The Norwich Drag Pageant 2023: Review

 
From left to right: Stealia Jobs, Moth, Kylie M’Hoe, Allie Express, The Duke, Alexa Darling, Cammy Leone, Sam Moanella, Iceni, Liv
 
 
7 Contestants. 1 crown. The Norwich Drag Pageant 2023. Friday the 16th marked the night of the highly anticipated annual Norwich Drag Pageant, making its second appearance on the Norwich scene. Featuring Alexa Darling, Sam Moanella, Iceni, The Duke, Kylie M’Hoe, Allie Express and Cammy Leonne. All competitors were challenged to perform an original number and show their best moves on the catwalk to be in with a chance of being crowned the newest NDP king or queen. Presented and organised by two of the most renowned drag artists in Norwich, the incredible Liv and amazing Moth.
 
After catching up with the entire cast prior to the show, it was clear that the spirits and competition was high, and I was extremely excited for the diverse talent the night would hold. *Spoiler alert* They did not disappoint!
 
Moth, the inter-dimensional drag creature and Liv, the non-binary diva, graced the stage in a dramatic sea of fog to kick off the event of the season and lay down what the night ahead held in store. Their effortless wit and humour of born performers and natural presenters warmed up the crowd and I, for one, was elated to see the first contestant take the stage. Soon to add comedian to her title, with Liv’s sharp sense of humour keeping us entertained throughout the evening.
 
First to take their shot at taking home the crown was Alexa Darling, the live-singing Broadway queen of Norwich, delivering exactly THAT! Gracefully entering the stage wearing a black lingerie style bodice with a layered black skirt. In true west end style, she sang her heart out to what I think must’ve been an original number (or just very hard to track down), a jazzy song to match her vast energy. Despite the upbeat and theatrical style of song, her routine was not short of high leg kicks and seductive moves!
 
Next to take the stage was, The Duke, otherwise known as the colourful clown prince of Norwich. Inspired by the circus bringing a bunch of strange people together to create something pretty and fun, he took his true drag roots to the next level with the Greatest Showman’s ‘This is me’. Whipping off the monochrome wig and outfit, mid performance to reveal the rainbow underlayer that represented their true colourful personality and empowering performance.
 
 
 
The Duke – During the runway
 
 
Iceni, the bearded beauty of Norwich, took us on a real ride, quite literally, with her own airline set up. Strutting down the aisle, in full sassy airhostess mode, in a sultry bejewelled flight attendant outfit and even going as far as to run us through the safety procedure for the crazy journey. All the energetic, Ibiza vibes were brought to the stage during this performance, transporting me to O Beach for 5 minutes with the mash up of house and pop classics!
 
Sam Moanella was up next, the drag king extraordinaire and the yassification of food poisoning, entering the stage from inside a jazzy refrigerator replica, in full bacteria form. This unique inspiration didn’t stop at the props, with Sam’s head piece representing white fluffy mould, and maybe a bit of Christmas tinsel in there too and his embroidered ‘biohazard’ shorts. A mash up of hazardous warnings voice overs and Lipps Inc’s ‘Funky Town’, to really represent his drag style within the show. A fun, creative and unusual, in the best way, kind of performance!
 
Cammy Leone, Norwich’s newer shape shifter, entered next for her debut drag performance, following her lip-sync battle win at Liv’s recent ‘Coven’ show in November. Despite this being their first show, you would never have known, their confidence absolutely flourished, and they truly are a chameleon! Beyonce’s ‘Why don’t you love me’, as the song of choice and they brought all the energy to match! Wearing a trench coat at the start of their performance, revealing a strappy black frock underneath whilst dancing, with another outfit in between to finally reveal a little black dress, with sequin blood handstitched on. Cammy’s floor work and overall dance was amazing to say the least, their first of many performances to on the drag scene.
 
Next up was Allie Express, the non-binary supermodel of Norwich, with an emotional and empowering performance that reflected on her experience growing up and entering the drag scene. Allie included a really personal element to her performance by having photographs of her younger self growing up flash on the background whilst lip syncing to Rina Sawayama’s ‘Hold The Girl’. Her powerful and emotive moves really captured the journey within her life and the confidence that has enabled her to grow into such an incredible artist. Upbeat parts of the song let her fun personality shine through and whip off her blown out 1950’s style skirt, to a gorgeous satin red midi skirt to swish at her knees. A real story of a performance!
 
Kylie M’Hoe, Norwich’s dancing diva and sparkling show girl, was last but certainly not least to perform for their chance to take the crown home. Her gleaming energy radiated from her smile to her sparkly flapper style girl leotard, performing an energetic and upbeat dance routine to Dreamgirls ‘one night only’. With a real disco feel to it, her stunning dance routine was fun and lively, making this feel even more so, like one night only kind of entertainment!
 
The interval had an exciting, yet tense buzz as it was almost impossible to pick who would make the top 4. A role that I do not envy Liv and Moth for taking on, with such a diverse and unique mix of performance styles and characters, but what less could you expect when you’re in Norwich! Genuinely, how can you even try to compare a live broad way song to those who have multiple outfit changes on stage to another who designs and brings their very own refrigerator to walk out of!
 
 
 
The seven contestants paraded the runway in a fresh and equally fabulous change of attire, with their last chance to make it into the final four. Two ferocious lip sync battles between the chosen final fabulous four, concluded that the final two to have the last lip sync smack down would be, *drumroll please*…Alexa Darling and Cammy Leone!
 

Cammy Leone and Alexa Darling – The final two