ON SATURDAY, one of Reading’s regular drag nights returned to its previous host after a short hiatus at The Rising Sun Arts Centre.
Sheer Obsession’s Suspenders was hosted by the performer formerly known as Anita Oui in the absence of its namesake in the first half of the year.
However Sheer Obsession is back, bringing hand-picked drag talent to the venue.
The show began with Francis LightningHeart, whose battle jacket and leather trousers combined to make clear their love for classic rock; a love which was also clear from their lip-sync.
Tony Baloney followed hot on their heels donning a collared shirt and tie in a piece which revelled in the sheer excess of a big city banker carrying heavily-soiled Tesco ClubCard.
Jinn Alhijra then performed a powerful piece exploring body horror and body dysmorphia before Sheer Obsession closed the first half with a classic routine that sees them making a giant cup of coffee.
After a short break, Percy Non Grata gave a captivating performance as Alfredo, the chef from Ratatouille, mourning the passing of his rat friend, Remy, to the sound of Celine Dion’s It’s All Coming Back to Me Now.
Londyn gave a fierce lip-sync full of burlesque touches, showing their skill for stylish, sensual, and emotional performances.
Tony Baloney returned with a darkly comic piece about eating meat before Francis LightningHeart gave the final guest performance.
Sheer Obsession closed the show with their usual mixture of bizarre and beautiful, dressed as a giant spoon which fell in love with another giant spoon.
Tony Baloney and Percy Non Grata were both making debut performances with the regular drag show, with Percy saying after the show: “I loved it.
“The energy of the audience is one that you only see sometimes when I perform in London; here they know that it’s all about community and supporting each other.”
Tony agreed, adding: “Reading always brings the party and I’ve never had a bad experience here.
Percy said it was his first time performing outside of London, where he says: “There are a lot of diverse audiences, and it can be really intense.
“It seems like everyone knows one another here.”
Tony explained that they only began their drag journey officially in February of this year: “I also work with Dogmouth Theatre, which I co-founded in 2019.”
They explained that when they began the queer theatre company, “We were struggling to find that queer scene in Reading, so seeing how far it’s come in just a few years’ time is amazing.”
Sheer Obsession’s Suspenders returns to The Rising Sun Arts Centre of Saturday, August 5.
