[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
growling man where it stops nobody knows
every time you call my name
kiss me baby let the fire get higher
reach and grab yo Abra abracadabra ever
be Deborah you make me hot you make me
shine you make a lemon you make me cry
keep it burning for your love with the
touch of a velvet glove back rub rub
Deborah retelling grandpa ever ever I
feel the magic in your blue dress I feel
romantic when I touch your breasts
silken fat
leaves black pennies we learn a mistake
I see magic in your eyes I see the magic
in between your thighs just when I think
I’m gonna get away I hear the words that
you always say Abra abracadabra I wanna
abracadabra every time you come on name
full of vigor
and that your honor is how I got fired
from Debenhams lingerie department hi
I’m Adam Adam all dapper chap gentlemen
and all-around cartoon flavored human
entertainer I’m a I live for and work in
the UK cabaret circuit the quick a beret
circuit and I’m based right here in
London but today beautiful humans I’m
gonna let you in on a little secret
Adam isn’t real
he’s an illusion I’m Jen and I’m a drag
king don’t worry if you’re not sure a
drag king is an entertainer who assumes
the theatrical guise of maleness in and
for performance we’re going to thank my
drag king brother Goldie peacock for
that very succinct description thank you
but this is by no means a new phenomenon
we’re gonna quickly whistle stop some
names from our history for you just to
give you a little bit of context
are you ready hold on to your seats all
right we have records of women
performing on stage in trousers
alongside men in butt in male roles as
early as 1660 these were called britches
rolls but the first recorded male
impersonator or masher that we have on
record is Annie Hindle in 1867 who was
brought here by a talent scout from New
York and made a huge star on a musical
circuit other big names from that era
include Vesta Tilly Ellis Shields in the
First World War
Hetty King and in the 1920s gladys
bentley fronted a chorus line of drag
queens and the harlem speakeasies legend
in 1969 drag king bouncer and get a
superhero storm a delivery is reported
to have thrown the first punch at the
Stonewall Riots inciting mayhem against
the police in a turning point for the
liberation of the queer community
absolutely amazing modern-day kings in
the 90s we have Diane tor who brought
her workshops Manfred a here to Europe
and toured all over with them inspiring
thousands she also wrote some really
great books in 1995 there was Dredd
which stands for daring reality every
day and she brought beat poetry and
politics to her humorous lip-synchs and
she became a huge icon on our scene now
some of the big stars that have some
inspired me on my journey to becoming a
drag king include Landon cider and Spike
Eve and Ikey ivory onyx and that’s
phantom in the middle and sexy Lexi
there too most of these people are based
in the u.s. the sexy Lexi there’s in
Australia but there are kings all over
the world I have been honored to be
contacted by Kings from Italy Spain
France Germany yes but also from Brazil
from Hong Kong from Vietnam from Iran
absolutely amazing to speak to these
people who are so keen to connect with
our broader King community and share
their experiences as drag king
performers there are also lots of
different
of drag kings we come in all source
singers dancers lip-sync as comedians
magicians prop and costume makers
aerialists you name it we’ll put a cock
on it we do love it honestly but why why
are there so many people so deeply
inspired by this artform what is it all
about and so the only way for me to
really get into that is to really talk
about myself and my journey so let’s go
there little me so my beginning I was
born the second daughter to a happy
family and rural Hampshire pretty
idyllic really to be fair but everywhere
I went I was mistaken for a boy and it
was a bit weird confused shop assistants
you know weird toilet encounters and
some really odd exchanges with some
rather disappointed women but some times
it was frustrating but at other times it
was deeply humiliating especially at
school and there was whispers and there
were comments and there were some
insensitive adults and there were some
really rather cruel children I was
bullied relentlessly for the way I
looked I think I lot of people just
thought that I would want to look like a
pretty young girl why not you know and
maybe I just couldn’t do it but it just
never gave me validation or strength
especially when so often I was being
judged by the way I looked and not my
mind or being offered help lifting
something of a perfectly average weight
which I was doing perfectly final right
on my own thank you very much or wearing
a dress why do I have to wear a dress
I just feel vulnerable and exposed in a
dress it’s not cool for me and when I
did achieve things or excel at something
which was labeled for boys I don’t know
what that is what did I working for poor
maths in science I was often met with
disapproval sometimes even discussed and
the boys in those groups I thought I
could be friends with they were isolated
and Kohl’s and I was met with silence
and and teasing a lot of the time and
that was heartbreaking
to feel so isolated and I never set out
to emasculate anybody else I just want
to be myself you know in my late teens I
started to explore my gender identity my
personal gender identity I was part the
queer community by then I had
inspirations from the artwork in KD Lang
album drag and in the TV adaptation of
Sarah waters book Tipping the Velvet
which came out in 2000 that was a big
swinger for me I decided I would create
a character that I could take out and it
would help express my inheritance of
marinus that were so often you know
belittled I suppose misunderstood and so
gentle beta male Adam was born and he
was a release a celebration for me and
in the end the last laugh I went out on
the town I want a few prizes at balls I
even made it to the front cover of a
magazine
it was brilliant and in 2008 I finally I
put Adam on the stage first time I had
to work pretty hard we drag Kings were
few and far between after about five
years I built for myself the beginnings
of a career in in the queer community on
the gay bars and all the bars and scenes
and their stages there but we were still
so there’s so few of us I decided in
2013 I wanted to start something to help
people so I launched boy box boy box
which I launched with my partner Apple
is a drag king showcase night and is
right here in London every month and it
is for any new or established drag King
to showcase their work and their persona
freely on our stage absolutely amazing
the last five years we’ve seen the UK
drag king scene go from a handful to
around a hundred pretty awesome
absolutely amazing
many of them have had really similar
experiences to me and they talked to me
about it some of them have had far far
worse some of them used drag to explore
their true identities and some of them
use the platform to fight for equality
and visibility and we perform maleness
and when I say maleness and let me just
add and clarify maleness not meaning
masculinity maleness meaning the full
rainbow of beautiful maleness great it’s
so much more and we use it to to exploit
it so it’s a rebellion it’s a revolution
with a fire for recognition so far
unattained what is drag in the end if it
is not to attempt to deconstruct discuss
express reclaim society’s concepts of
gender norms stereotypes inequalities
with passion and with humor using our
bodies and our voices and our minds to
liberate not just ourselves but anyone
who’s ever felt I don’t know restricted
by the expectations of their gender so
when I was laughed at for looking like a
boy look who’s laughing now so you have
all right I know we like to feel free to
be ourselves so do join me in a little
boutique to HD of course maybe we could
just have a little dance maybe even some
cherry wine what to think back to you
know
got a word from your lips
you just took full credit that I’ve got
to skinny-dip quick get that’s your game
I’m not a piece of meat
stimulate my brain is gone so while we
let’s get to know each other better slow
and easily take my head hit the floor
[Music]
Oh
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
have a good time
[Music] [Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
growling man where it stops nobody knows
every time you call my name
kiss me baby let the fire get higher
reach and grab yo Abra abracadabra ever
be Deborah you make me hot you make me
shine you make a lemon you make me cry
keep it burning for your love with the
touch of a velvet glove back rub rub
Deborah retelling grandpa ever ever I
feel the magic in your blue dress I feel
romantic when I touch your breasts
silken fat
leaves black pennies we learn a mistake
I see magic in your eyes I see the magic
in between your thighs just when I think
I’m gonna get away I hear the words that
you always say Abra abracadabra I wanna
abracadabra every time you come on name
full of vigor
and that your honor is how I got fired
from Debenhams lingerie department hi
I’m Adam Adam all dapper chap gentlemen
and all-around cartoon flavored human
entertainer I’m a I live for and work in
the UK cabaret circuit the quick a beret
circuit and I’m based right here in
London but today beautiful humans I’m
gonna let you in on a little secret
Adam isn’t real
he’s an illusion I’m Jen and I’m a drag
king don’t worry if you’re not sure a
drag king is an entertainer who assumes
the theatrical guise of maleness in and
for performance we’re going to thank my
drag king brother Goldie peacock for
that very succinct description thank you
but this is by no means a new phenomenon
we’re gonna quickly whistle stop some
names from our history for you just to
give you a little bit of context
are you ready hold on to your seats all
right we have records of women
performing on stage in trousers
alongside men in butt in male roles as
early as 1660 these were called britches
rolls but the first recorded male
impersonator or masher that we have on
record is Annie Hindle in 1867 who was
brought here by a talent scout from New
York and made a huge star on a musical
circuit other big names from that era
include Vesta Tilly Ellis Shields in the
First World War
Hetty King and in the 1920s gladys
bentley fronted a chorus line of drag
queens and the harlem speakeasies legend
in 1969 drag king bouncer and get a
superhero storm a delivery is reported
to have thrown the first punch at the
Stonewall Riots inciting mayhem against
the police in a turning point for the
liberation of the queer community
absolutely amazing modern-day kings in
the 90s we have Diane tor who brought
her workshops Manfred a here to Europe
and toured all over with them inspiring
thousands she also wrote some really
great books in 1995 there was Dredd
which stands for daring reality every
day and she brought beat poetry and
politics to her humorous lip-synchs and
she became a huge icon on our scene now
some of the big stars that have some
inspired me on my journey to becoming a
drag king include Landon cider and Spike
Eve and Ikey ivory onyx and that’s
phantom in the middle and sexy Lexi
there too most of these people are based
in the u.s. the sexy Lexi there’s in
Australia but there are kings all over
the world I have been honored to be
contacted by Kings from Italy Spain
France Germany yes but also from Brazil
from Hong Kong from Vietnam from Iran
absolutely amazing to speak to these
people who are so keen to connect with
our broader King community and share
their experiences as drag king
performers there are also lots of
different
of drag kings we come in all source
singers dancers lip-sync as comedians
magicians prop and costume makers
aerialists you name it we’ll put a cock
on it we do love it honestly but why why
are there so many people so deeply
inspired by this artform what is it all
about and so the only way for me to
really get into that is to really talk
about myself and my journey so let’s go
there little me so my beginning I was
born the second daughter to a happy
family and rural Hampshire pretty
idyllic really to be fair but everywhere
I went I was mistaken for a boy and it
was a bit weird confused shop assistants
you know weird toilet encounters and
some really odd exchanges with some
rather disappointed women but some times
it was frustrating but at other times it
was deeply humiliating especially at
school and there was whispers and there
were comments and there were some
insensitive adults and there were some
really rather cruel children I was
bullied relentlessly for the way I
looked I think I lot of people just
thought that I would want to look like a
pretty young girl why not you know and
maybe I just couldn’t do it but it just
never gave me validation or strength
especially when so often I was being
judged by the way I looked and not my
mind or being offered help lifting
something of a perfectly average weight
which I was doing perfectly final right
on my own thank you very much or wearing
a dress why do I have to wear a dress
I just feel vulnerable and exposed in a
dress it’s not cool for me and when I
did achieve things or excel at something
which was labeled for boys I don’t know
what that is what did I working for poor
maths in science I was often met with
disapproval sometimes even discussed and
the boys in those groups I thought I
could be friends with they were isolated
and Kohl’s and I was met with silence
and and teasing a lot of the time and
that was heartbreaking
to feel so isolated and I never set out
to emasculate anybody else I just want
to be myself you know in my late teens I
started to explore my gender identity my
personal gender identity I was part the
queer community by then I had
inspirations from the artwork in KD Lang
album drag and in the TV adaptation of
Sarah waters book Tipping the Velvet
which came out in 2000 that was a big
swinger for me I decided I would create
a character that I could take out and it
would help express my inheritance of
marinus that were so often you know
belittled I suppose misunderstood and so
gentle beta male Adam was born and he
was a release a celebration for me and
in the end the last laugh I went out on
the town I want a few prizes at balls I
even made it to the front cover of a
magazine
it was brilliant and in 2008 I finally I
put Adam on the stage first time I had
to work pretty hard we drag Kings were
few and far between after about five
years I built for myself the beginnings
of a career in in the queer community on
the gay bars and all the bars and scenes
and their stages there but we were still
so there’s so few of us I decided in
2013 I wanted to start something to help
people so I launched boy box boy box
which I launched with my partner Apple
is a drag king showcase night and is
right here in London every month and it
is for any new or established drag King
to showcase their work and their persona
freely on our stage absolutely amazing
the last five years we’ve seen the UK
drag king scene go from a handful to
around a hundred pretty awesome
absolutely amazing
many of them have had really similar
experiences to me and they talked to me
about it some of them have had far far
worse some of them used drag to explore
their true identities and some of them
use the platform to fight for equality
and visibility and we perform maleness
and when I say maleness and let me just
add and clarify maleness not meaning
masculinity maleness meaning the full
rainbow of beautiful maleness great it’s
so much more and we use it to to exploit
it so it’s a rebellion it’s a revolution
with a fire for recognition so far
unattained what is drag in the end if it
is not to attempt to deconstruct discuss
express reclaim society’s concepts of
gender norms stereotypes inequalities
with passion and with humor using our
bodies and our voices and our minds to
liberate not just ourselves but anyone
who’s ever felt I don’t know restricted
by the expectations of their gender so
when I was laughed at for looking like a
boy look who’s laughing now so you have
all right I know we like to feel free to
be ourselves so do join me in a little
boutique to HD of course maybe we could
just have a little dance maybe even some
cherry wine what to think back to you
know
got a word from your lips
you just took full credit that I’ve got
to skinny-dip quick get that’s your game
I’m not a piece of meat
stimulate my brain is gone so while we
let’s get to know each other better slow
and easily take my head hit the floor
[Music]
Oh
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
[Music]
[Applause]
have a good time
[Music] [Applause]
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