'There were times I was the diversity tick box': Inside the ‘spirited soiree’ giving queer performers of colour their spotlight
Whilst attending a Pride event back in 2016, London-based cabaret performer and singer Sadie Sinner was surprised to see no Black lesbian artists on the line-up. She saw that other performers of colour also had notably less prominence on the bill as well.
“I had no real interest in performing whatsoever at first,” Val, originally from Levenshulme, tells the M.E.N. “I am the most iconic drag queen ever because I’m a drag artist that hates attention. I get anxiety and feel ill when people are looking at me all the time. Val, who will also be performing with the Pan-Asian cabaret collective Bitten Peach during their sold-out Queer Contact shows, admits there has been times when her heritage has been a barrier when getting booked for shows. "There were times I was the only person of colour on the line-up," she says.
“I’m in a very grateful position because I’ve had a few South Asian queens in Manchester come up to me to tell me how they’ve got into drag or performance because of me and that’s what it’s all about. “I lived in Botswana for about a year when I was younger,” she says. “As an only child, I would keep myself entertained with this yellow hula hoop. For some reason, I’d blocked this out for years until my mum reminded me of this.
“I think it was because there wasn’t - and still isn’t - enough representation out there and, after all the protesting and awareness, more people started to open their eyes. Performers like myself have always been around, we’ve been reaching out for years, but, eventually, we were starting to see the opportunities come through.”
It’s for that reason why Natasha believes shows like Cocoa Butter Club are so important for artists like her. She says they can elevate performers and introduce them to the rest of the world. “I don’t want to give too much away but it’ll be something special, for sure,” she laughs. “Contact is one place I've always wanted to perform at. Many years ago, when I came to Manchester on a night out, I went to Contact and I've always wanted to perform there since.
“My friend was putting on an open mic night and asked me to host it - despite me having absolutely no clue whatsoever about drag. But everyone seemed to enjoy it.”
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