SPOTLIGHT ON: BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon

American Drag Royalty BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon are no strangers to Brighton, having played here before but later this month they bring a brand new Holiday show to us as part of a 26-city tour of the UK, US and Canada.

I zoomed with them to their base in Seattle on the US West Coast and talked the politics of drag, their choice of names, and burlesque. They are of course both huge stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race in different seasons.

DeLa is very specific about the drag name. She told me: “I keep my drag self separate from the artist who creates the character. She’s a total ding dong who doesn’t know very much at all. In drag I’m always her. But I love to separate the two. I never perform just as Ben “. She also prefers to be known as DeLa to differentiate the two personas.

In the zoom the duo are in drag so DeLa is the name I’ll use from now on. DeLa was bullied as a child at school “an aspect relatively common in the LGBTQ+ community. I went through it traumatised”. To balance that, her act is joyful, loving, inclusive. “I feel blessed to do it for others”.

DeLa is quoted as saying drag is a political act, so I asked why ? “ We challenge the concept of gender as a basis for society. We are revolutionary and activists merely by being in the public eye, telling the world we can be what we want”.

She teaches at a Burlesque Academy and I wondered what that involved. “ Burlesque shares all genders. Burlesque women are heightened versions of femininity. I guide people to creating their own characters, creating the artifice of spectacle and connect with their audience. They are making up their own stories- even when they are taking off their clothes.”

Turning to Jinkx, whose surname came from Ab Fab’s Edina, Jewish heritage is a key factor for her. “It’s my identity, though I was raised a Catholic. We’re told things about ourselves, we explore our family. I’m actually not in any organised religion – I’m a modern practising witch”.

Star of a documentary Drag Becomes Him, I wanted to know why the iconic film Death Becomes Her was so important to her. “It’s a near-perfect movie, with amazing acting performances. It’s absurdist comedy, a send-up of Hollywood. Part of my character is based on Meryl Streep’s and I’ve been watching the film since I was 6. It’s the basis of my female persona. It’s about how women are treated and what lengths they’ll go to, to get their feminine power. I’d rather be an ageing woman than a man”.

Their show in Brighton promises spectacle, comedy and all-live singing. “ It’s interactive with the audience and it has a lot of heart. It’s important to challenge traditions and make life what we want it to be. Holidays are about coming home but coming home is not always accessible to the Queer community. We want to say we are your chosen family. It’s a good lesson to learn – you are in charge of your own destiny and who’s in your life. But we’re optimistic characters in the show, though I’m boozy and brash “, said Jinkx. “ The comedy comes from the conflict between us; we’re at opposite ends of the Drag spectrum”.

Asked to give advice to their young selves, DeLa said: “I think about it constantly – if I’d known how great it was to live my life – if I’d known that : I’d have said : hang in there . There’s something greater on the horizon”. Jinkx added: “I don’t want to tamper with the past- everything gets better with time and age. Stay calm”.

The Return of the Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show Live! is at Brighton Theatre Royal on Sunday November 21 – tickets at atgtickets.com