Since starting Andro and Eve in May 2016 we’ve been keen to promote the wonderful and surreal queer art of drag kings. Most people know what a drag queen is, and many will have watched RuPaul’s Drag Race, even if they have not been to a drag night. But when we’ve talked about drag kings to various people, they don’t seem sure what a drag king is, and definitely aren’t sure what a drag king night will involve.
So let us clear this up! A Drag King is a performer who impersonates male gender, usually in an exaggerated form. Often the person wearing the costume is a woman, but sometimes they might identify as non binary or male. The point is to poke fun at gender and entertain a crowd. The performers create acts based around singing, dancing, lip-syncing, comedy or a mixture of all or none of the above. It’s exciting because you never quite know what you’ll get with performers creating new acts all the time.
Adam All and Apple Derrieres founders of Boi Box.
We’ve programmed some of the best UK Drag Kings to perform in Sheffield on the 26th November in order to bring this art form to a new and wider audience. The London drag scene is thriving and drag kings grow more popular thanks to the efforts of Adam All and Apple Derrieres who set up Boi Box in London 3 years ago. Nights like ‘Kingdom’ in Brighton extend this network and are a great example of the queer community supporting one another. Its time Sheffield and South Yorkshire got its own slice of this queer and subversive art form with a night solely for drag kings, so we bring you THE KINGDOM COME. Grab a ticket and come down and enjoy the sparkliest, silliest and most surreal night you’ll have for a while!
