BREVIEW: BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18

BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

 

 

 

Words by Lydia Fitzer / Pics by Eleanor Sutcliffe

It’s Sunday night and I’m feeling fierce. I’m wearing my finest studs and tassels. I’m ready to strut into the O2 Academy with twinkly eyes and lacy thighs to communicate with a higher being: The Goddess of Drag. Tonight she will be channelled by Magical Queens with wit as sharp as their nails.

The first Magical Queen to the stage is no less glorious for being less famous. Her name is Meth. She emerges in a charcoal gown which glimmers like glass. Her purple hair is opulent. Her makeup is overstated and ferocious – yellows, purples, black and harsh white. Her face screams “Don’t f*ck with me”, but her personality is so endearing that you fall in love. She is the best friend you wish you had. Or perhaps the most loveable evil step mother of all time, as demonstrated by her opening Disney-themed lip sync. Her set has a real personal touch. You want to get to know her better – you want to follow her career.

Meth - supporting BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Meth performs to grandiose tracks in an almost self-depreciating comical style, using slapstick to poke fun at the song and at herself. It’s really hilarious. Despite that, it’s clear that her performance is highly skilled. She jokes that her fans know she loves “standing and doing FA” lip syncing to a ballad, but there is nothing lazy about this queen. She bounds across the stage like a sexy kangaroo, if such a thing were possible.

For her final number, a lip sync of Meatloaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell’, Meth asks the audience to imagine lots of fire and special effects (although she really doesn’t need to – she is pure fire). She steps forth in white tights, shrouded in a black shimmery cape. She is already the most gorgeous bat I’ve ever seen. When the first chorus hits, she spreads her arms and opens her cape into – you guessed it – a giant pair of bat wings. It was a glorious moment. She brings truly world-class lip sync and comic delivery, plus the gnarliest air guitar in history. I am convinced by this performance that Meth is correct – Meatloaf is, in fact, “a lazy f*cking drag queen”.

BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Meth’s set is all too short, although it is a delicious appetiser for BenDeLaCrème. I seriously appreciate how Meth tailors her performance to complement DeLa’s theme. It sets the audience up perfectly for a premature tour of the less-desirable afterlife.

“I hate to burst your Beelzebubble, but we’ll be talking about 14th Century Italian Literature.”

Yep, you heard her correctly. DeLa is basing Inferno A-Go-Go on Dante’s Inferno. It’s the first part of The Divine Comedy, during which Dante travels through the Nine Circles of Hell and ultimately meets the Devil himself. Don’t worry – if you see this tour, you’re not expected to be familiar with Dante’s Inferno. DeLa asks, “Who has actually read Dante’s Inferno?” In response to scattered cheers, she says, “Ah, so here we have the nerds… and the liars!” Not to worry, though. DeLa has “thoroughly skimmed the CliffsNotes”, and is ready to guide us through the experience admirably.

She writhes onto stage, doubled over in a hooded black cloak. You hear her introduce the agonies of hell in a deep, sinister voice… and with perfect comic timing, break into a coughing fit. She throws off her cloak to reveal a tiny red tasselled number, complete with Devil ears.BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18 / Eleanor Sutcliffe

Before she leads us into the world below, however, she does address the elephant in the room. Most RuPaul fans will be aware of BenDeLaCrème only through RuPaul’s Drag Race and All Stars. Season 6 of Drag Race saw DeLa crowned as Miss Congeniality, and Season 3 of All Stars brought that dramatic self-elimination after she was on track to win. DeLa is well aware that a few of the audience are only here because of these shows. She confronts this by giving precisely six seconds of All Stars fan service, for anyone in the audience who’s just dying to hear Maria von Trapp sing RuPaul’s ‘Call Me Mother’. Then no more. This is DeLa’s show, and you will get to know her as the artist she truly is.

DeLa claims that her passion is “taking something smart and making it just a little bit stupid. Honestly, while her interpretation of Dante’s Inferno is a lot more accessible to a modern audience, I think that what she’s really done is add her own type of smart. The jokes are current, sharp, and sometimes just on the right side of being a bad pun. For me she’s her own brand of comic genius.

BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeWe enter Hell to the most delightful parody of Miley Cyrus’s ‘Party in the USA’; ‘Party in the HEL’. As DeLa points out, there is a clear link between human suffering and Miley Cyrus’s music. She sings rather than lip syncs, bouncing between teen pop bubbles and bloodcurdling screams of horror. It’s immaculate and seemingly effortless. I definitely prefer it to the original.

There is a large screen on stage used to set the scene of Hell. While DeLa sneaks away to change, a short video plays which introduces Hell in holiday cruise-ship style. It flows seamlessly into the rest of the show. DeLa re-emerges in a kitschy pink and yellow ensemble to rapturous admiration.

I won’t describe every single detail of the rest of the show, because I don’t want to spoil it for you. You have to go see it for yourself. I will share some pearls of wisdom from the Second Circle of Hell, though. Did you know that if you’re a pervert who watches Internet porn, you’ll be doomed to spend eternity in the form of the rags you use to wipe up your “sinful seed”? Also, DeLa found herself questioning why there seemed to be no women in the lustful area of Hell. According to a travel brochure, “Women who enjoy sex are in Hell, but it’s just our regular living world.”

BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeContinuing down through Hell, I notice that DeLa’s comedy is incredibly political. We’re given an amazing satire of America’s gun crisis by a centaur. He happens to be a Hellian patriot in a ‘Make Hell Great Again’ cap. He punishes black people who once smoked a joint on the same level as white people who drove a bus full of orphaned nuns into a lake. When DeLa questions his obvious racism, she takes an arrow to the butt. The centaur isn’t sorry, though – apparently, he’s proud of his right to bear arms. Sound familiar?

It’s funny, though. All of the social satire is incredibly funny… Until we meet the harpy and her trees. The trees are a sudden, profound reminder that in the real world these issues have serious consequences. The trees are the prison of the souls who committed suicide, and, as the harpy says, “Never did nothing to nobody […] Society failed them”. DeLa wonders why those souls are doomed to Hell at all. She asks, “Who is deciding this stuff? Is it demons or… the Devil or… God or… someone else?” She speaks in a whisper, and the silence is deafening.

We go straight from here to the most fabulous part of Hell, the gay beach (I love the accuracy of DeLa’s interpretations. In the original Inferno, the sodomites inhabited a desert of burning sand). It’s an almost immediate antidote to the sadness of a few moments ago. The comedy is pumped to the max, and the vibe is infectious. DeLa asks, “Is that Nancy Reagan?” “Yeah,” says our ultra-camp new friend. “She isn’t gay but this is still her Hell.”

BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18 / Eleanor SutcliffeDeLa takes us through the Eighth Circle of Hell using ‘Disco Inferno’, complete with tight rap and the cheesiest of dance moves. We tour all ten ditches to a perfect musical performance. The comedy is excellent, and every movement is exactly in sync with the soundtrack.

Finally we reach the Ninth Circle of Hell, and a suspiciously Wizard Of Oz-esque Satan greets us on the big screen. DeLa decides to look behind the curtain, and after a hilarious back and forth during which she finds no-one, the Devil cries, “It’s you!” she replies, “Well that’s stupid. […] Why would I put myself through Hell? […] Why would I have decided that all those people are bad?” We’re treated to the corniest closing song in all the worlds and afterlives; ‘We all make the Hell that we burn in’. BenDeLaCrème leaves the stage to an earthquake of applause.

BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! is great. It is really great. It is multi-coloured. DeLa gave me DIY greenscreen to ventriloquism (I will remember meeting Indulgence Gluttington to my dying day). She and two audience members created the River Styx using pure fabric and elbow grease. She almost moved me to tears with an arrow sticking out of her butt. I leave the O2 Academy feeling strong, as though I’m breathing new air. She pulled the sulphur from my lungs.

For more on BenDeLaCrème, visit www.bendelacreme.com

For more on Meth, visit www.instagram.com/methedragqueen

For more from the MJR Group, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.themjrgroup.com

For more on the O2 Academy Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

BPREVIEW: BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18

BPREVIEW: BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! @ O2 Academy Birmingham 26.08.18

Words by Ed King

On Sunday 26th August, BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! comes to the O2 Academy Birmingham – as presented by The MJR Group.

Doors open for Meet & Greet ticket holders from 5:30pm, with the VIP Meet & Greets happening from 6pm to 7pm. The hoi polloi can get access from 7pm – with entry allowed for anyone 14 and over, although under 16s will need adult accompaniment.

Standard tickets are priced at £31.45, with a little extra on top depending on how you want to collect them. For direct event information, including venue details and links to online ticket sales, click here.

Last seen by Birmingham Review at The Glee Club back in March, BenDeLaCrème shot to international acclaim through series 6 of RuPaul’s Drag Race – winning a yet to be broken five challenges in a single season, but then stepping down from the crown and making way for Bianca Del Rio to take the top spot.

A seasoned burlesque performer and actor, BenDeLaCrème has toured three solo shows including her Inferno A-Go-Go! – all of which premiered off Broadway and went on to enjoy international runs. This particular UK stint sees BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! start off with two nights at The Clapham Grand in London on Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd August, stopping off in Birmingham on Sunday 26th August, then going on to theatres across the UK before laying itself to rest, for the time being at least, at The Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh on Saturday 1st September.

If you miss any of those shows and you’ve got a really serious bus pass, you could always make the next two in Canada – but for full tour details of BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go!, click here.

So what can we expect when BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A-Go-Go! comes to town..? Regular readers of Birmingham Review will know by now, if they didn’t before, that whilst drag is full of fabulous fun there are also intelligent undercurrents behind many performers on the scene. And BenDeLaCrème is one of the more high profile voices worth listening too.

Her Inferno A-Go-Go! show takes its name from Dante’s poetic journey through hell (and possibly a nightclub in West Hollywood) with the nine circles of torment setting the stage for BenDeLaCrème’s insightful wit, the odd musical number, and even some puppetry, so we’ve been told.

But we’ve also been told ‘there is real heart’, as the doomed creatures that feature on this camp journey through hell question the why, wherefore, and what the fuck did I do to end up here? And having never been one to shy away from the more honest side of pulling on your heartstrings, as well as a caustic catalogue that could keep Satan at bay, BenDeLaCrème is one queen well suited to such an exploration. And exclamation marks… I guess the devil’s work is never done.

BenDeLaCrème’s Inferno A Go Go comes to the O2 Academy Birmingham on Sunday 26th August, as presented by The MJR Group. For direct event information, including venue details and links to online ticket sales, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham/events/1127503/bendelacremes-inferno-go-go-tickets 

For more on BenDeLaCrème, visit www.bendelacreme.com 

For more from the MJR Group, including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.themjrgroup.com

For more on the O2 Academy Birmingham, including venue details and further event listings, visit www.academymusicgroup.com/o2academybirmingham

________

NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To sign up to NOT NORMAL – NOT OK, click here. To know more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK sticker campaign, click here.

BREVIEW: The Twisted Circus @ O2 Academy 30.03.18

The Twisted Circus @ O2 Academy 30.03.18Words & illustrations by Emily Doyle

The O2 Academy stage is decked out like a big top in preparation for The Twisted Circus, as Klub Kids are bringing seven world class drag performers to Birmingham. The show is late to start due to traffic on the M5. The audience are eager but good natured, and happy to pose for the charismatic photographer perching on the crowd barrier.

A troupe of dancing clowns starts the proceedings, and the compere arrives. Andrew wears a tasseled ringmaster’s jacket. Our host makes no bones about the fact that the event is running late, ditching the banter and even the interval so that all the performances can run. His “the show must go on” attitude is admirable, and results in a fast paced evening. In a venue as large as the O2 Academy, an interval is no great use to the crowd anyway – a trip to the bar means losing your hard earned space near the front.

Farrah Moan is the first queen to perform. The twenty three year old starlet also got the memo about the circus theme, wearing a red basque complete with knee length tails. Her lip sync performance is sedate and elegant, though in a venue this size it feels a little low energy. She does cut a stunning figure on stage, though, and her fans seem delighted.

Milk - The Twisted Circus @ O2 Academy 30.03.18 / Emily DoylePutting in a performance that is most definitely big enough for the back row, is Milk. Fresh from appearing on the latest series of Ru Paul’s Drag Race All Stars, Milk performs a salacious lip sync to Barbara Streisand’s, ‘He Touched Me’.

Her second turn sees her nail a full routine to her own song, ‘Touch the Fashion, Change your Life’, complete with backing dancers and giant inflatable hands. Milk bounces around the stage in a frilly Bo Peep dress, and she is a joy to watch. In a line-up of queens who take their performances very seriously, Milk is a breath of fresh air.

Violet Chachki - The Twisted Circus @ O2 Academy 30.03.18 / Emily DoyleSouth Korean/American drag queen, Kim Chi, gladly fulfills her billing as a ‘live action anime star’ with her otherworldly looks; her regal performance style and large flowy outfits command the stage. Her second lip sync sees her draped in black sequins with a large feathered headpiece. Statuesque, Kim Chi looks like a cross between Maleficent and the forest spirit from Princess Mononoke.

Central to the show is world-renowned Cher impersonator Chad Michaels, who performs a flawless lip sync to ‘Woman’s World’ and ‘Strong Enough’. Michaels wears a shocking blue peacock outfit and backs up her performance with live footage of Cher wearing the very same. Smart, as many of the audience members are too young to properly remember Cher. Celebrity impersonation feels a little dated among the more avant-garde performers on tonight’s bill, but Michaels carries it off with a smile and delights in judging an audience dance off.

Shea Couleé - The Twisted Circus @ O2 Academy 30.03.18 / Emily DoylePerhaps one of the most anticipated queens of the night is Violet Chachki. The Drag Race Season 7 winner waltzes on stage in a pink showgirl costume, complete with top hat, cane, and enormous skirts. She treats the audience to an enchanting lip sync to her new single, ‘A Lot More Me’. The burlesque striptease ends with Chachki posing in gold thigh high boots and a thong. She keeps the hat on.

Next from The Twisted Circus is Shea Couleé, showcasing the nights most impressive choreography with a routine to the new single, ‘Cocky’, from her Couleé-d EP. She struts across the stage in a retro-futuristic lime green catsuit and rectangular sunglasses. Her performance is pop star perfect. Over the electro beat, she spits such inspired lyrics as: “Ms. Couleé gon’ be a legend/but congrats ’cause all dogs go to heaven.” Amanda Lepore - The Twisted Circus @ O2 Academy 30.03.18 / Emily DoyleOn the studio version of the track, fellow Chicago queen The Vixen has a verse. If this is the company she keeps, The Vixen is definitely one to watch on the new series of Drag Race.

Our host, Andrew, takes great pleasure in introducing The Twisted Circus’ next star on stage, “the most expensive body in the world, Amanda Lepore”. Lepore’s attitude is pure punk rock. She comes out to her own track, ‘Buckle Up’, which quickly morphs into a listless rendition of David Bowie’s ‘The Jean Genie’.

Lepore seems well-aware of her status as more of a living sculpture than a performer. She wastes no time in stripping down to pasties and holdups, and basks in the spotlight. Lepore is later joined on stage by Farrah Moan and Violet Chachki for an impromptu routine to ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’, where the three of them are luxuriated in rhinestones and furs.

When The Twisted Circus finally drops the curtain, just before curfew, it’s hard to believe it was all packed into ninety minutes. But despite the delays, all tonight’s performers and the team at Klub Kids pulled through and delivered a fabulous evening. One that neither motorway traffic nor the ever-present threat of more snow could stop Birmingham coming out to enjoy.

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

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

BPREVIEW: The Twisted Circus @ O2 Academy 30.03.18

Words by Emily Doyle

On Friday 30th March, national promoters Klub Kids present ‘the biggest and most unique show of drag HERSTORY’ – as The Twisted Circus comes to town, stopping off for one night at the O2 Academy Birmingham.

Doors open from 6pm for VIP ticket holders and 7:30pm for general admission. Minimum age of entry is 14, with under 16s requiring adult accompaniment. Standard tickets are priced at £25 (Eventzilla) and £30 (Ticketmaster) plus booking and service fees. VIP tickets, which include a meet and greet with the stars performing, are priced at £100 from both outlets – although the booking and service fees do vary.

The Twisted Circus is presented by Klub Kids – for direct show information, click here to visit their Facebook event page. To buy tickets online, click here for Eventzilla and click here for Ticketmaster.

March has been a great month for drag in Birmingham. We’ve had Alyssa Edwards bringing her The Secret Is Out Tour to The Glee Club Birmingham, with BenDeLaCrème hot on her heels for a show at the same venue on 29th March.

On top of all that, the lovely people at Klub Kids are rolling into town with The Twisted Circus. Taking place at the O2 Academy Birmingham on Good Friday, the show is set be quite the spectacle – featuring seven glorious performers, from rising stars to original New York Club Kids. The Twisted Circus line up (in no particular order) is as follows:

Former figure skater and Marc Jacobs model, Milk, will be appearing at The Twisted Circus. No stranger to the glitz and glamour of showbiz, Milk was recently announced at the new face of Madonna’s skin care range, MDNA. Now fresh from her appearance on Ru Paul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 3, Milk promises to be ‘udderly fantastic’.

Next is international seductress, aerial acrobat, and Drag Race Season 7 winner, Violet Chachki. Having performed drag and burlesque alongside icons such as Dita Von Teese, Chachki blends striptease, fetishwear, and her unmistakable vintage aesthetic, all in the name of ‘distorting the gender binary’.

Twenty-three year old Texan starlet, Farrah Moan, is also appearing at The Twisted Circus. Starting out her on stage drag career in Texas, Moan’s Barbie doll looks have seen her cast on Drag Race Season 9 and perform on the Las Vegas strip.

The Twisted Circus also presents Kim Chi, a towering 7ft queen and ‘ever evolving chameleon’. Born in the U.S. and raised in South Korea, Kim Chi’s upbringing informs her high concept looks which ‘encapsulates the transcendental nature of drag’ and celebrates performance art. Chi is also the name behind the doughnut scented ‘Kim Chi Liquid Lip Color’, alongside other products for the Sugarpill Cosmetics.

Next up, The Twisted Circus welcomes Chicago based model and musician, Shea Couleé. Having just released her visual EP, Couleé-D, Couleé uses her background in costume design to create breathtaking fashion and film. Just don’t mention Azealia Banks.

Also performing is international Cher impersonator, Chad Michaels. Part of Califonia’s longest running female impersonation show, The Dreamgirls Revue, Michaels went of to be the winner of Drag Race All Stars Season One and has since appeared in Jane the Virgin and 2 Broke Girls.

Finally in our box of Twisted Circus treats, we have Amanda Lepore. Said by photographer David LaChapelle to have, “the most expensive body on Earth”, Lepore is a model, singer, performance artist and transgender icon. Following her time as an original New York Club Kid in the early nineties, Lepore has gone on to release two albums, a memoir, and even her own Swatch watch.

The Twisted Circus comes to the O2 Academy on Friday 30th March, as presented by Klub Kids. For direct show information, with links to online tickets from Eventzilla, visit The Twisted Circus Facebook event page – 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