Drag was not invented by Ru Paul as he would love us to believe. He simply catapulted into an orbit of excess that doesn’t bother trying to kid us into believing that a man has transformed into a woman.
Drag and cross-dressing have their roots way back to Shakespeare’s time when all the female roles were playing by young men attired in dresses For centuries In a male-dominated society dramatic roles were always written for men. However, in the 19th Century, that slowly began to change and playwrights sometimes developed powerful roles for women too One such writer was Oscar Wilde, who asides from being persecuted for being gay, was responsible for such vibrant classic dramas as The Importance of Being Earnest. This wonderful satire on arcane Victorian customs and manners is dominated by the formidable Lady Bracknell. The play was such a success that it has been revived so many times, with many great Dames, such as Maggie Smith and Judi Dench took on the very meaty role. It was however Dame Edith Evans in John Gielgulds’ production in 1929 who gave the definitive performance of Lady Bracknell, which she would later repeat in the movie adaption. It is such a juicy larger-than-life role that it was inevitable that a male actor would want to try his hand., And that’s what the great British queer stage actor, Tony Award Winner Brian Bedford did in 2009. He directed himself in a production for Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada which was such a hit, it was transferred to Broadway the following year. It was the first time a Lady Bracknell had been nominated as Best Actor. In our book, Bedford surpassed Edith Evans with his sublime performance. However, you needn’t take our words as the filmed Broadway production is now streaming online via TheatreMania. It is a real treat, and Mr. Bedford looks every inch a lady in his drag |
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