Following the success of Mr Glory and Lipsync 1000, the creative forces at East London’s most talked about queer venue, The Glory, are back with a brand new all-strutting, all-posturing competition called Man Up. They’re looking for the hottest new drag kings London has to offer, and there’s £500 for the winner, and of course the glory (badoom tsh) and prestige of snagging the title. Jason Reid caught up with Jonny Woo this week to get the lowdown.
Hi Jonny, tell us a bit about Man Up. What are you looking for in the entrants?
I’m looking for total transformation. Going from a woman to a man I think is probably harder than the other way around as there’s a lot of restraint and control in channelling masculinity and it feels more ‘weighty’ with less theatrical flourish than a drag queen. I’m looking for some raw expressions of the inner man.
How important an element do you think attitude is for a drag king?
It’s a big part, not everything, but close, unless someone is going for a ‘new’ man vibe. It’s all in the posturing, the confrontation, the confidence. I think it cold be quite explosive. I’d like to see some aggression up there. I want to feel the testosterone. The rocker, the hip hop star, the punk. No just a classic charmer.
Are the acts allowed (or even encouraged) to blur the gender lines?
The acts can bring whatever they want to the table. I imagine we’ll get some really interesting gender politics explored on the stage. Lipsync 1000 was often spiced up by really hot lads prancing around in really next to nothing. We’re going to get binding, stuffing, thrusting. I think the mix of female and male could be quite hot. I’m looking forward to being swayed.
Do you think drag kings are underrepresented in London?
I suppose. I’m not familiar with the scene. I’ve got Adam All co-hosting and he works hard to keep this scene alive. The Glory, after the previous two contests, wanted to do something for the girls. I don’t think the drag king scene is underrepresented, it’s more the case that the whole lesbian scene is, however in East London exciting things are happening for young women.
Saying that, there has been a slight surge of exciting new drag king performers emerging, including LoUis CYfer who won Drag Idol 2014.
I think drag kings are a mysterious breed outside of their own scene, as you don’t see them so much. The drag queen is often a figure to be laughed at, or with and is entrenched in British culture. I think a drag queen has the potential to be more subversive. Society pigeonholes women. Being a drag king breaks down these confines in so many different ways and presents an elements of women’s potential which people aren’t used to seeing.
What could drag queens learn from drag kings? And vice versa.
Restraint probably. I think a good drag king has an element of stealth to him. Drag queens can give you bells and whistles from the get-go but a drag king is working with much controlled gesture and movement. I think the explosive moments are going to be much more powerful. That said a drag queen has an arsenal of OTT gestures and postures at their disposal, and this attack would be good for the kings too.
How would you define masculinity?
Controlled. Confident. Explosive. That’s in performance terms of course. In life? I’d need more than a few sentences to answer that.
Well, yes, of course. It seems like things are going really well for you at The Glory. Congratulations; you must be over the moon. What else is on the cards in the near future?
Lots. I’m forging ahead with Night At The Musical with Le Gateau Chocolate with a Christmas special planned. And I’m hoping The East London Lecture will get some more development in the spring. We have a new play coming based on Poe’s Tell Tale Heart and I’m taking a bold step with ‘Transformer’ which could put it on a whole new trajectory or cut the project sort. It’s quite a gamble!
Finally, finish this sentence; A night at The Glory is like…
…the best house party evah!
• The Glory, 281 Kingsland Road, E2 8AS
