Cabaret: Meet Tia Kofi

Tai spills the tea!


It’s now just two weeks until the QX and RVT Comedy Roast of Rose Garden, and those malevolent roasters are sharpening their tongues and dusting down their broomsticks, ready to unleash their wicked wrath! ALL proceeds from this event will go directly to HIV/AIDS charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust. 

This week, Jason Reid caught up with the roaster who will be bringing the youthful vigour to the stage, Tia Kofi from pop drag threesome The Vixens, to chat about how she’s preparing for a night of walking with drag dinosaurs… 


Hey Tia, how are you feeling about roasting Rose? 

I’m excited and ready. This is my one and only opportunity to tell Rose Garden about herself. And it’s all for a good cause, so you can’t get too angry, right? Will we have security? [laughs] 

I was quite surprised when I first saw that you were going to be a roaster because you’re so sweet and polite. Is that all a ruse? 

It’s a cunning disguise. The thoughts are all going on in the background. 

Are we gonna see the unedited version of Tia? 

I think it’s my opportunity to launch my real thoughts into the world. It’s time to spill the Tia. 

So what are you gonna be bringing to the roasting spit? 

Well, apart from Mrs. Moore, I’m the only one from the line-up who spends every week in the Halfway dressing room with Rose after she’s had… a fair few vodkas. I can show everyone the real side of her: what happens when she comes off stage and what goes on behind closed doors. A lot of stories she probably doesn’t want anyone to tell. It’s an ‘experience’ being in a dressing room with Rose…

When and where did you first meet Rose? And what were your first impressions? 

We [The Vixens] first met Rose at our Drag Idol heat in 2015. After we reached the grand final representing Halfway to Heaven we were kinda adopted by various Halfway queens. Rose was really nice and supportive, as she always is to new acts, however it’s when you become established that you see the real Rose. I just assumed she was a lovely, kind old lady, but it turns out she’s younger than I thought and she’s sometimes VERY extra, in a fun way though. 

Describe your relationship with Rose using only a song title.

Toxic by Britney Spears. 

Which famous roaster do you aspire to be like? 

I aspire to be like Amy Schumer on that one roast where everyone criticised her and thought she was an awful person, because look at her now! 

All of the proceeds from this roast go directly to the Terrence Higgins Trust. I’m interested to know, as a younger person, what does the charity and the work it undertakes mean to you? 

Obviously back in the day it meant something very different to now. The focus has shifted to prevention and care, and that’s great. The way they go about their campaigns is significant, because they’ve changed their angle to encompass everything, so you have people actually telling their stories about being on treatment and living a perfectly healthy life. It’s ridiculous that in 2018 people are still buying into the stigma, so it’s important that the message is continually put out there. 

Finally, what’s your message to Rose? 

I apologise in advance. Please don’t hit me.

The Comedy Roast of Rose Garden is on Thursday 23rd August at The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, 372 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5HY.

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