Lip-syncin, drag lovin’ theatre company the Drama Queens are back with their special Halloween show ‘Drag Me Back To Hell 4’ next week at Two Brewers. Expect a variety of well-known horror legends alongside cult musicals, twisted tales and a big dollop of spooky campery. We spoke to some members of the Drama Queens family to tell us more about the show, and the company itself…
SPIKE RHODES
Founder and Director
The DQ’s, the Two Brewers community-based drag theatre company, celebrates its third birthday with a show full of musical spoofs based on ‘cult’ horror films. Fans can expect a ‘Night of the Living Dead’ meets ‘The Evil Dead’ in a ‘Cabin in the Woods’, resulting in a Zombie mash-up, in the first half of act one alone.
This Halloween spectacular is staged in the Brewers’ club bar, which is transformed into a sit down theatre for a full 90 minute show. Featuring musicals not familiar to many, like ‘Halloween: The Michael Myers Musical’, ‘The Brain from Planet X’ after Ed Woods’ cult B movie ‘Plan 9 From Outer Space’ and ends with the nineties shocker ‘Silence of the Lambs’. This musical is the most challenging the company has taken on to date as its dark humour is a piece for a broader minded audience.
This self-financing company, formed by Titti la Camp and myself, operates an open door policy to all who desire to explore and develop their theatrical bent by learning new skills and gaining stage confidence in a company of experienced performers who act as individual ‘mentors’. So, if you fancy being involved either on stage or behind the scenes, the company’s only requirement is a 100% commitment to any single production.
The Drama Queens’ next production ‘Sinderella… What a Slut’, is our first pantomime and features Rose Garden and Titti La Camp.
MORAG MCDUFF
This year’s Drama Queen Halloween show is an event not to be missed! With the usual concoction of comedy and horror put together by the wonderful Spike Rhodes, our founder and director, expect to see some old favorite scary characters from past Halloween shows and a few new monsters to frighten you out of your heels! Being one of the long-standing members, I love every minute of performing with such wide, diverse talent, old and new. We are definitely a family that grows with every show, and if you enjoy performing and having a fantastically fun time, I recommend you come along and give us a try, and remember… you don’t have to wear heels if you don’t want to!
ROBIN THOMAS
I’ve been a bit of a drama queen my whole life, but I joined the theatre company because I’d seen their work and wanted to be a part of it. I have met a really great group of people who support and help each other. For those of us who have full time jobs, it can be hard work fitting it all in, but doing the shows is so rewarding and I love it!
CRAIG NOTTINGHAM (AKA COSMO~TINA)
Company Manager
One of the things that I love most about our shows is that we rehearse to an empty space but it’s not until we actually get an audience that it becomes really magic. We never know how our audiences will react to our shows, especially this one. It’s the most outrageous that we’ve ever done to date, I honestly don’t know if people will be falling off their chairs laughing, or sat with their mouths open… these were just a couple of the reactions the cast had when Spike first played us the show!
I personally love being part of a company where all the members, though all gay, are from completely different backgrounds and of different ages. These are people that I would never have met from just ‘out on the scene’. We look out for and take care of each other, we really are like a family, it’s just wonderful.
TANYA HYDE
Being the third birthday, Spike has gone all out to make sure this is our best Halloween show to date, and it won’t disappoint! This has to be without a doubt the most close-to-the-knuckle we have ever gone and I love it! The great thing about being one of the Drama Queens is the sense of family that we have. Some people have come and gone, but when you all have to work as a team to pull off the shows we achieve, when it ends and all your hard work pays off, you have this great feeling… something that you can only feel when you’re a Drama Queen!
ALEXIS STCLAIR
Well Drag Me To Hell 4 has a Lot of scares, ghouls, zombies and glitter… and that’s just the cast! The DQ’s are like my second family, with the rehearsals and shows, it can be hard work, but it’s always fab working with all the ‘girls’ and boys! If it wasn’t for joining the Drama Queen’s a year ago Alexis StClair wouldn’t be the performer she is today!
• Don’t miss ‘The Drama Queens: Drag Me Back To Hell 4’ on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th October at Two Brewers, 114 Clapham High Street, SW4 7UJ. Tickets are available from http://dragmebacktohell4.eventbrite.com/ but are selling fast, so hurry!
