It’s a Drag Knock-out Week 1.5

(A quick heads-up. I’m really bad at taking photos at events, so the ones here are purely to give a general idea of how the acts looked. Also, I’m writing this while suffering with the flu, so some parts might not make 100% sense, and the pictures will just be grouped together at the end. On with the review!)

It’s that time again (literally, it’s Week One again) at It’s a Drag Knock-out, the weekly drag elimination contest that takes place in Camden’s welcoming Bloc Bar. This week, the Mistress of Ceremonies and host Meth saw 7 more bright-eyed hopefuls attempting to lip-sync, dance, strip and monologue their way into the final ten. But first, Meth showed the contestants and fellow judges Virgin Xtravaganzah, Silver Summers and Lilly Snatchdragon what we’re looking for in a mashup of What’s Up by 4 Non Blondes with Hey Ya and Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne.

Then it was the newbies’ time to shine, with Delirium leading the way. In her drag debut, she brought us a (not-so-topical-for-2016) satire of David Cameron and Pig-Gate, with a lapdance involving a sex-doll, a pig nose mask and a knife. Say what you want about the lip-sync to Stacie Orrico’s Stuck, Delirium put blood, sweat and tears into her performance. Literally, in some cases, due to a mishap with the knife.

Next up, with an unnerving version of It’s My Life by No Doubt, came Johnny Jones, filling this week’s Femme Fatale role. The blonde bombshell gave a layered performance, with every lost item of clothing ushering the next stage of the narrative, which climaxed with a modern ‘Lady-Macbeth-esque’ reveal. However, some of the shed weren’t exactly scheduled, with falling tights and a slightly visible hairline.

Rounding up the first act was the very fishy Tess Tickles. Sitting in the front row, I couldn’t tell whether Miss Tickles was a boy in drag or an actual lady. The illusion was everything. Or, it would have been if the performance itself, a hard-hitting (no pun intended) domestic-violence-themed lip-sync to Rachel Platten’s recent hit Fight Song. Sure, there was a wardrobe malfunction and a ‘prop-drop’ involving a confetti cannon, but with a tight, emotional performance this good all can be forgiven.

After the interval came the delightfully vulgar Lick Von Dyke, and Mary Poppins she ain’t. Lick brought the house (and taste levels ) down with a sex-fuelled burlesque to Still Into You by Paramore. The (sex)act involved fisting a fan, a vibrator waved in my face (Still not sure if that adds or deducts points tbh), and copious amounts of fingering. As for the lip-sync, it was less about moving her lips (no laughing in the back there) and more about channeling the song into her own narrative. And who doesn’t love heart shaped pasties and vagina glitter?

Our very own Victor/Victoria, Lil’ Luna Tic, was next. Lil’ managed to swiftly move the crowd from Lick’s raucous performance to her own moving routine to a Love Song mashup. (I don’t know if the track had a name). Although it was painfully obvious that Lil’ was battling some serious nerves, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house, with the judges and crowd wiping away a collective tear.

Penultimately (is that a word? It should be) was Maleficunt. What can I say about this performance of Til It Happens to You by Lady Gaga? It was a lip-sync. To a Lady Gaga song (I can still hear the twink behind me constantly drawling her name.) But, I have to admit, I didn’t ‘get’ it. I can understand that it is supposed to be an emotional song that tells a story, but I didn’t understand the narrative, with random bits of clothing being shoved onstage and looked at by Maleficunt. To be honest, it seemed like a rushed performance, with little preparation. (And to think I wanted these first reviews to be shade-free…)

Last, but definitely not least, was the bearded and leggy Gingzilla. This performance was EVERYTHING! A dinosaur lip-sync, Grace-Jones-style supermodel realness, an accident with a judge’s drink, and a housewife’s monologue by Steven Berkoff. I have to applaud her for giving me reason to use Jones and Berkoff in the same sentence. No spoilers, (but then again, who wouldn’t expect her to get through) but I can’t wait to see what she brings in the oncoming weeks. It was honestly refreshing to see a talent that didn’t involve just another lip-sync.

Which brings me to the subject of the first official challenge. You guessed it, Lip-sync Week! Yes, Meth will be honing the contestants into lip-sync assassins, but with a twist (to be revealed). Naturally, to show the expected standard, she brought out the big guns- Iggy Azalea and Dame Maggie Smith in a Fancy/Downton Abbey mash-up. I have to admit, I think I’m getting hooked on Meth. Also, she makes a good read (intentional or not) by mocking that no-one has watched The X Factor since 2006, while last year’s tenth place contestant Seann Miley Moore was in the crowd at Bloc.

And then it was time to find out who would be grabbing the five positions to the final ten. The votes were counted (remember, one vote for each member of the audience, and extra votes for every £5 spent at the bar). Lil’ Luna Tic, Gingzilla, Delirium and Tess Tickles were awarded positions 6-9. Oh, hold on… Tess Tickles… hmm… I literally just got it!

This meant that it fell upon Johnny Jones, Maleficunt and Lick Von Dyke to duke it out to Champion by everyone’s favourite Supermodel of the World, Rupaul. I could not take my eyes off of Miss Von Dyke, and neither could the judges, apparently, who sent her through with a 2-1 vote.

So there you have it. The Top Ten are: