The Drags Aloud TV Shows
I received an email from Debbie who had a restaurant in Fitzroy called Temple Bar. They were newly opened and were looking for a weekly drag show to lure customers in as they were ‘struggling’ as Debbie put it.
I asked if they could do a bowl of spaghetti and a glass of wine for $10 and we’d call the night ‘Spag n Drag’ (Spag Bol or Veggie and a glass of wine PLUS a drag show.!) and so Spag n Drag was born. The venue was intimate and patrons flooded in. MCV the local gay paper described it as ‘the best value night out in Melbourne’ and the crowds seemed to agree.
A good friend, Paul Spano, knew an independent TV Producer, Anthony Abicair who wanted us to put together a series for Channel 31 based around our shows at Spag n Drag. And so we called the show “Drags Aloud” which seemed to sum up what it was about.
I’d been working with another drag queen – Amy Jane Roberts – at Muse Bar in St Kilda, where we shared the night with stand-up comedy shows. (One of our first guests was the super talented Sammy J, an unknown like us all at that time. )
So we decided the format would be our Muse Bar formula and that Spag n Drag’s Temple Bar would be our set. The show was hosted by Showbags – being me, Jessica James and Roxy Bullwinkle.
The series was quite popular and played Australia wide on each State’s community television channels at one stage, and in Melbourne it was on constant repeat for a few years on Channel 31. We mapped out season 2, but they call it ‘development hell’ for a reason, and so we only had the single season.
It was a great experience and a lot of fun. I learned a lot from up and coming comedians like Sammy J and Dave Thornton. The comedians side of things was guided by Peter C Kohn whom we’d worked with at Muse Bar.
Our guest list was drag queen friends, local LGBT identities and musicians like Katie Underwood. But most importantly for our joint futures, regular guests Jill, Jackie and Kris from the Manly Sisters were to join Showbags and we collectively became ‘Drags Aloud’.
Here are some stills and video excerpts of the show.
All images and content
on www.dragsaloud.com
is copyright 2020
Showbags on TV
