photo: Louise Clutterbuck
You were a teacher, what made you take the decision to become a drag artist?
I’d been made redundant and stumbled across RuPaul’s Drag Race. I must have watched around five seasons back to back over the summer, as you do. I was hooked. Then later that year I went on an Al and Chuck cruise [LGBT travel company] to the Caribbean and got to meet and greet some of the queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race. That was the first time I started doing drag. I was a hot mess. There’s a photograph of me and Michelle Visage, I’m sweating all over her, no make-up on my neck – it’s hilarious. I suppose I was looking for an outlet, and drag was it.
Where did it go from there?
I spent a whole year travelling the country, going to places as Kitty, meeting people but not thinking about performing. It was only in January 2015 when I thought about treating it as a serious venture. I put on my first show at Antenna this time last year. I did a couple of competitions: at one in Birmingham, I came first out of thirty. After that I was doing a few gigs, but concentrating on Nottingham. I’m trying to create a night where people can go and see drag. I did one at The Maze, which was okay but it wasn’t till I did a show at Spanky’s last October that it clicked. We had 160 people turn up. It was brilliant. Then we put on a Christmas show and Crimson Cabaret – a sideshow, burlesque type affair.
What’s the Nottingham drag scene like?
There’s a small community of drag artists and they perform along with me. I support them and they support me. Every other city seems to have a large drag community but Nottingham, not so much. There’s not a very strong gay scene. There might be a gay community, but not one that goes out and parties. The only gay club in Nottingham has gone straight now.
What’s the UK scene like in comparison to the US?
It’s strange. I don’t know if you could call it underground. Drag in the UK has always been about, it’s embedded in our history. I was brought up on Hinge and Bracket, Stanley Baxter, Stanley La Rue, Les Dawson. But it was only Lily Savage who broke into the mainstream. In America you’ve got RuPaul who has cultivated this mainstream hit. All walks of life – married men and women, young children, they all love it. Britain still has the view that drag queens are things to laugh at, or are used for a cheap thrill. I was lucky enough to star in DXP15 – Drag Exposure – last year, there were six RuPaul drag queens and around fifteen UK drag artists. I had ten minutes but I was rubbing shoulders with them all. It was an honour to do it.
Tell me about Morgan and Detox coming to Nottingham.
The whole thing came about because I wanted to put on a Ru girl. It’s on a Sunday and it’s an early start because I wanted to cater for under eighteens. The main event is from eight. There will be support acts, Tittiana, Vivian and Marilyn – all from Nottingham – and I’ll be hosting. It’ll be two hours of high energy drag performance with a meet and greet afterwards and a professional photo opportunity. I really hope it’s a success because I want ‘Kitty Presents…’ to be a regular thing. It’s classy. It builds on the fact that Kitty thinks she’s a celebrity.
Do you want us all to come dressed in our finery?
No, it’s casual. You’ll never outdo Kitty, so why even try?
Apart from Morgan and Detox, who is your favourite RuPaul drag artist?
I can’t name just one! You’ve got Bianca Del Rio who is talented for the comedy. Latrice Royale who I saw on the cruise. She has a one woman show that she’s based on her life as a boy; I defy you not to cry by the end of it. He went to prison and all sorts of things. I respect Mimi Imfurst so much, his show is phenomenal. Pandora Boxx is so sweet. They’re the stand out.
Tell us about your TV work.
Call me a fool, but the first show I did was Judge Geordie with Vicky Pattinson. That was me in my first month as a performing drag artist. It was cast as a reality programme, but it’s about as real as my titties. I was manipulated from day one. The whole concept was that Kitty wasn’t supported by her friends, which in itself was a construct. And the fact that I had to go back for reshoots as well. They were saying, “Oh, Vicky’s gonna ring you to say how you were getting on, it’d be great if you could slam the phone down on her”. I was acting my way through it, but I don’t know if I got a little bit of bad publicity from it.
I did Celebrity Big Brother and then Britain’s Got Talent, and I was very disappointed because I spent two days performing and creating a profile and managed to get through to the stage bit. They showed about four seconds. Both times I had my head down as though I was sleeping.
Recently I did Judge Rinder, that was probably more successful because I got known from it. Initially they said I could go on as Kitty but on the day they said, “You can’t wear that wig or those lashes or that jewellery”. Which I totally respect, but I did look like a truck-driving lesbian… my fans seemed to love it. I think somebody sent a picture comparing me to the Centauran from Dr Who, which I thought was brilliant. I’m also involved with a documentary for the BBC, which isn’t solely about me, but I’m involved with mentoring this actor from Hucknall who’s also a drag artist.
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photo: Louise Clutterbuck
Any plans to return to CBB?
I’m considering applying for Big Brother. I entered last year as Kitty but my video was rubbish. I was saying I’d be a drag queen 24/7 in the house, which I think they thought was false. Now I’ll do it as a boy and then show Kitty at the end.
Describe Kitty in five words.
Eccentric, self-indulgent, outrageous, fearless with a heart of gold. She’s as mad as a box of frogs. She doesn’t know she’s funny. That’s loads of words. Have you ever seen The Golden Girls? You know the gran? She’s like her.
You’ve been called Nottingham’s Tranma. What’s the idea behind that?
Barry Scotland – from Scotland, funnily enough – first called me that. I think it’s sticking. Kitty thinks she’s funky but she’s more flunky. She chases men who she petrifies, and she doesn’t understand why. She is a cougar. But it’s all harmless.
How long does it take you to get ready for a performance?
If I’m doing my make-up myself, it takes me two hours. I’m still learning. I found out I’m allergic to makeup so I have to start taking antihistamines. I did my make-up for Big Brother and got to the studio and my eyes were red raw. If I’m doing TV, sometimes I’ll ask a make-up artist to help me – I have no problem doing that. It only takes me about half an hour to get dressed. I have hip pads, wear corsets, and about six pairs of tights. So it takes about three and a half hours to get ready in total. I’d love to be able to do my make-up in forty minutes.
What’s the one beauty or clothing essential that you can’t live without?
It isn’t the make-up, it’s the hair. I’ve tried different wigs, but I have to keep going back to the same hair. I can have a bad make-up day, but will still come across well because of the hair.
Who’s your style icon?
Fashion wise, Vivienne Westwood. My first outfit was styled on Westwood. Alexander McQueen. Kitty is all about supporting the British. Melissa Bowler designs my clothes. The outfits are almost couture, because they’ve got linings and detail that you probably wouldn’t even see. I’ve kind of created a rod for my own back because they’re not cheap. They cost between £500-£600. My coat for DXP was £700. It was purple with fur and a leopard skin leotard underneath. I have a few outfits now, Kitty’s not about having a new outfit for every season, she crops up in the same thing now and again.
Kitty strikes me as the working woman’s drag queen. Give us her backstory.
She’s fifty, but she tells people she’s 32. She’s been about a bit, and in the eighties she had a one-hit wonder that nobody has ever heard of. She made a little bit of money when she used to perform on the circuit which is why she’s got all these outfits. Because she’s scatty, if someone says “you’ve got to have that style”, she buys it – she spends so much money. She’s never been married but always says that she has a husband.
She actually lives in a caravan and her manager sacked her years ago. I wanted to do a backstory where she gets a new manager but still nobody wants to hire her, so he says, “Look, you have to get a real job.” I was going to – and still might – do these videos like, Kitty does Lollipop Lady or Kitty does Chip Shop, where she turns up as though she’s doing cabaret.
Where do you think Kitty falls in terms of drag style?
She’s a comedy drag artist, but she’s an actress. As a performanc artist, she’s high camp comedy. I’m more or less myself when I’m Kitty – well, myself when I’ve had about sixteen gins. If you go, “Oh, I can’t believe you did that as Kitty”, I have to say, “Well, I would have done that as Ash.” But I do get to use Kitty as the excuse.
Sometimes people don’t get it, they think that because I’m playing a heightened version of myself that I think I’m a celebrity. That’s just hilarious. It’s that, “Who do you think I am?” One of the first gigs I went to was in Glasgow. I just walked straight through to the back rooms, past the security, just to see if I could do it. They kicked me out. She’s cheeky because she’s disillusioned.
What’s your favourite number to perform?
At the moment, RESPECT. I like anything upbeat. I do Alaska’s Welcome to the Show. She is a talent that will stay with us for a long time. The lyrics and the performance are so unique. It took me a couple of months to learn the lyrics to that properly. I’ll do that at every show because it sets the tone. I like eighties tracks. Kitty is eighties.
Who are your drag inspirations?
David Bowie, as a child. And Adam Ant. Anyone who was different. Madonna, GaGa. All strong, individual women. Marta Kane. I grew up when they were still doing cabaret on TV and I loved watching someone who is willing to not just stick to the norm.
So we’re going to see you performing with Morgan, where else are you going to be?
I’m heading to Glasgow, Bristol, London, Dorset. Locally, Spanky’s is going to be my home. I’m hoping this will be a big thing for Nottingham. I’d really like to be in a panto next Christmas, so make sure you put that in the article!
Kitty Tray presents… RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 2 Morgan McMichaels with special guest Detox, Sunday 7 February, Spanky Van Dykes, 6.30pm, £6.47 - £19.13.
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