Brighton’s only drag king night launches its King Of The Fringe contest this week.
Spread over three heats and a final, King Of The Fringe expands on last year’s competition with a new line-up of contestants and guest acts.
The action kicks off this Saturday at the Marlborough Theatre – the next two heats will take place there on 11 March and on 2 April before the grand final on 12 May as part of the Brighton Fringe.
Previous winner Sammy Silver will be performing on 11 March and 2 April.
Host Stella Pint will corral the kings through two rounds, a Q&A session and then a talent round. Contestants confirmed for the first heat are local drag king Ace Heartbreaker, Freddie Pluto and drag king anti-virtuoso punk band The Great White Males consisting of Archibald Tactful (vocals), johnsmith (lead guitar, winner of Man Up at The Glory), Johnnie Jove (bass) and Little Keith (drums).
The organisers are busy touching up their ‘taches ahead of Saturday but told us that they have a clear mission. “We hope our event will go some way towards bringing the art of male impersonation to the fore,” they said. “We want to show that drag kings are just as talented and exciting as drag queens!”
There will also be performances from the queer community at each heat including Lynn Ruth Miller (6 February), Lydia L’Scabies (12 May), Crystal Lubrikunt (2 April), Miss Samantha Mann (2 April) and former King of the Fringe winner, Sammy Silver (11 March, 2 April).
More than ten kings have lined up to compete over the three heats but there is still space for more. Anyone interested should contact Rosie at kingofthefringe@gmail.com.
Follow the King Of The Fringe twitter feed for the latest information.
I went last year and the year before and it was brilliant! Some great talent and some really good humour. I highly recommend!