The fabulicious queer-leanin’ drama group The Drama Queens are set to return next weekend with their most ambitious show to date. Director Spike Rhodes has crafted a loving tribute to music legends John Kander and Fred Ebb, cheekily titled The Drama Queens on K&E… and All That Jazz’. So we decided to send our ever attention-seeking Deputy Editor Lee Dalloway, not just to report on the action, but to take part in the show!
For the last two years, a mix of some of the finest cabaret stars in Gayland and complete amateurs have been thrown together in a cacophony of wigs and showtunes – and always come up with something pretty magical. It was during a QX cover shoot last Halloween that I mentioned to Spike, in one of my many throwaway lines, that I should join the company. He didn’t let me forget – and I’m glad he didn’t!
Whilst I’m often prone to dramatic outbursts in reality, I haven’t acted on stage since swapping my drama module in college for photography (yeah, that worked out soooo well; I can frame a good shot about as well as I can kick a football in a straight line).
The last time I performed for anyone was as a gay hairdresser in a talent show version of ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ back in Dudley in the [cough] 90s… “Whatevs”, I said to myself. “How difficult can it be to run around in a wig and mouth words to a song?” I would love to go back to me three months ago and give myself a slap.
Let me tell you one thing. Anyone who dismisses lip-syncing should try doing it first. It takes skill and dedication to make it look so effortless, and I have a newfound respect for those who do it – especially if it’s to drunk, sometimes bitchy queens in random pubs around the country.
Then, try doing it in a breakneck, two-hour production with around twenty other people, trying to remember your lines, where you’re moving to next and what your colleagues are doing, whilst (hopefully) being authentic and entertaining.
When we first started rehearsals, not only did I feel a little intimidated performing in front of people who do this (and do it very well) for a living, but also at Spike’s plans for me. I was worried about the sheer number of scenes I was in and he kindly agreed to reduce one or two, frankly so that my head didn’t explode.
It took me a little while to get the words, songs and sequences into my head, but soon started to feel more natural and gel together. Dare I say it, I was having a ball! During the most recent rehearsal, I was even staring jealously at a scene I was previously supposed to be in, thinking, “God, I want to do that now!”
I must thank Spike not just for putting together a genuinely wonderful show, but for his gentle direction and patience with me. Honestly, in those early rehearsals I had absolutely no idea how all of this chaos would come together, with just one man trying to pour the frenetic musical overflowing in his head out of his ear and on to the Two Brewers stage. But it really has!
Not just with one section of our fair gay scene, but all of it. Like most things in life, people rarely tell you when you’re doing a good job, often focusing on what they think is bad or what you’re doing wrong.
By the end of last year my love for my job and self-confidence levels were at absolute zero.
Part of the reason for joining the DQ’s was to remember who I was and that this big, crazy adult playground we’ve crafted for ourselves (aka the gay scene) has some amazing concepts and individuals in it – and the DQ family are certainly amazing.
I say family, because it genuinely feels like that; everyone pulls together and works their arses off – and they’ve helped me to find exactly what I came looking for.
When you come to the Drama Queens, don’t expect to see a bit of silly drag. Expect to see musical theatre that’s both fun and thought-provoking. I can’t thank the DQ’s enough for accepting me as one of their own, and, come opening night, I hope I do my family proud.
• The Drama Queens on K&E… and All That Jazz is at Two Brewers (114 Clapham High Street, SW4 7UJ) on Thursday 22nd and Friday 23rd March at 8pm.
