Slay it! Uni now offers course in the art of DRAG

Fierce finalists at Edge Hill Uni will be able to take a course in the art of drag performance.

Third years at the uni in Lancashire can now enroll in a module called The Drag Kings and Drag Queens of Performance.

Topics include costume, humour and lip-sycning, as well as looking at the history of sexuality, AIDS activism and transgender identity.

The course will be available to students on performing arts,
dance and drama courses from next January.

Northumbria Tab’s favourite Drag Queen

Drag students will learn about relationships between performance and gender
and sexual identity.

The course was the idea of senior lecturer Mark Edward, a performer, dance
maker, writer and educator of dance.

Mark said: “Despite the fact that performers have been ‘dragging up’ since
Shakespearean times, this module is completely unique in exploring the
crossing of boundaries in terms of gender and performance.”

He added: “As part of undergraduate studies, this module not only explores
drag as a highly camp performance art, it also engages with complex gender,
feminist and queer theory to explore the social and political implication of ‘doing gender’ in performance.

“Drag as a performance art form has seen a relative decline in the past
decade, yet there are new and exciting emerging forms coming through which makes this module all the more relevant to performance contexts.

“There’s a lot more to drag studies than wigs, make-up and high heels.”

Drag realness

Mark is currently undergoing research on ageing performers and drag queens.

He has previously worked with Rambert Dance Company (Ballet Rambert), Senza Tempo Dance Theatre Company in their world premiere of Lazurd, Penny Arcade

(Andy Warhol film “star”) in her Bad Reputations, and Julie Tolentino
(Madonna’s collaborator) on the Bottom Project.