Following the success of her live Christmas show and weekly Late Night Natterbox show on Sofa Share Wales during the 2020 lockdowns, drag performer Ernie Sparkles returned to The Riverfront theatre with Wales’ favourite drag nanna Dragma. She was joined by her draggranddaughters ‘The House of Deviant’, Wales’ premier inclusive drag troupe with learning disabilities as they return to the Riverfront with their raunchy and raucous twist on a night at bingo!
The House of Deviant is a South Wales based coproduced project that uses drag performance skills as a tool to explore self-esteem and autonomy with adults with learning disabilities who can otherwise have difficulties with issues such as social isolation and getting their voices heard.
Since its beginnings in Autumn 2020, The House of Deviant has been spreading fierce sass and fabulousness at live and online events across the UK including at Riverfront Theatre, Chapter Arts Centre, Pride events, Electric Umbrella TV and Gig Buddies.
Still in its early days the House of Deviant’s Queens have already found that they see themselves more positively and feel they can be more assertive in getting their voices heard.
Always up for a bonkers night out, and a bit of Drag Bingo, South Wales Life went along to The Riverfront, with our dabbers in hand, to have a few games (and yes we did win), but also to meet this brilliant group of performers who brought so much joy to the Newport crowd.
Drag performer, Ernie Sparkles who helped to set up The House of Deviant told us…..
“These queens always take me by surprise! The work they do on stage and online is really challenging not only how they view themselves, but also how society views people with disabilities. They pull all the stops out and the result is an insanely hilarious and exciting work. There have been many moments when I’ve struggled to breathe through the laughter they bring!
The show is totally unscripted and what audiences see is genuine improvised comedy. In the Christmas show we had spontaneous sexy penguin dancing and deviant dalliances with the royal family. I’m always amazed at the things they come out with!
Lots of people think people with learning disabilities can’t do a lot of things, and the House of Deviant is smashing what people think they can do and proving that a diagnosis doesn’t need to be a barrier”
Daughter of Deviant Nicole Bird enjoys performing in drag as Flossie Sunshine. She feels that drag helps her to explore different personas……
“Being in the House of Deviant is an amazing achievement because I feel like I’m a different person, I become a sassy person”.
Sophie Scheeres aka Miss Shade feels that performing in drag has given her more confidence and opportunities to socialise….
“It helps me to socialise and gives me confidence. It makes me fabulous to learn to do make up and dance routines and change my voice”.
On working with The House of Deviant, Ernie Sparkles adds……
“Working with these fierce queens has been an absolute privilege, they are very sassy and naturally hilarious and always leave me in awe of their willingness to develop, to perform and to challenge perceptions around what people with learning disabilities can do.”
As Dragma mentioned, they are appearing at DRAG SYNDROME on the 26th June at the Wales Millennium Centre.
The final event of Unity Festival 2022 in Cardiff, Drag Syndrome is a groundbreaking, internationally acclaimed drag collective featuring highly addictive drag Queens and Kings with Down’s syndrome.
They demonstrate to the world that people with Down syndrome aren’t just sweet and cute. They are fierce, versatile, hard-working, professional artists who know how to put on a spectacular show and are committed to honing their craft. Drag Syndrome is currently comprised of Horrora Shebang, Justin Bond, Lady Francesca, Nikita Gold, lady mercury, and Davina Starr.
To find out more, and get your tickets, go HERE.
