Paul in London

Thanks to Ru Paul’s Drag Race being one of the shows available to stream for some time on Netflix, series five winner Jinkx Monsoon is a bit of a star over here. Now she’s here in London for a few days at the  Leicester Square Theatre  singing songs, improvising and doing stuff. For the few people that don’t have a Netflix subscription, Ru Paul’s Drag Race is a hilarious send up of the reality show format. But it’s also given rise to a new breed of drag super stars. They sing, they strut, they teach you how to throw shade. In this show, with her combination of improvised comedy and a relentless voice, Jinkx Monsoon gives you a night to remember.

If you have been wondering where you could see a live all-singing all-dancing tribute show to the worlds greatest divas performed by a bunch of blokes, then you could do with catching Drag Divas , which is having a short run at the Arts Theatre in Leicester Square. It has been always a bit difficult to see a drag show in central London as the local punters don't seem to go for that sort of thing... But it is great to see there is at least for the moment a place in the West End where you can go for a late night camp fix that doesn't take itself too seriously and gives a touch of hoary glamour to theatreland this summer. The show is billed as being "Fierce. Fabulous. Fearless" and this could apply to both the divas and the drag performers as they come out and sing live in front of an audience that has already had a drink or three and has been warmed up by drag compere Mrs Moore. But what they may lack in the vocal department, they make up for with some impressive costu...

The Importance of Being Earnest, The Musical currently playing at the Riverside Studios Hammersmith , turns out to be a nice little Christmas surprise. The show with a book by Douglas Livingstone and score by Adam McGuinness and Zia Moranne takes Oscar Wilde's play and turns it into a brisk and witty affair that captures the essence of the comedy while feeling like a distinct show in its own right.

IMG_1505 , originally uploaded by Paul-in-London . Now there's a date for the diary...

source: http://www.tinac.net/ Not content to see just one show this week at the Leicester Square Theatre , on Wednesday night I was back there with Richard to see Tina C's show Tick My Box . Having seen Dina Martina with Richard, I think he is becoming my drag act buddy. Well since neither of us are English we don't get so uptight about seeing men dressed up as women as much as some of the young gays on the scene seem to do... Anyway Richard is a bit of a Tina C fan and couldn't believe that as a gay man in London I had not seen her show before. Fortunately for me rather than suggest I should have my pink card revoked, he got me a ticket to her show. The premise of this show is that Tina C - a self declared country music icon - is running for President of the United States of America and is after your vote. She isn't red (Republican) and she isn't blue (Democrat) but purple, and she want's everyone to vote purple. Hmmm... Sprinkled through the act are a smatte...