THE MAKE- OVER MAMAS
As the popularity of drag continues unabated, Channel 4’ s new series Drag SOS sees Manchester’s Family Gorgeous use their magic to bring out the inner diva in people around the UK
There’s no denying that drag has gradually but firmly entered mainstream culture over the past decade. Just look at this year’s Met Gala, where RuPaul’s Drag Race champs Aquaria and Violet Chachki became the first drag queens to attend the star- studded event. And on a more local level, you don’t have to look too hard to find a neighbourhood drag brunch, where queens turn it out to Britney and Whitney while you tuck into your eggs benedict and sip on countless mimosas.
The public — queer and heterosexual — are hungry for drag, so it’s no surprise that TV production companies are looking for ways to feed this appetite. In the UK, this summer sees the launch of Channel 4’ s new series Drag SOS, where the fabulous Family Gorgeous travel up and down the country to meet people and help them discover their drag personas — culminating in a lip- sync performance.
Along with house mothers Cheddar Gorgeous (“I’m 486, my secret is drinking the blood of virgins”) and Anna Phylactic (“I’m as old as my tongue and a little bit older than my teeth”), the Manchester- based
drag collective consists of Liquorice Black, Lill and bio queen TeTe Bang.
Plus, family friends Astina Mandela and Donna Trump are on hand to choreograph the episodes’ performances.
The queens, minus Donna, arrive at the studio for their cover shoot out of drag, and after a couple of hours in front of the mirror emerge camera- ready.
When we chat afterwards, Anna dryly says that one of the things she’s learnt from the Drag SOS experience is how to do her make- up in less time. “I used to take a lot more time, but getting up very early in the morning for a day’s filming, you develop ways of doing things a little bit quicker,” she says with a smile, sitting bolt upright because she’s still wearing a corset.
The show, summed up — a tad scrudely
— as Queer Eye with drag queens, follows the Family Gorgeous as they rock up in a glittery drag bus in places such as Ipswich, Scarborough, Dover and Dudley to work their magic on those in need of a little zhushing up. “We met all sorts of characters,” says Liquorice. “Some really shy people: we worked with a farmer, a personal trainer… It’s not just people from the LGBTQ community, everyone’s involved. Young to old, everyone you could imagine, we’ve made over.”
Lill adds: “It’s a triumphant show. The people we meet might be going through some trouble in their life, or are stuck in a rut, and we coach them to be able to express themselves in the way that they want.”
Cheddar echoes this, saying: “There’s a moment in the show where Lill says, ‘ Everybody deserves that special moment where they feel it’s all about them’.
“That, to me, is the core of the show. Everyone has that bit of fabulous inside them, and we should all feel comfortable showing it.”
I wondered how TeTe’s experience compared with the rest of the cast given that she’s the show’s only female drag queen; those unfamiliar with modern drag culture probably have never considered the possibility of a woman being behind the over- the- top make- up and costuming.
“Our experiences were all fairly similar,” she replies. “It was surprising just how open the British public are to drag. I had a few questions around my gender, but overall people weren’t too fussed — they’d just smile at the sight of these larger- than- life characters walking around their town.”
But TeTe concedes that she tried to make a conscious effort to not show too much boob while filming, to avoid gender becoming
a focal point. “I like to keep people guessing,” she says.
The show’s recruits were a mixture of those who applied themselves and those who were nominated by other people. A Facebook group has been set up for everyone to keep in touch with one another, and apparently some have taken to drag like ducks to water.
“We’ve got someone who’s near enough a full- time drag queen,” says Liquorice. “You’d be surprised by the people who’ve embraced their drag personas the most; they were some of the people who I didn’t expect. Hosting Pride events and all sorts — they’re doing better than we are!”
On the flipside, not everyone was comfortable with the process. “We had a few wobbles along the way,” admits Anna, “but it’s such a big thing to ask people to put themselves out there in front of family and friends and share a side of themselves that they wouldn’t normally.”
Liquorice agrees, saying: “Although you’re covered up in so much make- up and hair, drag is so revealing: you have to really come out of yourself and be more outwardly you. There are definitely moments where somebody feels they may even just not turn up to the performance. “
But when you hear the queens talk about why they love drag and how it’s enriched their lives, it’s easy to understand why some of the show’s participants might have wanted to keep hold of their new personas after the Family Gorgeous sashay away.
“Drag allows the world to see who you are,” insists Astina. “It’s a way of putting a big middle finger up and going: ‘ You’re going to see me for me, whether you want to or not’.”
Lill, who likened her photo shoot look to something from Rugrats, explained how drag helped her overcome shyness.
“It was a way of making a spectacle of myself and saying, ‘ Actually, I want to be looked at’, rather than worrying about what everybody was thinking of me.”
For Anna, one of the group’s more seasoned queens, it’s about the attention you command in drag. “Most of the time, you feel a million dollars. You’ve got this giant spotlight on you and everyone’s telling you how fabulous you are. I’ve probably been attacked more for being an effeminate gay man than I have for being a drag queen. It’s a Cinderella thing — I’ve accidentally dressed like Cinders today.
“It’s that magical moment where you get to transform and be the belle of the ball, then the clock’s ticking, especially for me because I’m quite old.
I get five o’clock shadow quite quickly. So, there’s a timer on how long it can last!”
As a queer woman who felt she didn’t fit into the LGBTQ community before becoming a drag queen, TeTe finds that it’s given her self- love. “Before drag, I thought I was weird: too loud, too annoying, not femme enough, not butch enough. It gives people a sense of liberation, permission to be seen and heard. Many people don’t feel that in their day- to- day life, and that became very apparent with some of the people we met on the show.”
In a world that can feel increasingly divided, Drag SOS is perhaps the tonic that’s needed, a feel- good show about the power of self- belief. Certainly for Cheddar, who’s been a key figure on Manchester’s scene during the past decade, drag is power.
“It’s about trying to make yourself more visible and your voice louder,” the selfdescribed unicorn, alien and idealist says.
“It’s amplifying what you have to give to the world. I think of it as trying to take what no one is seeing about you, that special quality you know is inside you, and making it the only thing people see.”
To us, that sounds like the kind of thing the world needs more of. After all, have you ever seen an unhappy drag queen?
Drag SOS begins at 10pm on Channel 4, on 25 June