The Kingdom Come: Pride is a Protest

September 18, 2023

Time for a roundup from our Pride month edition of our ever popular drag king cabaret, The Kingdom Come!

This special edition’s theme was chosen by our community and as usual featured kings, costumes and plenty vegan cake (this time provided by Sheffield based Little Town Pantry). This sold out event was also a fundraiser for Andro and Eve – vital for a small queer arts organisation navigating a very challenging situation when it comes to funding, the cost of living crisis and specific to Sheffield, use of accessible, well located venues. But thats another blog post….

Drag king Richard Energy sits on stage flanked by kings, Shardeazy Afrodesiak, Unknown Amazon, Toby Carvery, Wesley Dykes and Billy Butch — _{L-R, Billy Butch, Richard Energy, Unknown Amazon, Toby Carvery, Wesley Dykes, Shardeazy Afrodesiak. Credit -Nelly Naylor (2023).}

And so to the night, hosted by the seriously suave and silly Richard Energy. His puppetry was on point, but the jokes and camaraderie he created were the things that made this so special and helped everyone feel so welcome. Yay!

Richard Energy a slim white king with sharp contour and short hair, lip syncs onstage with an actual sink with giant red lips. — _{Richard energy performs with his Lip Sink at The Kingdom Come. Credit – Nelly Naylor (2023)}

We were treated to incredible performances by drag kings including Unknown Amazon, Billy Butch, Wesley Dykes, Shardeazy Afrodesiak, and Toby Carvery. These acts packed a punch, ensuring no one forgot the true meaning of Pride as a fight for our rights as LGBTQ+ people, while also being seriously entertained. A big thanks to all these acts for performing at The Kingdom Come.

Two white people sit next to each other on a red velvet banquet seating smiling. Behind them are handmade card placards that say ' Lavender Menace' 'ban conversion therapy' — *^{The Kingdom Come 7. Credit – Nelly Naylor (2023)}*

The community showed up in style and with many a placard, helping transform Crookes Social Club into a haven of queer joy and power. A special thanks should to the venue for their support and our team who helped things run smoothly.

A crowd of people sit looking upwards at a stage in a hall lit by rainbow coloured lights — *_{The Kingdom Come 7. Credit – Nelly Naylor (2023)}*

We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who bought a ticket, donated to our crowdfunder or played the raffle HARD (yes there was a queue to get tickets at one point). You helped us raise an amazing £1,076 which we were able to use as match funding for an Arts Council bid. If successful, this will help support a programme of work with accessible events and creative opportunities for everyone to participate in and celebrate queer culture.

Unknown Amazon, a Black woman dressed as a blue vein man reaches her hand out on stage — _{Unknown Amazon performs at The Kingdom Come. Credit – Nelly Naylor (2023)}

In the meantime, enjoy the photos of The Kingdom Come; Pride is a Protest edition taken by Nelly Naylor. And don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter to be first to hear news from us x

Billy Butch, a white drag king with swept back dark hair, is dressed as a priest in black with a dog collar. He is kneeling on stage holding the bible — _{Billy Butch took us all to church. Credit: Nelly Naylor (2023)}

Toby Carvery wearing a rainbow suit and chicken head, struts on stage — _{Toby Carvery at The Kingdom Come 7. Credit – Nelly Naylor (2023)}

A Chinese man and white femme with blue hair stand with their arms around each other smiling in front of a pink glitter curtain — _{All smiles at The Kingdom Come 7! Credit: Nelly Naylor (2023)}

A crowd of people cheers and claps in a big hall lit by warm lighting. — _{Round of applause for the drag kings! Credit – Nelly Naylor (2023)}

Wesley Dykes, a Black West African drag king stands singing into a mic on stage lit by purple lighting. — _{Wesley Dykes at The Kingdom Come 7. Credit – Nelly Naylor (2023)}

Two South East Asian people smile with open mouths up at the stage. The woman is wearing a headscarf — _{Credit – Nelly Naylor (2023)}

Shardeazy Afrodesiak, a mixed race drag ting with strong beard and quiff smiles onstage wearing a gold and black blazer — _{Shardeazy Afrodesiak at The Kingdom Come 7. Credit – Nelly Naylor (2023)}

Full details

The Kingdom Come: Pride is a Protest

DJ wanted!

Reyt Queer Do Open Call for LGBTQ+ performers

Back to the 90’s with A Reyt Queer Do!

Open Call for A Reyt Queer Do

Meet the Artist – Lady Kitt

Freelance Project Coordinator Opportunity

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