Have yourself a very queer Christmas

This Christmas, Spiegeltent unveils its first queer night. It’s a “thrilling moment” for Spiegeltent director Steve Meadows, who says “queering up” Spiegeltent has long been his ambition. In collaboration with Mike Pony of Eat, Sleep, Drag, Repeat (ESDR), this year’s masquerade ball on December 19 has been given a drag makeover of epic proportions. More than a dozen drag artists will front the night, with the support of queer and drag DJs.

Spiegeltent will welcome some of Britain’s best drag performers in a queer cabaret organised alongside ESDR

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to be more ambitious and creative each year we do the Spiegeltent,” Steve says. Plans for a queer night at Spiegeltent have long been in the offing: “My partner and sister were both keen to do something with ESDR after they saw the quality of their shows.

“After a conversation with Mike Pony, we realised there was a big crossover in our audiences.”

It is representative of the meteoric rise of the queer and drag scene in Bristol that it is now being represented in the mainstream. But all this talk of mainstream and underground acts is, in Steve’s view, fast becoming out-of-date.

“We have always wanted to be inclusive but actually we shouldn’t see these things as separate,” Steve says. “It seems to me, as someone outside that world, that the queer scene has really exploded and so many people are drawn towards it and its messages.”

The lineup for the Winter Ball is huge. Artists booked to perform include Lydia L’Scabies, Donna Trump, Dave The Bear, Ginny Lemon, Felix Le Freak, Llio Evans, Mike McCallum, Lilith, Carmen Monoxide, The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Mother and Auntie.

The night will be hosted by Virgin Xtravaganzah performing as Mary Mother of Gawd who will, in her own words, “be telling it exactly as it is, and spilling the real tea about what happened in Bethlehem all those thousands of years ago in a very famous stable”.

Virgin says her Christmases usually involve “getting pissed, calling my son on the phone” and asking “why he doesn’t visit his mother more”.

“Of course, if Jesus did visit it would be the second coming and spell the end of the world, but I’m needy,” she shrugs.

Virgin Xtravaganzah will perform a nativity-themed special as the character Mary Mother of Gawd

Elsewhere on the bill, Lydia L’Scabies will be performing an Eastender’s Christmas act which is both dark and empowering. Donna Trump joins her to perform her act from Sasha Velour’s Nightgowns, which debuted in New York earlier this year.

“Donna’s act tells a story I think most LGBT+ people will remember from their own childhood: being picked last in PE!” Mike Pony from ESDR says with a smile.

The most difficult thing about getting The Winter Ball organised was curating a programme of individuals whose work could collectively tell a story, he explains: “We’re lucky to have Virgin Xtravaganzah hosting the show. The tricky bit is working out how best to fit others into that narrative that Virgin has to tell.”

The team have chosen things that, to them, embody Christmas: watching the Eastender’s Christmas special, getting new toys – not to mention a sexy Santa striptease.

The night features more than 15 drag performers including Lydia L’Scabies who delivers an empowering Eastender’s inspired set

For Mike, this show at Spiegeltent is another platform for showcasing Bristol’s queer performance scene, along with regular local nights like Category Is… and Brizzle Boiz. There are more opportunities than ever, he says: “The Bristol queer and drag scenes are constantly evolving and it’s gorgeous to see diversity”.

The fiercely political nature of British drag is reflected in Bristol, Mike adds, with drag kings finding opportunities alongside more ‘traditional’ drag queen acts. “It’s exciting to see cis-gender women finding opportunities, for example,” he says.

“I think it’s really exciting that the Spiegeltent have embraced LGBT+ artists and audiences for this event. They’ve really set the bar high allowing me to book the legendary Ana Matronic to DJ. I’d like this event to become an annual staple in the queer calendar, but I already know it’s going to be hard to top this lineup!”

The Spiegeltent Christmas Drag Ball is on Wednesday, December 19. For more information, visit www.christmasspiegeltent.co.uk