Show: Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK Tour Season 2
Location: Manchester Opera House, Manchester
Date: Saturday, February 13 2022
Time: 20.00
Age Rating: 14+
Producers: Voss Events In Co-Operation With Live Nation And Cuffe And Taylor
Background
Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK Tour Season 2 aired this time last year bringing colour and fun to our screens. Now at Manchester’s Opera House, a really mixed audience of all ages were about to see the stars of the show live. We were in for a theatre treat.
As the Ru Paul’s Drag Race theme tune blasted out of the stage speakers, the audience jumped to their feet, ready to dance, sing and join in the fun. The set was bright and colourful with a Hollywood style staircase centre stage. The Queens made the most with their stylish entrances.
A nice touch was the stage background which showed clips and interviews from the television series. This enabled the audience to get to know each Queen a little better and remember what they brought to the show.
Werk It!
Led by big and bold Series 2 winner Lawrence Chaney, each of the twelve contestants performed their own routines in a series of jaw-dropping, high-kicking, serial costume-changing extravaganzas. As winner, Lawrence had won an all-expenses paid trip to Hollywood and a digital series of their own.
The other two finalists Bimini Bon-Boulash and Tacey showed off their skills. Also Cherry Valentine, Ellie Diamond, Ginny Lemon, Joe Black, Sister Sister, Tia Coffee, Veronica Green, A’Whora and Asttina Mandella.
Ginny Lemon kicked things off, resplendent in yellow. Her comedy set up the show and brought the house down when she shouted ‘F*ck the Tories’ (always a popular move up North). The music throughout was high energy and the audience totally pumped up. We were treated to further sets by Tia Kofi and Veronica Green (my personal fave act of the night) both singing and dancing. Vintage cabaret action followed from Joe Black.
Also in the first half, Cherry Valentine was bringing it like crazy, lip synching to Beyonce. She’s fresh from recently appearing in the BBC documentary ‘Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud’. We had Sister Sister singing ‘Crazy’ and Bimini Bon-Boulash provided an incredible display of pole dancing to Prodigy’s Firestarter.
Part Two
As if things couldn’t get any better, after the break A’Whora had everyone on their feet, busting dance moves and raising the roof! Tayce followed with a sexy robot act, rather rude with very explicit background graphics and some eye popping moves which left the audience open mouthed!
I have to mention the four backing dancers who worked their butts off throughout the show. The were clearly very fit and very accomplished dancers who brought something extra to each segment.
Dundee Queen, Ellie Diamond provided the evening’s most bizarre set, jumping from a crate dressed as Dr Seuss’s Cat in Hat (?).
Conclusion
This show manages to demonstrate just how and why each contestant had made it onto Ru Paul’s Drag Race Season 2. Each talented Queen could have easily walked away with the Crown. Having the opportunity to watch the Queens lipsynch for their lives, high kick, slut drop and perform eye watering splits was excellent. For the finale, everyone returned to the stage to perform the ‘UK Hun?’ number and the audience loved it. The noise levels were deafening.
So much fun, real talent, comedy, amazing talent and colourful costumes, the Queens left the stage with the audience baying for more as they sashayed away!
Overall Rating: 9/10 Noisy but excellent
The sold-out Season 2 tour continues this year with the official Season 3 tour beginning this Autumn. (returning to Manchester on the 3rd and 4th of October and Liverpool on September 16th). Click here for further details.
