her brother interrupts – “Tenacity, tenacity, tenacity!” Dracmorda cries. “If you’re going to become the ‘World’s Drag Supermonster’, it is going to be difficult! It is not Ru Paul’s Drag Race-to-stardom! It is gonna kick your ass, you’re gonna have to perform in crazy places, but you know what? The fans are gonna be passionate, they’re gonna love you, and you’re gonna do fucking amazing.”

It’s on that note that the Boulet Brothers clear the stage for the night’s closing performance, and prepare for a meet and greet. There are smiles all round and the room is abuzz with speculation for the show’s next season. The brothers hint that some UK talent might make an appearance, but refuse to give any more away – it seems British fans will have to wait for it to air to see if they can spot any familiar faces…

For more on Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, visit www.bouletbrothersdragula.com

For more from Eat Sleep Drag Repeat, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.esdrevents.co.uk

For more on The Nightingale Club, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.nightingaleclub.co.uk

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FEATURE: Life’s a drag at Birmingham Pride

Nora Virus at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Words by Eleanor Sutcliffe & Ashleigh Goodwin / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

I am not a very social individual.

Approaching strangers for a conversation has always been a fear of mine; the idea of forcing myself to interact with someone whom I have never met fills me with unspeakable dread. I’m the type of person who crosses the road to avoid conversation. It’s ridiculous. Which is exactly why, as I walk hastily into Birmingham Pride, I wonder if I’ve made a terrible mistake. I’m here to talk all things drag with Pride goers, which involves a lot of approaching strangers. Too much for my liking. But I’m eager to learn more about the drag community and where’s a better place for that than Birmingham’s Gay Village during Pride weekend?

Aside from a handful of shows I’ve covered for Birmingham Review, the drag I’m used to is what you see on the Internet – polished queens posing for photos in their finery, wigs coiffed to perfection, lip-sync routines performed with choreography and backing dancers. Indeed, Ashleigh and I are covering RuPaul’s Werq the World Tour at the Symphony Hall in only a matter of hours. But I suspect there are sides to it I’m missing – a much more intimate layer to drag that, especially if I’m going to start covering it properly, I need to learn. It feels like I’m back at school all over again.

Dixie Normous at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeWe spot a drag queen posing for photos with the public, towering over them with a purple wig and sparkly dress. For Dixie Normous drag is a form of release, “I had a problem drinking and had to get away from the gay scene and I didn’t know how to get back in,” she explains, adjusting her wig. “Now, I’m eight years sober and it helped me return to it. I don’t perform in Birmingham, I’m not a working performer, but I work for pride events such as these, hostess events, DJ events.

Does she feel that there’s any competition in drag these days? Normous shakes her head, “No. I have friends who do drag as performers, they love performing but there is no competition between them. She pauses momentarily, “I mean, there is competition in the form of lip-syncing but it’s not malicious. I take my hat off to them, they sing for seven days a week and they say the same to me – there is mutual respect, there’s loads of work out there. Work seems to be growing for drag in the UK – are popular programs such as RuPaul’s Drag Race partially to credit for this? “RuPaul’s Drag Race shows a different type of drag from the UK scene – I grew up on different things,” she gestures to her beard. “Like, I don’t want to sacrifice my beard and UK and USA drag can be quite different, drag is quite feminised there. I’d never get away with this and my tattoo. A group of Pride goers run up, cameras in hand, and I know it’s time for us to leave, but not before Normous gives us a hug, a kiss on each cheek, and sees us off with a graceful wave of her hand.

Nora Virus at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeAlready I’m feeling more confident, and we weave our way through the crowd towards the Main Stage. Towering over everyone in eight-inch red heels and clad in what appears to be a skin-tight interpretation of my grandmother’s chintz curtains, Nora Virus is hard to miss. She’s on her way to perform with Glitter Shit on the Main Stage but is more than happy to stop for a quick chat. Judging by the crowds here at Pride, does she think that Birmingham’s drag scene has grown? “It’s definitely grown, not just in terms of drag but the whole queer scene has within the last five years or so,” she exclaims, posing against a backdrop of apartment buildings while I grab a few photos.

Nora Virus‘s type of drag isn’t what we typically see commercially. I ask how she feels about this and she shrugs, it’s a mixed response, “The media… it only contains certain types of drag… and you can be whoever you want to be, that’s what’s missing. It depends on what viewers get from it. If programs like RuPaul’s Drag Race open the door to drag, then it’s performers like us on the other side who are ready to educate the masses.” I’m aware she’s running out of time and her friend, Liam, directs us to a man behind us who is nursing a pint with a few friends. Paul McAvoy is the general manager for Holy Trannity, one of the biggest drag event organisers in the UK. If anyone is worth talking to, it’s him. We wish Virus luck and off she bounds, a foot taller than the crowd she’s wading through.

Liam’s right – McAvoy is more than happy to talk shop, despite today clearly being a day off. “We organise a lot of the drag queen events across the UK, especially the acts from RuPaul’s drag race,” he explains, sipping on his pint. “Drag’s growing throughout the UK, it’s not the normal kind of thing shown on TV, not the normal hosted stuff, it’s a different type of reality. More exciting and scandalous than what the public are used to.” And he’s right. Watch any episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race and you’ll see what I mean – tensions grow so thick you could cut them with a knife, and tempers flare on the regular between queens and judges. We chat more about drag and he mentions some exciting stuff that we can’t print (yet). We realise he’s working at the Werq the World show later and bid him farewell, promising to catch him at the Symphony Hall – I don’t want to take up any more of his time, especially as he’s been so patient with us.

Paul McAvoy at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBy now Birmingham Pride is heaving, and the bustling crowd has us feeling knackered. We set off towards the seating area and plonk ourselves down opposite a couple who are in the middle of a heated debate. It seems opinions on drag aren’t reserved to the performers themselves, as we question partners Liam and Chris. “Drag now is mostly RuPaul and that’s not drag!” exclaims Liam, throwing his hands in the air. “If you’re a supporter of drag you know your local acts, not just the famous drag queens. They have a habit of falling into the commercial pit; it’s become an act now where you just have to put a dress on and boom, you’re a drag queen. I push for him to elaborate.

“So, for example, Charlie Hides used to perform at Eden before she went on RuPaul. She was a local queen through Birmingham, London and Bedford and since she has been on RuPaul suddenly she’s charging double. It pushes out the local scene – like, don’t forget where you come from, don’t forget your roots. The queens will throw everything into their fame and they will fizzle out… RuPaul is like the drag equivalent of X Factor, and who remembers the last winner of X Factor?” I can’t even remember the last time I watched it, let alone who won. He nods earnestly, his point proven. “The RuPaul generation, to describe them like that, are keener on watching drag through a screen on TV as opposed to seeing it live. They see a very polished version, not what drag really is.”

So, what does Liam think makes a drag queen? He pauses momentarily, clearly deep in thought. “I think when you look at artists like Myra Dubois, she delivers everything in a political way, she speaks about everything that is going on in the world and it’s how you make the most of your platform. These days anyone will put on a dress and lip-sync for 20 quid, the acts are more in it for the fame. There’s a lot of old school drag that is getting pushed out and people aren’t getting a sense of what it was before.”Liam and Chris at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe My mind flips back to Normous and I curse myself for being so ignorant. Of course there are different styles of drag, why haven’t I noticed this before? And if the industry is so difficult to break, why are local queens doing it in the first place? “So, some queens will be spending double of what they earn, they’ll be doing back to back shows and it’s the reason why you do anything that you enjoy – you do it because you love it. Despite the long hours and all the misconceptions, you get with it. You love your job, and when you love your job it’s not work.

I think about my job as a photographer, and the nights I spend editing when I could be working a ‘real’ job, and finally I find ground where I can relate. Clearly there’s some real local talent I’m missing – who can Liam recommend me to watch? “So… Sandra, Danny Beard, Mary Mac, Viva Vivacious,” chips in Chris. “I think if you want to discover new drag in Birmingham, you should search for Eden on Facebook – the content they deliver on weekdays, on Thursdays, is great. Garry and Cal really know how to work their venue. I run a venue in Bedford that puts on drag acts called The Barley Mow, so I’m always looking for new talent”. I make a mental note to head to Eden on my next Thursday off, and to organise a road trip to Bedford with a few friends during the summer months.

By now we’ve been talking to the boys for over half an hour and we leave them to their pints before heading back off into the hub of Pride. We pass numerous dance tents filled with barely-clothed individuals performering inverted-apex-god-knows-what on stripper poles, and I can’t help but crack a smile. Pride is where people can be completely at ease. It’s a novel feeling.

Michelle (Umbrella Health) at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

At this point, Michelle speeds past in rollerskates, flinging rainbow condoms at anyone who will take them. She looks amazing, and I can’t help but snap a photo of her. She’s here with Umbrella Health, who provide free, confidential sexual health services across Birmingham. “We just usually hang around by the entrance, and hand out free stuff, answer questions… everyone is usually chilled out and happy,” she exclaims, filling my arms with pens, lip balms and yet more condoms. “We see a lot of drag queens come through, we always try and get a photo with them. I’m actually going to Werq the World later, I can’t wait!” She flashes a smile and skates off, a woman on a mission. Things to do, condoms to fling.

A trend seems to be emerging here – those who are fans of drag lean towards the commercial side we see on TV, while those who are actively involved in the scene tend to view the commercial side with weariness. The more we speak to people, the more I think that mainstream media is dispelling the truth that drag has roots that run much deeper than the odd TV series. It’s a large, complex community that deserves more recognition and exposure than it’s getting.

I spot local performer, Paul Aleksandr, having his photo taken with a gaggle of visitors. Draped in what looks to be the dismembered corpse of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, I have them pose up against a fire truck while I snap some photos. They’ve just come off tour with Adore Delano with Drag Punk – how did they find it? “I know there is this stereotype of ‘millennials’ and they are given a bad reputation,” explains Aleksandr, “but millennials are passionate people, they shouldn’t be dismissed because of their age. The shows with them were immense… one of the people that was there has come to Pride with us today, she’s only fourteen,” they exclaim, gesturing over to a girl bedecked in a long, pink wig. The fan base for Delano’s shows seems to be much younger than I anticipated. I catch the girls eye and ask to interview her next – she nods with glee before posing for more photos with the public.

Paul Aleksandr at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Did Aleksandr find approaching members of the pubic hard at shows, or is it a skill that comes naturally? “It’s organic, if you do drag people talk to you – it’s a platform, it’s pushing people to do their thing,” they explain. “It’s not just a lip-sync but making a statement about important topics such as misogyny and empowerment. It’s a form of education, especially when some fans are this young – they can’t go to local shows as they’re all 18+.” Should drag be reserved for certain individuals of a certain age, or should it be open to all? “In the last four or five years, drag has become accessible to everyone. Gender is tied to identity and drag is a way to spearpoint identity. In the 80’s queer identity died for multiple reasons, and now you can build something with drag. Performers are responsible to educate the masses, especially on what we lost back then”.

Do they feel Birmingham Pride is inclusive for everyone who wants to explore drag including women? Aleksandr‘s hands fly up in the air animatedly, “Of course! Like, who the fuck cares if you have a clitoris – stop thinking about their genitalia! Out of like 16 venues participating in Pride, there is only one owned by a women. There can be issues within the community such as racism, transphobia and ableism… we should be aware to that.” If there are still issues of exclusion across the community, how does the social hierarchy affect those within it? “If you’re a lesbian you’re sidelined. If you’re bisexual you don’t exist. If you’re anything but white and gay, to fit in you try and be flamboyant, to mould yourself into what is deemed socially acceptable.” I look lost, so Aleksandr simplifies it, “the white cis gay man is in a nice mansion on the top of the hill but if you’re trans black woman then your house is burning down”. Ah, that makes sense. Horribly.

I must be looking slightly crestfallen at the entire thing, so Paul Aleksandr directs me to Rosary Bee and Amber Cadavarous. I recognise Cadavarous from the recent Drag Punk Candyland event at The Nightingale, as well as a Facebook video that went viral a few months ago where she explained her place in drag as a woman – honestly, before I saw it I had no idea women could even do drag. And it seems I’d be easily forgiven for this. “Trans women invented our drag,” explains Rosary Bee, “it’s very Shakespearean and the night life scene contributed to its growth. Women have always been in drag – it just hasn’t been documented.Amber Cadavarous and Rosary Bee at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe I mean, history was documented and created by guys and they chose what they wanted to be seen.” For a 14 year old Bee is educated beyond her years in drag, and defends her position to the hilt. It’s amazing to see, and that she’s so passionate about it. Bee explains how she looks up to Amber Cadavarous as she is also a woman, and how they met at one of Adore Delano’s shows before meeting back up at Birmingham Pride.

Amber Cadavarous is everything I imagined her to be – from her silver shiny boots, right up to the exaggerated bow in her hair that depicts the phrase DYKE in big, black letters. She’s patient and friendly while I question her on everything drag – especially their decision to bring Bee to Pride in drag. Does she think there should be age limits on it? “I agree there should be age limits, maybe, as there is sometimes a lot of adult content,” explains Cadavarous. “It shouldn’t be mutually exclusive though – there should be a space for young adults and below to explore drag. I used to sneak into clubs to watch drag performances. It helps you figure out who you are in regards to things such as your sexuality and gender – especially for women”. Does she feel that this could be possible in Birmingham?

“The scene is very inclusive in Birmingham in general. It’s welcoming and very diverse and I never felt like I couldn’t do drag here. I never asked for permission and I didn’t feel excluded, I found my family here,” her eyes dart to back Paul Aleksandr and Rosary Bee. “I wanted to educate and uplift women, and use my platform to support them – queer women especially. When we recently supported Adore, a lot of kids came up and said I didn’t realise I could do this, but you can, my love! I received a lot of messages saying this and seeing them realise they could do it was a wonderful feeling”.

We’ve been talking for so long that we fail to notice the sky turn an ominous grey, and rain soon starts to fall heavily. Hastily saying goodbye, Ashleigh and I dart through the crowds, finding refuge in the Main Stage tent with thousands of others. We spot two drag kings sheltering under the eaves of a food van; Adam All is in his trademark purple suit, while fellow performer Oedapussy is dressed like a Viking warrior, adorned in countless blue flowers. They look incredible.

I ask for a brief rundown on drag kings. “So, drag is much bigger than it used to be, the concept of drag king started in 1867 and it started underground with male impersonators on stage”, Adam All explains. “We didn’t have much of an uprising until the early 1980’s and 1990’s, now we have women’s bars and it’s really helped promote it in the last ten years or so. The number of drag queens is around the 100’s in the UK but when I started there was only a handful of us – here in Birmingham, Manchester, Brighton, Cardiff and Edinburgh. Now it’s all over the place in the UK. Drag kings are popping up everywhere and it’s constantly gaining momentum”. What’s to credit for the growth?

Oedapussy and Adam All at Birmingham Pride 26-7.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe“Social media helps,” exclaims Oedapussy, “in London there are mixed shows and we go to see some queens and there is more of a crossover. Also, drag in general is becoming more acceptable, this has never really been covered before, like women doing it”. They’re right too – I was surprised to see women as drag queens. Having now seen two drag kings in the flesh, my mind is blown. I wasn’t wrong about needing a little education.

By now what was a slight trickle of rain has become a monsoon type downpour. Ashleigh wearily eyes my camera, and we realise we must make our way up to the Symphony Hall. We stagger out of Birmingham Pride and I bundle us into an uber, our clothes soaked, laughing at our misfortune. Only we could get caught in a downpour like this before a show.

I imagined leaving the festival with our carefully composed questions all answered. Instead, we’ve now got so many more to ask and clearly it’s going to take longer than a few days at Birmingham Pride to answer them all. But the warm welcome and engaging response we got from the drag artists we talked to, and the crowds buzzing around them, was infections – embracing us into a wonderful and creative world, but one with something serious to say. You couldn’t help but feel part of something. Even to a social recluse like myself.

For more on Birmingham Pride, visit www.birminghampride.com

THE GALLERY: Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

 

 

 

Words by Ashleigh Goodwin / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

Pride returned to the streets of Birmingham celebrating its 21st year, with 2018 being “the biggest Birmingham Gay Pride in our history” reaching ‘record ticket sales for an event that’s set to attract tens of thousands of people’. Birmingham Pride festival director, Lawrence Barton, noted, “it’s incredible to think how far Pride has come since 1997… it was on a single stage with only a few hundred guests”.

The two-day LGBTQ+ event was held over the late May Bank Holiday weekend and stretched across the whole second city; this years’ new additions included a street food court, a beer garden area, new locations for the dance arena and cabaret stage, and the introduction of a Future Stage for upcoming acts at The Nightingale Club.

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeIn traditional Pride fashion, the festival kicked off with the carnival Parade with this year’s theme as ‘Be You’. Although the Parade didn’t start until around noon on Saturday 26th May, many people were packing into Victoria Square – where the Parade began – from much earlier to ensure a good view of the ‘best and most visible procession through the city ever’. Introduced by festival organisers and the Birmingham Lord Mayor, the Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade stretched from Victoria Square down New Street, the High Street, Carrs Lane, Smallbrook Queensway, and Hurst Street, before reaching the main Pride Festival site at the Gay Village in the Southside area of Birmingham.

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeShops that lined the High Street hung out LGBTQ+ flags; Second Cup Coffee offered face-paint and glitter in the corner of its crowded coffee shop whilst people roamed up and down selling flags and whistles. As the start time grew closer, the High Street became a multi-coloured sea of glitter, leather and fishnet with people donning LGBTQ+ flags fashioned as capes or dresses. There was a tangible anticipation as a samba band filled the air to signify the start of the Parade, with a diverse array of floats and walking groups coming together in celebration and liberation; this year’s ‘Be You’ theme created an inclusive Parade that was both incredible and empowering to watch.

Corporate giants drove the route on double-decker buses or lorries covered with bunting, blasting upbeat music from their speakers as their staff danced to their hearts content. Amongst these were the likes of HSBC UK (the events’ leading sponsor for 2018), Virgin, Royal Mail, and BT.

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Numerous organisations and charities were also walking the parade, such as African LGBTQ+ activists Out and Proud, Stonewall, and the social welfare charity Samaritans who held signs proudly above their heads reading ‘come out for LGBT’ and ‘I could finally be myself’.

Additionally, there were a range of societies representing minorities groups within the LGBTQ+ community, such as Unmuted – ‘a social and peer support network in Birmingham for people of colour who identify as LGBTQI’, and Bi Pride UK – an organisation that strives to ‘create spaces where people who experience attraction beyond gender can be freely visible and celebrate themselves and their identities’,Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe as well as Leicester based social enterprise Pride Without Borders who aim to provide support to those coming to the UK to ‘seek asylum specifically for their LGBT+ identity’.

The walking groups spanned a wide range of individuals, from teachers, doctors, dentists, older members of the LGBTQ+ community, to people living with HIV and those within a number of religious and/or faith groups. There was also a strong core the Birmingham LGBTQ+ community; local drag artists and performers danced atop The Village Inn and The Nightingale Club floats, whilst the Symphony Hall showcased their digital van with a newly commissioned video of the YouTube star the Shirtless Violinist performing on their stage.

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

The whole ‘Be You’ Parade was sound-tracked by unrelenting cheering from attendees, with the atmosphere feeling full of camaraderie, joy and acceptance, welcoming whoever walked past. A couple drove by in an old-fashioned car wearing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle masks accompanied by two shirtless men clad in leather harnesses and short shorts, drag artists in the most elaborate and eye-catching costumes stopped by the barriers to pose for photos and chat, whilst the policemen observing the Parade joined in with their cheeks covered in multi-coloured paint whilst the blue light services in their full uniform (complete with multi-coloured leis and whistles) danced behind their vehicles as their sirens blared in time with the music.Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

However, it was the homemade signs that evoked possibly the most emotion and unity, reminding us all of the necessity of events like Pride. Amongst them were placards declaring ‘I deserve a great love story’, ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’, ‘I have a beating heart, I’m multidimensional, I’m a fully-realised creation’, ‘Black queerness matters’ and ‘Black, queer and beautiful’, whilst one simply stated ‘change your perception towards the LGBTI community’. And a sign celebrating being ‘homosexu-whale’. Say it quickly.

Throughout all of this, I’m grateful to be from Birmingham – as cliché as it sounds. The sheer amount of diversity within the ‘Be You’ Parade alone (before we are even half-way into the main Pride celebrations) is empowering to say the least. The Parade is a testament to Birmingham’s cultural diversity, and although a time for celebration it also serves as a reminder that people are still tirelessly fighting each day for the simple right to exist as themselves. Yet it’s through events such as Birmingham Pride that equality, unity and freedom can be fought for and achieved for so many.

Although I’ve tried before and try again now to properly explain Birmingham Pride, my words always fall short; I think it’s something you have to experience. Barton, however, summarises by stating, “It’s a wonderful celebration of peoples’ right to be whoever they want to be. The parade for me is the most important part of the festival as it shows how we are proud to be a diverse and inclusive city”.

 

 

 

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Birmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeBirmingham Pride ‘Be You’ Parade @ 26.05.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

For more on Birmingham Pride, visit www.birminghampride.com

Despite wanting to detail all the organisations, societies and companies who participated in Pride this year, the list is too extensive. However, for a list of all LGBTQ+ services within Birmingham visit, www.blgbt.org/directory 

BPREVIEW: Birmingham Pride @ 26/7.05.18

BPREVIEW: Birmingham Pride @ 26/7.05.18Words by Ed King

On Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May, Birmingham Pride 2018 takes over the Gay Village in Birmingham City Centre – with the main festival taking place in venues and open spaces across Hurst Street, Kent Street and Lower Essex Street.

The ‘Be You’ Birmingham Pride 2018 Carnival Parade will be held on Saturday 26th May, starting in Victoria Square and winding its way down to the festival site entrance at the Hippodrome end of Hurst Street – via New Street, Carrs Lane and Smallbrook Queensway. People can assemble in Victoria Square from 10:30am, with the Parade beginning at 12noon.

Participation in the ‘Be You’ Birmingham Pride 2018 Carnival Parade is free and open to all ages, with a variety of individual day and weekend tickets available for the main Birmingham Pride 2018 festival. For direct event information, including details on all the venues and acts taking part in Birmingham Pride 2018, click here or check out the online Pride Guide below.

Birmingham Pride, as we know it today, is celebrating 21 years on the city’s cultural calendar. The first Pride rally took place in Birmingham in 1972, a week after London hosted the inaugural event to mirror the North American based originals. But Birmingham Pride has moved from the more politically charged, and necessarily so, declaration of solidarity to a broadly inclusive event with both unity and entertainment at its heart.

Mercifully, the challenges faced by the LGBTQ community in the UK have arguably tempered and evolved since the institutionalised bigotry of yesteryear. Not to say there isn’t work still to be done, and attitudes yet to challenge and change, but the annual Birmingham Pride events feel much more like a citywide celebration than a daring public stance from a brave but maligned community. Plus, they’re just awesome fun. Tell me where else you’re going to see a rainbow display of Disney characters and Norse Gods drinking cider and dancing to Livin’ Joy? Tins Tins ‘aint open anymore, so…

And in keeping with inclusivity, this year theme for the Birmingham Pride events is ‘Be You’ – which is quite a clear and simple message. And knowing a few of the wonderfully warped minds that stalk our city I can’t wait to see the costumes for this one.

But what’s on stage? Too much to go through with a toothcomb, but the Main Stage Saturday acts include the all kinds of awesome Beth Ditto, our favourite footballer’s ex-wife Louise, followed by the Spotify smashing Kim Petras and Birmingham’s own Stefflon Don.

Sunday goes back to the glory days of 90’s House with Baby D, Kym Mazelle and Livin’ Joy, before pop stalwart Howard Jones and Scissor Sisters’ frontman Jake Shears close off the live sets. But never fear dear hearts, you’ve got DJ sets from Rudimental and Paul Morrell to round it all off. Can’t complain.

And if dance music is your thing then you’re in luck, with Birmingham Pride 2018 hosting its own Dance Arena featuring DJs and acts including Lisa Sharred, The Acid Experiment, Low Steppa, Tom Shorterz, Jamie Bull, Hooker Club, Gorgon City and DJ zine amongst others. Plus, there’s every venue on and within a stone’s throw of Hurst Street pitching in with pretty much something for everyone’s dancefloor.

Birmingham Pride 2018 also has its cabaret Marquee, hosting a catalogue of the fabulous, outrageous and fabulously outrageous from Saturday to Sunday. And whilst there are a few names we though might be on the bill that aren’t, especially against the burgeoning new backdrop of Birmingham’s drag and performance art community, there are enough familiar faces to ensure a riot in all the right places – including Ginny Lemon, Miss Penny, Tanya Hyde, Miss Thunderpussy, Amy La Queefa, Glitter Lips, Drag With No Name, Champagne Shirley, and, of course, Twiggy.

Loads more going on at Birmingham Pride 2018 than we have the time, space or typing speed to squeeze into this BPREVIEW – but sufficed to say there’s something for people of all ages, gender, musical tastes and hat size. But luckily, we don’t have to as the festival organisers have given us a handy online Pride Guide – see below.

From everyone at Birmingham Review, we wish you a safe and happy Birmingham Pride 2018.

Birmingham Pride 2018 – Pride Guide

Birmingham Pride 2018 takes over the Gay Village in Birmingham City Centre on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May, with the ‘Be You’ Birmingham Pride 2018 Carnival Parade taking place at 12noon on the Saturday. 

For direct event information, including details on all the venues and acts taking part in Birmingham Pride 2018, visit www.birminghampride.com

BREVIEW: BenDeLaCrème @ The Glee Club (B’ham) 29.03.18

BenDeLaCrème @ The Glee Club (B’ham) 29.03.18

Words & illustrations by Emily Doyle

The Glee Club is dark and full when compère Alfie Ordinary appears on stage. Some might recognise his pageboy haircut and Twiggy-esque makeup from a certain car advert. He’s not here to sell you a reasonably priced three-door hatchback tonight; Ordinary is hosting the evening on behalf of Eat Sleep Drag Repeat, and doing so with bells on.

Styling himself as a ‘drag prince’, he skips across the stage welcoming the crowd. Clad in a bedazzled suit jacket and shorts, he seems to be wearing as much glitter as is physically possible as he welcomes the acts to the stage. That is until he returns after the interval – kicking off the second half of the show with a sing-a-long rendition of ‘Any Dream Will Do’, Ordinary is resplendent in his very own technicolour dreamcoat.

Birmingham drag performer Paul Aleksandr is there to represent the local scene. One quarter of our city’s Dragpunk Collective, Aleksandr describes himself as a clubkid and genderfucker with “a slight Slenderman vibe”. That vibe is clear from his performance tonight. Appearing on stage in one if his now trademark creations of body paint and butchered cuddly toys, Aleksandr performs a perfectly urgent lip sync to ‘I’m Late’ from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. The forlorn-looking stuffed rabbit on his headpiece flops its ears as he gesticulates.

Eva Serration was a late addition to the line-up tonight, travelling down from Manchester to join the ESDR party. Her drag takes pop culture and cinematic tropes and weaves them into political, avant-garde drag. She cuts Lady Gaga’s mariachi tinged protest song ‘Americano’ with soundbites from Donald Trump, and proceeds to demolish a makeshift wall with a golf club.

Throughout the night we see her best Miley Cyrus, complete with a wig reveal homage to Sasha Velours’ iconic ‘So Emotional’ performance, and a fond nod to Tarantino’s bloodthirsty schoolgirl Gogo Yubari. While Serration’s drag isn’t the most polished of the night, her performance is innovative – and who at a drag show is going to complain about a bit of Trump bashing?

Lydia L’Scabies proves “the bigger the hair, the better the queen” with her inspired routine to ‘Big Spender’. The University of Brighton Performance Art graduate (where did you think drag queens came from?) gives the best comedic turn of the night with her jarring performance. Don’t let anybody tell you that lip syncing Shirley Bassey can’t be original.

A heartfelt performance of ‘Jessie’s Song’ from Toy Story 2 while dressed as a “personal massager” makes up her second turn. L’Scabies execution is bold and theatrical, but the joke is arguably played out before the song is over.

Of course, the crowd is here to see BenDeLaCrème; following her controversial departure from Ru Paul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 3, DeLa has been the subject of much discussion. Fellow competitors sarcastically dubbed the queen “BenDeLaChrist” after she ducked out of the competition early, keeping her ‘terminally delightful’ reputation intact and telling Ru Paul “I feel like a winner”. A group of fans online have taken her departure as a personal slight against them. BenDeLaCrème has something to say about this.

The opening bars of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ fill The Glee Club. In a pure white robe, DeLa makes her first appearance on stage. She takes the mic and launches into a smarting takedown of the viewer response to the series.

She performs an original song on the subject live – later revealing that she wrote it especially for this UK tour – as familiar voice samples from the TV show play throughout. DeLa produces a golden crown of thorns and shrugs off her robe to reveal a bodysuit sequined to represent the wounds of the crucifixion. She poses, and the track finishes. When the applause subsides, she wishes the crowd a happy Easter.

The rest of the show sees BenDeLaCrème charm the crowd with her trademark persona. She coaxes audience members through a lip sync and performs a fan favourite from the TV show, her burlesque comedy routine. For the unacquainted, this involves DeLa removing bra after bra, revealing increasingly ludicrous nipple tassles. It’s a crowdpleaser, although it doesn’t have the same impact as her original material.

The next day, I caught up with performer Paul Aleksandr to get his take on the evening:

“I really loved how full a show it was, and how it flowed so well – Birmingham hasn’t had that many shows like that before so it’s a wonderful new standard. 

I love how self aware DeLa is. She talked about drag, the politics of it, her leaving (RuPaul Drag Race All Stars), with humour and a real knowledge of what fans think and do. She is there, like Sasha Velour is known for, with a message of inclusivity and diversity for LGBTQ people. And she came to The Nightingale After-Party, despite a busy schedule, and witnessed the best of Birmingham’s young and old queer folk on what was the club’s busiest night of the year.” 

For more on BenDeLaCrème, visit www.bendelacreme.com 

For more on Paul Aleksander, visit www.instagram.com/paul_aleksandr 

For more on Alfie Ordinary, visit www.alfieordinary.com

For more on Lydia L’Scabies, visit www.instagram.com/lydialscabies 

For more on Eva Serration, visit www.instagram.com/evaserration

For more from Eat Sleep Drag Repeat, visit www.esdrevents.co.uk

For more from The Glee Club, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk