Drag, somewhat pioneered all the way back in ancient Greece, men would often dress up as women during theatrical performances as women were banned from preforming. Drag as we know it today would emerge during the late 19th and 20th century.
Fast forward a few centuries and here we are, modern day drag. Everywhere you look you can find it, on TV with RuPaul, magazines, the internet, and even the streets of London. But… why London?
“The crowd is amazing all the time, you get to see talent from all across London” Said Double D Lilah, a Drag Performer here in London.
Double D Lilah opened up about the scene here in London and the hardships they had to face when it comes to performing here and what they had to go through to get where they’re at now.
“We used to perform at a local queer bar and unfortunately there were some mishaps that had taken place, and the bar did not handle the situation the way we hoped. So we took a break and we found a new location which just so happened to be Poachers Arm’s.” Said D Lilah.
“The break did affect the business aspect of it.” With some performers doing the drag shows and a hobby, some would do it as a career and a way to make money and that really hurt their business. Although Double D Lilah was a newcomer at the time the break still affected their ability to learn and practice in front of a crowd.
Although never mentioning the name of the former bar, they did bring up a place called Poachers Arms a lot. According to Double D Lilah, Poacher’s Arms reached out to the drag community with open arms and provided them a sp
ace to do their shows. Allowing newcomers such as themselves a space to hone their skills and get well immersed with the community.
Now what’s it like being a newcomer to the scene as of lately?
“To be honest it’s really nerve-racking but it’s also really freeing” Said a newcomer to the scene ‘God Forbid.’ Just debuting around a month ago they’ve already accumulated almost 100 followers on Instagram.
“I’ve been going to these shows for about a year now and what made me wanna start was seeing how other people express themselves and how fun it looked, someone who really influenced me and pushed me to start was Double D Lilah.” Said God Forbid.
when asked about the crown energy during their first performance he claimed that it was incredible and not to mention the place was packed to the brim, people even had to stand because there were no seats left that night. God Forbid also performs at poachers arms.
One of the main reasons why God Forbid started doing drag as well is to help with their social anxiety, as you could imagine, performing in front of an audience builds confidence and that’s what God Forbid wants for himself.
When the two were asked about other cities and how their drag scene was, they could only comment on Windsor. stating that London is better in terms of support it seems.
“When I performed in Windsor the support was good, but here i definitely feel like I’ve found my community, they didn’t belittle me, they didn’t act like I was inexperienced. they will give their all the bring new performers to the stage and make them feel comfortable.” Said Double D Lilah.
In an interview together, they said that they inspire each other when coming up with ideas for outfits for drag and song ideas.
With all that being said, it seems like London’s drag scene is booming and is full of life at the moment and that momentum seems to only be rising.
