Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.08.2008, Qupperneq 36

36 | REYKJAVÍK GRAPEVINE | ISSUE 12—2008
ARTICLE
The theme for this year’s Icelandic Drag Competi-
tion was “Opera Horror” and the Drag Queens of
Reykjavík delivered. The new Queen, a satirical
version of Amy Winehouse, was crowned with a
fountain of applause, fantastic prizes and a shiny
tiara. The man behind the Drag creation, Magnús
Jónsson, was shocked that he had won this year’s
title.
“I had already placed bets on who would
win, and I placed myself fourth. I’m not lying; I
didn’t think I would win. We had only rehearsed
for four nights. Yesterday I felt really sick and felt
like pulling out.” Jonsson had tried out various
other possibilities for acts, including a Eurovision
parody when it finally struck him to send up Wine-
houses’ drug habits with Mary Poppins’ ‘A Spoon
Full of Sugar’. Not only was this his first title, it was
also his first drag ever.
Last year’s defending Drag King, Ylfa Lind
Gylfadóttir, performed superbly, encouraging the
growing popularity and positive image of the King
Competition. Thanks to Ylfalind’s performance,
this year’s King Contestants had nearly doubled,
and the winning entry – a softly spoken, tap-danc-
ing old man – swept away the competition to rap-
turous applause.
It was no coincidence that this year’s win-
ning characters leaned closer towards the theatri-
cal than the musical. Two of the judges, Executive
Director of LGBT, Lárus Ari Knútsson, and model
Anna Rakel, commented on what they had looked
for in 2008’s King and Queen – “Humour, original
choreography, comedy, surprises and the X Factor
– the whole package”.
Fabulously
Dragged to
Rehab
BY STevIe wARD — pHoToS BY gAS