GaydarNation

Our new weekly feature on the very best club nights the nation has to offer now brings you King of the Castle, a national Drag King contest that happens to be the first of its kind in the UK!

King of the Castle is Lenna Cumberbatch's vision of Drag Kings at their sexiest, dirtiest and most talented and she's now calling on all Drag Kings to strut their stuff on the shiny new stage at Camden's Purple Turtle Bar! The competition gives Drag Kings - whether they be new or experienced - the opportunity to show the celebrity judges what they've got in order to be crowned King of the Castle. Dancers and DJs will also be on hand to entertain and titillate the audience.

We caught up with Lenna to find out more!

So what exactly is a Drag King?
A drag king is someone - usually female - who performs maleness. It can be a parody of masculinity by being super macho or an imitation of a celebrity that you like!

We understand that Drag Kinging has a long London history; could you tell us more about that please?
London's music hall scene of the 1900s had loads of 'male impersonators', as they were called at the time. Two of the most famous ones were Vesta Tilley and Hettie King. Sarah Waters' book Tipping the Velvet had lead character Kitty Butler as a Swell (male impersonator). The male impersonation trend continues throughout the UK today in pantomime. Many of the 'boys' are played by women: Prince Chraming, Buttons and Peter Pan, to name a few. In the 1990s, London - along with places like San Francisco, New York and Berlin - were at the front of this new Drag King movement.

Tell us about King of the Castle.
King of the Castle is a National Drag King Competition. The structure is similar to a beauty pageant in that there are heats for sleep/swimwear, evening/club wear and performance. For the first two heats, Kings will dress to impress and strut across the stage, working the audience and trying to convince the judges that they deserve the crown. Their performance will be the crowning glory of the evening and can turn things totally on their head. The competition will last about two hours. The judges will select a winner who will receive a trophy, a crown and prizes from Beautiful & Damned, a personal photoshoot by Elly Clarke Photography and most importantly, the title of 'King of the Castle 2008'. The audience gets to also choose the person they feel deserves the 'Dirty Rascal' award!

King of the Castle is the first national Drag King contest in the UK; how did the idea first come about?
I came up with King of the Castle because I missed being a part of a Drag King scene. I've won a few Drag King competitions and there is a real comraderie about the whole thing. There is so little attention paid to Drag Kings and I truly believe they have a huge amount to contribute! Kings are so entertaining and often put a spin on gender politics of which most people just aren't aware. I scheduled it for a Bank Holiday weekend because I wanted it to truly be National. We have people coming to enter and to watch from Newcastle, Manchester, Brighton and London! We may even draw a Swedes to town.

Who can enter?
The competition is open to anyone, yep even bio-boys! Generally, Drag Kings are lesbians who take the opportunity to flirt in their male guise with women but since I believe that drag is performance I think anyone can perform a stereotype of gender. So come one, come all, DRAG IT UP!

What will it take to win the competition?
The emphasis for King of the Castle is performance. That means time. You can't show up on the day without having thought about what you're going to do. I've been in touch with most competitors and they are planning to thrill and delight the audience with a variety of performances. They are planning one hell of a show and along with dressing the part, performing the part is essential!

Apart from the competition, what other entertainment can people expect on the night?
Entertainment between will be provided by two troupes. The first are The Castle Dancers, the in-house troupe who have been diligently choreographed by Hagit Yakira. They bring you sexy, geeky Kinglyness. The second are the notorious Schmooze Brothers, who bring cabaret, dance and parody to the Kingdom, whilst spicing it up with a hint of tongue-in-cheek raunchiness. The rest of the night will feature DJ music from DJ Cautious and DJ Beboy Rocker.

Tell us about the venue.
The Purple Turtle in Camden is fab! It is a hilarious and friendly place to be. Usually a live music venue, it also hosts all sorts of shows and cabaret. It's rough around the edges and cool in that edgy way that places try to be, but never succeed at. With a newly refurbished stage, it’s the perfect venue for Kings to woo the crowd!

What are you most looking forward to on the night?
I can't wait to see the competitors perform. There are going to be some really interesting performances and some people have really gotten creative about their male personas!

Where else in London can people see Drag Kings in action?
Club and Bar Wotever are great places to catch Kings. Ingo has been instrumental in putting some light onto the King scene. Club Wotever is celebrating its 5th birthday and welcomes all gender benders with a sense of humour, all are equally welcome. Also keep an eye out for King nights, they pop up in regular club nights on occasions as well! And, hopefully, watch this space next year.

What else would you like to say?
I love to perform and I love seeing performers, being able to perform with a loving crowd screaming your name is brilliant and I wanted to bring that experience to a whole new wave of Drag Kings! So, if you've always wanted to get up on stage with a tie and a moustache, or a leather jacket and side burns, then this is your chance to strut your stuff!

Find out more at www.lennaland.com/castle.

The King of the Castle National Drag King Competition takes place on Sunday 4 May 2008 from 7.30pm to 1am at the Purple Turtle Bar, 61-65 Crowndale Road, London, NW1 1TN.

UPDATE: Stevie Wonderful, a.k.a. Fiona King, took the King of the Castle at the event on 4 May 2008. King, a wheelchair user, is a first time Drag King but after some initial trepidation said she was “in it to win it." Find out more.

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