Those who follow us on YouTube will know that a little while ago we chatted with the amazing Josh on our YouTube channel (which you can watch at https://youtu.be/bbbpANhj_p0?si=-bBh1lD4JfxanaA3) about his upcoming drag show at Cardiff university’s student union what he failed to mention however is that ‘he’ would not be in attendance and instead we were greeted by his drag alter ego Sylv the sloth who not only hosted the entire event but also treated the audience to a plethora of musical performances throughout. The show opened with Sylv and just Toby performing a high-energy dance spectacle alongside the Slash dance school to “Shut Up” by the black-eyed peas. The troupe was split into two groups one with the drag queen and one with the drag king as they each had their own unique moments to shine. By the end of the routine, however, the opposing teams realised that they were better together as the two drag performers joined forces to host the first-ever sly event. There is something powerful about a king and queen working together as frequently they are compared to each other in an argument of who should be allowed to compete in what competition and oftentimes it’s the kings who lose out on opportunities because of this. There was a hilarious sequence later in the show where Sylv walked onto the stage with a familiar suit jacket and talked to the audience about how Toby was involved in a tragic accident during the break. This led to an audience member being brought on stage as they began donning the suit combo only for Just Toby to re-emerge before being permanently replaced. This sequence was wonderfully performed and had the audience laughing throughout!
The first performer to take the stage was the fabulous Ivory Glam (who we actually interviewed on our YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/DkydmBZr3J8?si=_AssJwpckp3px4-4) who opened the show with a fabulous rendition of Don’t rain on my parade from Funny Girl the musical. Personally speaking, we have seen this iconic musical theatre track covered millions of times and Ivory’s performance is one of the best we have seen in a very long time. As always her vocals are absolutely pitch perfect but she also used every inch of the stage to deliver an equal parts beautiful and equal parts entertaining performance. Their second performance of the evening saw Ivory take on the insane “Creep” by Radiohead (which we most recently saw her perform at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/04/23/frock-n-roll-production-review/) unlike the previous times we have seen her perform this track, Ivory managed to inject the perfect amount of camp comedy into the performance by interacting with the crowd. If there is one thing everyone knows about Ivory Glam it is the fact that they have one of the sharpest tongues in the Cardiff’s drag scene. As a result of this, it seemed totally natural when throughout the evening Ivory took up the role of the unofficial third host as she helped became a familiar face to the audience, was a lot heavier on the audience interaction elements and also stepped up to deal with technical issues (but more on that later.)
The next performer to take to the stage was a drag king called Sar Chasm whom I was not particularly familiar with before this event. We think it is absolutely fantastic when drag kings are given a platform as they are not given the same platform as their queen counterparts. Sar decided to start their performance with a live rendition of “Boy Crush” which was a camp, queer-centric song that the audience seemed to really enjoy. Their second performance however was where we really got to see the type of performer Sar Chasm truly is. They stepped down from the stage and delivered a high energy and sensual lipsync which the audience went totally wild for. The entire number took place within the audience area and in front of the stage as Sar wonderfully interacted with key audience members throughout. Breaking down that physical distance between the audience and the performer meant that the venue felt more intimate and allowed Sar to showcase their incredible audience interaction skills. At one point they ripped off their shirt (which takes a lot of confidence) and this was met with thunderous cheers from the audience.
From a king I had never heard of before this event to someone I know very, very well. A few months ago I was asked to be a backing dancing for the wonderful Aqueena (who we actually interviewed on our YouTube channel which you can watch at https://youtu.be/mE2n_EeAQ3I?si=ZrkrFO5V3im0S-sS) during the Kings Royal Variety show. Alongside myself and Aqueena was the fabulous Diva Divine (who we most recently saw perform at Draglings which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/03/27/draglins-production-review/) who took to the Sly stage wearing a stunning, sunshine yellow dress which just radiated joy and happiness. Diva decided to pay homage to the iconic Cilla Black as “Surprise Surprise” started blasting through Cardiff University’s student union. Diva had decided to mix this track with shocking moments in pop culture such as the iconic “You’re not my mother” scene from Eastenders , “Pam your eating ham” scene from Gavin and Stacey etc. Each cutscene had the audience in hysterics as Diva gracefully moved around the stage. The iconic moments were a very interesting and clever inclusion as they played with the “surprise” lyrics of the song which not only was logical but highly entertaining!
During the aforementioned Kings Royal variety show (which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/02/24/kings-variety-show-2-event-review/) we were introduced to the wonderfully eccentric My Liege who never fails to leave a mark on any event they are apart of. Take their rendition of “Why, why, why Delilah” at Queen of the Palace Wales (which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/04/29/queen-of-the-palace-wales-event-review/) where they showcased a unique, almost split personality portrayal of an unhinged stalker. At Sly, however, My liege was joined by the amazing Capri Son who is someone I have known for a little while now but have never actually seen them take to the stage. What I thought was very clever about this routine is the fact that it had a cohesive and easy-to-follow storyline of someone trying to contact someone else but they have lost their phone. The number itself contained a series of phone-related numbers starting with “phone” by Lizzo, then “Payphone” by Maroon Five to “Hello” by Adele when they could finally get in contact with Capri. I do have to say that it was somewhat disappointing that the set was cut short due to technical issues and buffering. However, Capri and My Liege were able to hilariously deal with this stumbling block while cracking jokes, singing songs and having the audience laughing throughout. I am not sure how I would have acted if my set was suddenly cut short but these two performers were able to be both professional and hilarious in equal regards. At one point in this technical malfunction, Ivory graced the stage to try to stall for time to get to tech back up and running. Alongside Capri and My Liege, she led a rendition of “Call Me Maybe” and “Hotline Bling” again fitting with the phone-related theme of the set.
At the beginning of Act Two, the final two performers (namely Myst Fortune and Khloe Lux) took to the stage to present the raffle. The dancing duo were able to facilitate the selection of the winner, and the collection of their prizes while cracking jokes which had the audience laughing throughout. The first of these two performers to take the stage was the brilliant Myst Fortune (who we most recently saw perform at Cabaret of Queerosities which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/04/02/cabaret-of-queerosities-4-production-review/) They took to the stage in a gorgeous black and red fringe jacket (which I actually want to steal) with matching red boots and red make-up. It is clear that Myst had clearly thought about every aspect of her outfit to create a cohesive and stunning colour scheme before the routine had even begun. This outfit was then peeled off to reveal a black leotard which was also peeled off to showcase a nude outfit complete with sparkly hearts on the more intimate parts of Myst’s body. Every one of the exciting reveals fitted into the aforementioned colour scheme showing that the performer was not simply going to reveal to get a pop from the audience (which was thunderous every time) but also made sense. Myst used every inch of the stage and audience area to create an exciting and immersive experience as they showcased their incredible dance skills. The audience (myself included) loved every single second of this performance!
Closing the first-ever Sly event was the one and only Khloe Lux who as always put on an absolute dance spectacle to end the show. She also used every inch of the stage and audience area to create a truly immersive and exciting performance while also showcasing her brand of immensely high-energy choreography. As a massive Brittney Spears, I instantly fell in love with the Brittney medley Khloe decided to showcase but her insane dance abilities took this routine to a whole other level. Every second of the thirteen-minute performance was totally mesmerising. I know for a fact that after dancing for about five minutes, I need a lie down so I can’t image how Khloe was keeping the energy that insanely high for the entire routine! The tech team appeared worked on this show appeared to go absolutely wild with the lighting throughout this routine which at times gave the routine a club-style feel which worked perfectly with Britney’s music style. This light display added an extra layer of excitement to the routine and made it feel like a truly professional showcase! This was a fantastic performance that brought a concise end to the show and left the audience energised for wherever they would be headed next!
Overall, Sly is an exciting new drag show that helps raise some much-needed funds for the incredible charity Mind. The event itself showcased many different forms of drag such as lip-syncing, hosting, live singing and dancing as well as shining a light on both drag queens and kings the latter of which oftentimes do not get the attention they deserve! As this was the first time an event like this has been hosted by Cardiff University’s student union, there were inevitably some technical issues and it was a massive shame that one of the acts had their number cut short as I know they had worked hard on creating a piece of storytelling. I would rate this event 4 out of 5 stars!
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