RuPaul’s Drag Race UK stars converge for Death Drop festive fun in Brighton

Cheryl Hole (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 1 and Drag Race Vs The World), River Medway (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 3) and Willam (RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 4) will be joined on stage by Victoria Scone (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 3, Canada vs The World) and Drag King LoUis CYfer with a full drag supporting cast when the show plays from December 13-24. Death Drop Back In The Habit sees a gaggle of nuns trapped in their convent with a serial slayer slashing their way through the sisters. And it is going to be a whole load of fun, the cast promise. The clues are unearthed by Sis Marple, and as the promoters promise, you’ll be “laughing in the pews as the hilarious, fierce, all-drag killer comedy comes to its thrilling and uproarious conclusion.”

“It is not a Christmas show as such,” says Cheryl, “but it has got all the tropes of a lovely camp Christmas panto in a different setting. As with any drag there is a lot of camp but this show is more than anything about escapism and we all need to escape the dread of the world right now. This is what we do as artists, to give people a boost and joy and a lift right now. We were so lucky to have two weeks in the West End and it nearly sold out all the time or as near as sold out as it possibly could be. We were so lucky to have such joy in the room. This show is a comedy drag show but it has actually also got all the elements of the classic horror movie it's. It's scary... and we push it to the limit.”

At a time when a number of shows are suffering from the aftermath of Covid and also from the impact of the worsening cost of living crisis, how does Cheryl explain the fact that they did so well in London? “I think we're very lucky in that sense that drag has got an audience and Drag Race means that people are interested in us and want to follow us around and to see what we're doing and to see what we're up to.”

Cheryl’s drag journey began in 2016: “I found that it was the outlet for my creativity that I had always been searching for. I studied contemporary dance and that's what got me into this world but then I discovered that there was a contemporary approach to drag that I could just put my own spin on.” Cheryl and some of the others recently visited Brighton ahead of the run. They visited the new Christmas display in the Royal Pavilion Music Room to get into the festive spirit, as well as specialist drag shop Brighton Birdcage, before stopping in for a spot of afternoon tea at 2 Church Street with some locals including Janusz Domagala of recent Bake-Off Fame, and local drag queens Alex Fincher and Zorana Dawn. Nick Jordan, owner of The Brighton Birdcage said: “We cannot wait for this fantastic show to come to Theatre Royal Brighton. Death Drop is going to be amazing. Having met Willam, Cheryl Hole and River Medway in our shop for a photo shoot, they were all incredible.”