The Haus of Cymru was found just over a year ago by Kiki Babs (who you can hear talk about the importance of drag hauses at https://youtu.be/Qex8pvgSGLg?si=ZHQsgP6azuGUb8PF), Nicholas Hoare and Ryder Allnight with the intention of providing a safe place to promote local talent and provide a safe space for upcoming performers to grow/develop. This year they have been taking part in the UK tour and I have been lucky enough to attend three of their show each of which has been headlined by wonderful drag race alumni. I have been able to work drag icons such as Anita Wigl’it, Charity Kase (which you can read about their performance at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/10/29/haus-of-cymru-in-cardiff-performance-review/) and now drag race season ten and all stars season five runner Up Miz Cracker! If you want to chat with the group about why they do what they do then you can catch them at Ru Paul’s Drag Con in London on the 13th and 14th of January!
One notable person was missing from the Haus of Cymru show at Wales Millennium Centre and that was the haus dad Nicholas Hoare. Sadly he had died on stage a few days before the event and instead, the event was hosted by his ghost. Luckily for us however the Birmingham show saw the drag king legend rise from the dead to being his eccentric brand of hilarious comedy. He made a point to get the crowd hyped for every performer and shining a light on the importance of visibility especially for drag kings! I was actually lucky enough to chat with Nicholas on my YouTube channel (which you can watch at https://youtu.be/XqQgdwE5sX0?si=YrUMJkraYGJabqqp) where we talked about the the Haus and the art form of being a drag king! Nicholas had everyone in Glamorous Birmingham laughing through with their classically cheesy and at times crude comedy as the evening went on!
The entire event was opened by Coventry drag king sensation RaphaelHoe with delivered a wonderful performance of Stacey’s mom by Fountains of Wayne where they owned every inch of the stage. Rafael possesses a wonderful stage presence and captivates the audience from the moment they step onto the stage. My favourite performance however would have to be “Be Prepared” from The Lion King as the song is so masculine and butch yet is extremely theatrical and camp! This made for a wonderfully captivating performance where the audience could not take their eyes off the drag king and is one to keep an eye on! The lineup also included the iconic and haus of Cymru member Chlo Myddia who I have had the pleasure of seeing perform twice now. The dancing diva showcased absolutely everything throughout their performance and treated the audience to incredible choreography, powerful strutting, and voguing which made for an incredibly exciting and captivating set! Going forward, I am going to be referring to Chlo as the mistress of the audience as every time I have seen them perform she is totally in control of the audience and is able to instantly get all attention on her!
Before I even start talking about the incredible performance of Ibi Profane and how absolutely stunning they looked I want to talk about the fact that they pulled double duty throughout the night by being both a performing and handling the music/tech for the evening. Both of those roles are insanely tough on their own but Ibi was able to take it in their stride while also having wonderful banter with the performers on the stage! They decided to wear what is quite possibly one of the most gorgeous catsuits I have ever seen! You can check out the incredible outfits and the rest of the photos we took at the event on our Instagram at https://instagram.com/rhys.reviews?igshid=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr. The black and gold catsuit fitted them flawlessly and it sparkled perfectly under the stage lights throughout the entire performance. Their first song was a live vocal performance of “What’s Going On” by 4 non-blondes which included an impassioned spoken word section that explored all of the terrible issues that are going on right now around the world! This fun yet intensely political performance was absolutely incredible! The performances then took a more mature turn as Ibi told a story of being left out of a threesome which segued into their performance of Dancing in My Own by Robyn. This transition however did contain my favourite joke of the night which was that Ibi wanted to dress up as a bag of coke so that someone would finally want to do them in the toilet which was hilarious!
Kiki cleverly decided to embed an overarching theme of love during her performances at Glamorous Birmingham. The set started with a live rendition of “Crush” by Jennifer Paige which was a reference to her appearance in the ITV show Secret Crush! This dating show did not work out well which segued perfectly into her next performance of all by myself! I have seen Kiki Babs perform only three times now but I have to say that her lip-sync rendition of “All by myself” by Arista. It was very clear that Kiki poured everything into this performance as it took the audience on an intense emotional rollercoaster. This performance had me very close to tears at some points and the incredible knee slide across the dance was euphoric and brilliant! I loved this performance so much that I would happily watch or again and I recommend that everyone does the same! I know that Kiki enjoys telling a story during her performance as these performance. It’s thematically and chronologically aligned flawlessly! In my review of the Haus of Cymru Bristol performance with Anita Wigl’it (which you can read at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/09/18/haus-of-cymru-in-bristol-production-review/), I talked about how you never know what to expect at a Kiki Show and this time was no different! The audience were treated to a performance of the wildly eccentric parade of “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga dedicated to an awkward toilet-based situation and I also watched in awe as Kiki downed an entire pint on stage which was incredibly impressive!
Just over two years ago I attended the Disney Villains Halloween ball (which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2021/11/02/disney-villians-ball-event-review/) which brought together a wonderful collection of drag race queens from both the US and UK versions of the show. This line-up included the amazing Welsh icon Victoria Scone, the also Welsh and fierce Tayce, the incredible Awhora, the incredibly talented Ginger Minj and most importantly for this review the brilliant Miz Cracker! The latter had decided to take the journey from New York to Birmingham to perform alongside the incredible haus of Cymru at Glamorous Bar. During her time on the show Cracker was known for being a highly intelligent perfectionist and I have to admit this is exactly what the audience were given in person. Her entire set was moulded around the theme of being stupid and letting yourself go to be silly which allowed her to channel her comedic talents perfectly! Her performance began with a unique number where she was purposefully tripping and falling over which led to her on the floor multiple times! Cracker had even managed to squeeze in a reference to drag race as the iconic Valentina’s voice echoed from the venue proclaiming “she fell hard” which happened during all-stars four! Another highlight was Cracker doing a number where the whole storyline was that she was forced to fake happiness as her friend got engaged. This was a hilarious performance and you can watch a short excerpt from it at https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGe1H3FyW/. One of the most hilarious parts of her set however was when she did a series of silly drag numbers including a rendition of Listen by Beyoncé and Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus both of which were dedicated to portraying a ‘difficult’ toilet experience and in particular that moments when the dryer does not register your hands which is something that instantly grinds my gears every-time it happens!
Overall, the Haus of Cymru and Miz Cracker came together to create a night crammed full of wonderful entertainment. The lineup was incredibly inclusive with both kings, queens and non-binary performers as well as showcasing established and brand new performers which is amazing. The show itself was a testament to the haus as they continued to provide a platform for everyone to be seen and appreciated which is fantastic! I would rate this event 4.5 stars out of 5. The haus of Cymru heading back to Bristol on the 8th of December with the incredible Baby from Drag Race UK season four and you can get tickets at https://tinyurl.com/HeyBabyBristol
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