Features / Drag
A queer homage to working men’s clubs
Blending drag, cabaret, theatre and improv comedy, The Shade Pullers & Lash Stackers Social Club is inspired by the Northern club circuit in the ‘70s. This show gives a warm, queer heart to a father-son relationship and proves it ain’t grim up north.
The show’s creator Harry Humberstone explains where this warm but darkly funny show came from. “Emma Keaveney-Roys and I collaborated to create a show inspired by our experiences growing up in the north. Originally, we were inspired by Bernard Manning but we realised we didn’t want to make a funny show about a homophobe. It is far funnier and more relatable to make a show about ignorance rather than prejudice. It’s very traditional – the humour comes from misunderstandings.”
Harry plays an elderly club owner and drag performer Roxytocin plays the owner’s son who starts booking drag performers for his father’s stage. “We wanted the confusion to come on both sides. Roxytocin’s father is a swinger so both characters are left perplexed by one another.”
is needed now More than ever
Roxytocin is a drag performer who co-hosts the quarterly show at The Wardrobe Theatre
Northern culture, Harry says, is about “taking the piss” but he felt that the north, all too readily, was used as a shorthand for ‘slow’ and ‘backward’. “When I saw Tom Marshman’s Beacons, Icons and Dykons at the Watershed, I knew I wanted to blend styles together and do something unexpected,” he adds.
The show has a narrative throughout and features comedy songs and improv from the hosts in between the acts. “It’s structured but we never rehearse it. It’s important to read the room and provide a live performance. Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer are perfect are giving that sort of performance.” Aside from the legendary Shooting Stars duo, Harry says the sort of down-to-earth humour of Lily Savage informs much of the show’s style.
The next show on Saturday, February 9 stars Melvis (pictured) and Carmen Monoxide
Harry’s hopes to take The Shade Pullers & Lash Stackers to festivals like Shambala and further grow the scene in Bristol. “We’ve always tried to source and promote upcoming acts, but we also want everyone we put on stage to be a polished performer.” The real hope, Harry adds, would be to have artist development funding to secure a generation of new performers in the city.
The stress is high, but “the love we get every time we host the show is enough to see it ticking over,” Harry says.
The Shade Pullers & Lash Stackers Social Club is at The Wardrobe Theatre on Saturday, February 9. Tickets are £10 and are available at www.thewardrobetheatre.com.
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