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What's On, Culture, Theatre

Start Your Engines…RuPaul’s UK Drag Race is in Town

...And we are ready to werk it at the New Theatre in Oxford

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Sashaying onto the stage are the queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Series 2 but if you haven’t managed to get tickets to this sell-out eleganza extravaganza don’t worry. An extra date for this tour has been added on 11 April and if you’re lucky, you might be able to nab one of the last tickets remaining. However, the Official Series 3 tour dates have been announced so all your favourites from the latest season will be Ru-turning to Oxford in the Autumn.

Expect season finalists, Kitty Scott-Claus, Krystal Versace, Vanity Milan and Ella Vaday in Oxford for one night only; 3 October 2022. Tickets are on sale now at cuffeandtaylor.com, but hurry as the Official Series 2 tour sold out fast. Ben Hatton of Cuffe and Taylor confirmed:

“Such was the demand for sales for the first tour when we announced it earlier this year that we have decided to get everything in place for the Series 3 tour now. RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is an exciting show and we can’t wait to witness what will undoubtedly be many incredible and outrageous nights of live entertainment in venues across the UK.”

We’ll be there tomorrow and, in the meantime, we will be brushing up on our language skills:

THE RUPAUL DRAG RACE UK NEED TO KNOW DRAGTIONARY

Beat: To apply your makeup flawlessly. Used in a sentence: "Girl, you beat your face so good, I can't stop looking at it."

Condragulations: The drag version of congratulations. Used in a sentence: "Condragulations you are the winner of this week's challenge."

Dragmother: Queens on the show often refer to their 'drag families', the families they have made with other queens and members of the gay community when their own families wouldn't accept them. Dragmothers are the queens who took them under their wings and taught them the art of drag. Used in a sentence: "Alyssa Edwards is dragmother to Gia Gunn, Laganja Estranja and Shangela."

Lip sync for your life: The bottom two queens from each week lip sync against each other. Whoever impresses Ru the least is eliminated. Used in a sentence: "The time has come for you to lip sync for your life. Good luck and don't f*ck it up."

Read: To criticise or critique. In Drag Race, the act of "reading" is meant to be savage and hilarious. RuPaul opens the "library" where queens read each other once a season. This has spawned the catchphrase "Reading is fundamental". Used in a sentence: "I'm sick of the judges reading me for my outfits."

Realness: To do something authentically. Often on the runway the queens are "serving XX realness." Used in a sentence: "Tonight on the runway I'm serving Vivienne Westwood realness."

Sashay away: RuPaul tells eliminated contestants to "sashay away", in what is now one of the show's most iconic catchphrases. Used in a sentence: "I'm sorry my dear, but the time has come for you to sashay away."

Serve: One of the most important terms in the Drag Race vernacular; to serve is to use your look to offer the judges something amazing. Used in a sentence: "Tonight on the runway I am serving executive realness".

Shade: Insulting someone in a sly, under-the-radar manner (different to a read). Used in a sentence: "She was throwing serious shade when she insinuated you let the team down this challenge."

Shantay, you stay: The flip-side of "sashay away", this is how Ru tells a queen who survived the lip sync that she is still in the competition. Used in a sentence: "Shea Couleé, shantay you stay."

Tea/tee/T: T refers to gossip. To "spill the tea" is basically to just talk shit together. Used in a sentence: "Are you free for drinks tonight? I've got some tea to spill."

Tuck: Tucking is the art of taping/pulling back your junk while in drag. Used in a sentence: "Go backstage and untuck."

Tour Shot (C) Jon Stone

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