By Jason Reid
If you haven’t heard of Keela Kraving yet, it’s only a matter of time before you do. This sassy Pride’s Got Talent finalist is everywhere right now.
Ahead of her Grand Show at east end drag den The Glory, I got to know know more about Keela so you don’t have to ask the random questions in the smoking area after too much cheap vodka…
Who is Keela Kraving?
Keela Kraving is everything you didn’t know you needed and then some. She will give you what you didn’t ask for and overcharge you for it. It doesn’t matter what you’re craving for, you can always kill a craving with Keela Kraving. With Keela, what you see is what you get, and what you get is gonorrhoea.
How long have you been performing as a drag artist and why did you take up drag?
I first set foot on a stage last October (2018), and I already have my own show coming up at The Glory; Keela Kraving’s Grand Show. I started drag because I love London’s drag performers and I just wanted to show them the right way to do it.
Tell us why we should go to Keela Kraving’s Grand Show.
Because it’s what you’ve been waiting for. Do you wonder what it feels like to be really loved? Come to the Grand Show! Do you wonder what God’s face looks like? Come to the Grand Show! Do you wonder what’s next for Rita Ora? Come to the Grand Show! I won’t be answering those questions but I will probably juggle.
What are you wearing?
A vintage silk robe.
What are you listening to?
Kiss Me Deadly by Lita Ford. And soon you’ll be listening to it, too, because I’ll be singing it everywhere I go.
You’ve been in a few drag competitions recently; tell us about them, the experience and what you learnt?
Well, the first drag competition I ever entered was the amazing Taylor Trash’s Gold Rush. I was so competitive back then because failing would have felt like not being good enough. But then, as the wonderful Crayola taught me, I learned that winning takes many forms. And they were right! A fat cheque is far more rewarding than a title.
Who are your favourite new performers right now?
This list could go on for hours: The Crossy; Elle; everyone from the Drag Goons; Mary Poppers; Mr Party; Boudica; Mariah Hairy; Paul Alexander.
What’s the drag dream?
Oh, it’s not a dream. It’s a plan. A program. A twelve-step program. The first step is me admitting I have a problem, and the last step is me hosting my daytime TV game-panel show. I’m not sure of the steps in between, but I know it’ll be a wild ride.
The best thing about being a drag queen is?
There is nothing good about being a drag queen. It’s a nightmare you never wake up from. You waste hours applying makeup and then you get on the stage and sweat it off in 20 minutes, and by the end of the night your feet hurt and you are jobless again. And yet you can’t stop doing it. A nightmare, I tell you!
The world would be a better place without?
All these new drag queens. Nowadays anyone with a wig on is a drag queen, asking to be booked. Back in my days drag queens had to be professionals. Masters of the art. This is a joke in case you didn’t notice, because I too am a new queen and I am going to steal every gig I can.
What makes you happy?
The Drag Goons. They are my drag collective and I get to work with them at our monthly show. Keep your eyes peeled and check our instagram page because we are going to SHOCK YOU!
Who are your top three drag idols?
Lily Savage, Dolly Parton and, obviously, Keela Kraving.
What’s your best asset?
My ass and my tits and my face and my personality and my comedy and my undeniable lovability and the way I’m not humble and my taste in clothing and my amazing wig styling skills and my singing voice.
If you had to give up one drag item for the rest of your life, would it be eyelashes or nails?
A great drag queen once said: “Eyelashes are 60% of a drag queen’s look. The other 40% is personality”. It does help that the legend who said this is me, so I would definitely give up nails.
Keela Kraving’s Grand Show is on Friday 26th July at The Glory, 281 Kingsland Road, Haggerston, London E2 8AS
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