The Streats lounge was graced with a free drag show on Nov. 7, welcoming to the stage Anida Tythole, Justice Dejour, and Jo King. The powerful drag trio gave UFV students a night to remember packed with lip syncs, raunchy jokes, and even risque games for willing participants.
For many audience members, it was their first experience at a drag show. For those not knowing what to expect, drag is a growing art form that embraces sexuality and pushes the boundaries of gender. It’s a form of entertainment that typically involves wearing clothing of another gender, often in highly stylized and exaggerated ways. Shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race have been helping make drag more visible in mainstream media, but it’s been around for centuries, tracing back to ancient religious ceremonies (among the Incas, Aztecs, and Egyptians) and Japanese theatre.
The stage and seating were tucked into a corner of Streats; cozy but not ideal for seating the 30+ people ready for a show. However, the cramped seating did nothing to deter the excitement and energy of the audience for lip syncs to songs like “Venus” by Shocking Blue and “Greedy” by Ariana Grande. Every dance had audience members clapping, howling, and laughing as performers danced both on and off stage — lap dancing on the occasional viewer.
Between musical numbers there was humorous banter by the performers, often teasing audience members about texting during the performance or complimenting their fashion. The interludes also included contests that pulled volunteers from the crowd to participate in lewd games onstage. One game in particular paired strangers in teams and had them race to get into sex positions as fast as possible, introducing us to exotic positions such as the “Rusty Trombone” that many hadn’t heard of prior to the event. The prizes for these contests were gift bags, where the colourful contents ranged from sex toys to lube.
The only thing that brought down the high-energy atmosphere was the breaks. The event was slated to have doors open at 6:30 p.m., but the advertising did not clarify that the show would actually start closer to 7. The first half of the performance was approximately 20 minutes long, with a 20-minute break before the second half, which was slightly longer. As an audience member, it felt like equal parts waiting for the performance and watching it, and after a long school day it became obvious that audience members were beginning to feel the fatigue by the slow decline in cheering and screaming.
This was the first drag show at UFV in recent memory, and despite any of its shortcomings it was highly entertaining and put on by a passionate and talented cast of drag performers.
All three performers are either currently enrolled at UFV or alumni.
“I was here when it was UCFV, and it was nowhere near [this progressive]. I was not out at that point, so I think that’s great that people can come to a show like this and be themselves … We’ve come a long way,” King said
Outside of this performance, Tythole can be found hosting her show Tucked and Loaded regularly at The Stage in Mission. Tythole puts on shows to fundraise for the Fraser Valley Youth Society, a non-profit organization that supports LGBTQ+ youth in the Valley. Incidentally, this is also where King and Dejour met Tythole, later forming the Valley Clique drag trio.
Whether it be curiosity or a desire to connect with the LGBTQ+ community on campus, give local drag a chance. The Valley Clique are tentatively planning another performance at UFV for Valentine’s Day, and based on this recent show, you won’t want to miss it.
Image: Chandy Dancey/The Cascade
Chandy is a biology major/chemistry minor who's been a staff writer, Arts editor, and Managing Editor at The Cascade. She began writing in elementary school when she produced Tamagotchi fanfiction to show her peers at school -- she now lives in fear that this may have been her creative peak.
