Reykjavík Grapevine - 01.08.2014, Qupperneq 30

30
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 11 — 2014
You were a drag queen, right?
When was that?
I competed in 1998. I won that year, and
after that I was asked to take over the
competition and I've been doing that ever
since. So I haven't been able to compete
because I don't think it's fair, even though
I'd like to. I've often performed on the
show. I've hosted occasionally. At least I
always go in drag for the show.
So, what's your role in the compe-
tition?
I produce it and I also direct. I don't take
over the direction for the competitors;
I just try to get the best out of them. In
most cases these aren't professional ac-
tors, so you have to help them along the
creative process. I talk to them as a judge
would, even though I don't judge the
competition. But I try to get them as far
as they can.
The Rest Is Drag
Who participates? Who com-
petes?
Everyone is allowed to participate. I have
no qualms about whether a person is gay,
straight, bi, transgender or anything.
Mainly of course it is gay people who are
participating, but everyone is welcome to
do what they want to do.
What are the performances?
Everyone makes their own character—
the character has to be very believable.
Somebody might come up on stage and
just talk, or to dance, or sing on their own.
We've had all sorts of acts in previous
shows: circus acts, acrobats, tap dancing,
anything goes. I'm just waiting for some-
one to take a toilet with them on stage and
sit on it. But no one has done that yet.
What's the drag scene outside of
the competition? Is there a regu-
lar scene?
There used to be a better one. Places are
always changing, always opening and
closing. We used to have a gay theatre
called Vanity. One summer we had a cab-
aret there, every Saturday, with new ma-
terial each time. So there was a big drag
scene that summer. Sometimes there's
a lot going on, sometimes there's not. I
don't go out that much anymore. There
may be three or four people going out in
drag regularly, but there aren't that many
performances at the moment which is
sad.
Why do you think that is?
The way things are moving politically in
the gay community here—I get the feel-
ing that they're trying to take away our
inheritance, like they're trying to make
our history disappear. I'm all for getting
my rights and I've been a strong support-
er of Pride, but when you get the rights,
you start to focus outwards, which is also
good, but they're sweeping under the
carpet the things we used to do. We're all
getting so neutral; we're all getting really
straight-looking. We don't want to be rec-
ognised as gay people. That's the reason
I continue with this competition. I don't
want our history to disappear. Don't for-
get, drag was one of the most powerful
weapons used in the first battles for our
rights. This is just too valuable to dismiss.
Fit For A King
The competition features drag
queens and drag kings. Are those
different sorts of acts?
Yes, it's two titles. They are different.
Drag king is a much younger concept,
so I guess women haven't delved into
too many stereotypes like the men have
throughout the years. But the typical ste-
reotypes that are showing up are these
really flamboyant, romantic guys in suits,
the big bum on the street and the rocker
type. The rocker type really seems to be
hot at the moment and the girls pull it off
really well. In the dressing room on the
day of the show, I sometimes walk past
the drag kings because I don't realise it's
them. They can really do a good number.
Are there the same number of
men and women competing?
We try to keep it equal every year. This
year it is.
As you say, drag kings are a
new thing. I sometimes wonder
whether male drag might border
on misogynistic in its parody of
femaleness. Thoughts?
I think a drag queen can say whatever
she wants to say. She can be political, but
she doesn't have to be politically correct.
You are supposed to be insulting people.
You're in drag. You're 200% of what
you are mimicking. It's all done to push
buttons. If people are getting shocked,
good, then it's working. If gay people are
shocked, good, then it's better. Somebody
has to kick our butts sometimes.
Do you think increased aware-
ness of trans issues has had an af-
fect on the way drag is received or
performed?
People have been asking me about this re-
cently. I don't think it has really affected
it. Some people say, ‘If you're going into
drag, you're making fun of transgender
people.’ That is so not it; that has nothing
to do with it. The two are not connected
at all. One is an art form, the other is about
feeling comfortable in a different body or
gender presentation. A drag performer
wants to go on stage, wants to be noticed.
A transgendered person is not (necessar-
ily) concerned with performance. I mean
we've had transgender people in the com-
petition and I love how open the discus-
sion for transgender people is today. It's
about effing time.
Since 1997, The Icelandic Drag Competition (Dragg-
keppni Íslands) has grown from a small low-frills, night-
club function into a full, fabulous production, fit for El-
dborg, Harpa's main stage. This year's competition on
August 6 will pit four pretenders to each of Iceland's drag
crowns against each other (queens against queens, kings
against kings) in a battle of parody and flamboyance.
And who said Iceland never had a monarch? I spoke with
Georg Erlingsson Merritt (drag name, Keiko), the com-
petition's producer and director to learn more about this
gay game of thrones.
Crossover
Appeal
We kiki with the producer
and director of The Icelandic
Drag Competition
Words by Eli Petzold
Photos provided by Georg Erlingsson
Pride | Drag Competition
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