Hassling Drag Queens is a Risky Business

Posted 11 months ago at 7:57 pm. 0 comments

Drunk dude in Swansea picks a fight with a guy in a dress with painful results.

Eugene Oregon Names 2009 SLUG Queen

Posted 12 months ago at 9:55 am. 0 comments

A tradition since 1983, the annual “Eugene Celebration” is preceded by a fierce competition to be named Queen of the “Society for the Legitimization of the Ubiquitous Grastopod” (SLUG).  The SLUG Queen presides over the celebration parade and acts as unofficial ambassador for the city during his or her reign.  The queen can be male or female, and this year the former queens elected an outrageously costumed man, Mark VanBeever, known as Grand Duchess Anislugsia.  The SLUG Queen titles are held for life, and former queens are  known as Old Queens, Very Old Queens, and Exquisitly Old Queens.

According to Wikipedia, “Of the 25 Slug Queens to date, five have been men, including one with cerebral palsy.  One female Queen, Queen ‘Frank Slugnatra’ 2005, takes on a male persona for her appearances.”

The complex history of Eugene’s SLUG Queens is documented by Queen Marie Slugtoinette (who appeared on the front page of the Wall Street Journal last year) at her blog.  Read More at the Eugene Register-Guard.

Exquisitly Old Queen Melva, Raining Queen Anislugsia, Old Queen Inspira, and Very Old Queen Glenda enjoy the slimelight at the 2009 Coronation

Mark Ravenhill and Bette Bourne at Edinburgh Festival 2009

Posted 1 year ago at 6:15 am. 0 comments

For over forty years, actor Bette Bourne has been working in the West End, on Broadway, with the RSC, and in street theatre, often on stage in camp female drag.  He was an early activist for gay rights, staging highly visible protests with Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in the early 1970s.  With Paul Shaw he founded Bloolips, “a troupe of anarchic gender bending actors, performing hilarious spoofs on sexuality and society.”  Other Bloolips troupers included Lavinia Co-op and Regina Fong.

Playwright Mark Ravenhill (Shopping and F**king, The Cut, Mother Clap’s Molly House) is collaborating with Bourne to create A Life in Three Acts, with Bourne and Ravenhill on stage beginning tomorrow at the Traverse.  The pair recount Bourne’s East End childhood, the frustrations of his pre-drag acting career, his adventures in activism, and his more recent appearances, including his portrayal of Quentin Crisp in Resident Alien, and as Rock Hudson’s manager Henry Willson in last year’s Rock.  Read More

Bette Bourne

John Barrowman takes over as Zaza in London

Posted 1 year, 1 month ago at 8:25 am. 1 comment

Torchwood star John Barrowman will take over September 14  from Roger Allam in the Menier Chocolate Factory production of La Cage aux Folles at London’s Playhouse.  He’ll be the fourth actor to play the part of Albin/Zaza in the current production.  Douglas Hodge started it in 2008 and won the Olivier award this year, then Graham Norton replaced him, and Allam replaced Norton.  Barrowman was testing his stilettos on the streets of London earlier this week in anticipation.

La Cage aux Folles focuses on a middle-aged gay couple – Georges, the manager of a St Tropez drag club, and Albin/Zaza, the star of his shows — and the confusions that arise when Georges’ son brings his fiancée’s right-wing parents to meet them. Originally a play written by Jean Poiret for the French stage in 1973 , it became a worldwide hit French/Italian movie in 1978.  Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein adapted it as a musical for Broadway in 1983, where it won six Tony awards.  In 1996 it was a Hollywood film called The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams.  Unlike Williams, Barrowman is gay, as is Norton.

The revival is directed by Terry Johnson, designed by Tim Shortall and choreographed by Lynne Page, with costumes by Matthew Wright, wigs and make-up by Richard Mawbey, musical supervision and orchestrations by Jason Carr and musical direction by Michael Haslam.  The current cast also features Abigail McKern, Jason Pennycooke, Iain Mitchell, Alicia Davies, Stuart Neal and Tracie Bennett.

John Barrowman as Zaza

Danny La Rue, Queen of Drag, Dead at 81

Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 10:48 pm. 0 comments

He was famous for impersonating women like Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Marlene Dietrich, and lived many years with his partner and manager Jack Hanson, but Danny La Rue was coy about his sexuality until late in life. He was also known for appearances in the “Mr Bean” movies, and was awarded an OBE in 2002. Danny La Rue has died at age 81 in Kent.  Read More

Danny La Rue