Everyone’s heard that old phrase “What is this, twenty questions?” bandied about when someone is being super-nosey, right? Well, our Jason Reid IS that someone and there’s nothing he likes more than a good old probing. So this week we sent him off to fire twenty questions, of his random choosing, at two talented young cabaret queens, Divina De Campo and Mary Mac…
DIVINA DE CAMPO
Why did you go into drag?
You gotta use what you got in this life, and I’m gorgeous.
Describe your act in five words…
Voice, camp, silly, amazing, prizes.
What’s the worst thing about being a drag queen?
People thinking they can and should touch you. Especially my face. NO!
Put these in order of importance to you: dance, sing, laugh, drink.
Sing, laugh, dance, drink.
Would you ever do a reality TV show? If so which one?
I’ve done Britain’s Got Talent, but let’s face it, reality TV is as far from reality as you can get.
If you could live in a decade from the past fifty years, which would you chose?
1970s – love the fashion.
Your biggest strength as a performer is?
Variety.
On a scale of 1-10 how nervous do you get before performing?
2.
What’s your biggest ambition?
To keep working until I die.
If you could bring in one new law, what would it be?
One that prohibits people from touching my face.
The worst movie you’ve ever seen?
Leprechaun, starring Jennifer Anniston.
What qualities do you think it’s important for a performer to possess?
Grit, thick skin and humility.
At what age did you start performing?
About 4, in shows at school.
Your best make-up tip…
Cheap base, cheap face.
If you could get something back from the past that you lost, what would it be?
A necklace my mum bought me for my 18th birthday.
What advice would you give to new acts about freezing onstage?
Have a plan, always have a plan
What inspires you?
Beauty.
Would you enter Drag Idol again?
Probably not. I’m working too much as it is, and I hate competitions – they destroy me.
Less is more or more, more, more?
More, more, MORE!
If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be?
Hmmm, probably Liza Minnelli. I mean, what the fuck actually goes on in her head? [laughs]
• Catch Divina De Campo at West 5 (Pope’s Lane, Ealing) on Friday 30th May.
MARY MAC
What’s your definition of a perfect day?
Watching Jeremy Kyle with a cuppa and some custard creams, then a stroll with my puppy Apple, followed by a bit of a gossip and then either performing onstage or going to the theatre in the evening.
Put these in order of importance to you: sing, laugh, dance, drink.
Obviously sing first! Then laugh, drink and dance.
The worst thing about Facebook is…
The fear when someone tags you in a photo and you worry where it was from and whether your weave was nice or not that night.
Name one item you couldn’t live without?
My iPhone. Total Twitter addict!
What was the first album you ever bought?
The Smurfs Party… on CASSETTE!
Most overrated celebrity, in your opinion?
Joey Essex.
Your best make up tip…
Remember your neck is there and try to make it the same colour as your face [laughs]
Who was the first ever drag queen you saw perform?
Lily Savage, on TV.
What’s the strangest thing someone has said to you after a show?
“Wow, so you actually are Scottish!?”
What drives you?
I’ve always wanted to perform in any aspect of theatre/cabaret; the feeling is like nothing else and each time I do, it makes me want to do it again and again.
Would you enter a British version of RuPaul’s Drag Race?
No.
One piece of advice you’d give to Drag Idol contestants?
It’s a very fun job for the hour or so you are onstage but it’s also a tough industry and you have to be willing to put in the work offstage too.
Who’s the most important person in your life?
My mum.
How ambitious are you on a scale of 1-10?
9.
Which film would you like to see turned into a musical?
Hocus Pocus.
What angers you?
Small minded people.
Put these in order of importance to you: TV, music, books, movies.
Music, TV, books and movies.
Name someone in the public eye you admire?
Graham Norton.
You have three wishes. Go…
1. For Spanx to be more comfortable.
2. To get no hangover from vodka.
3. To have my own theatre with drag on the bill all year round.
Scottish independence? Aye or nae?
I’d say whichever way it goes I’ll still be strutting about Soho in my tartan, belting out Lulu until they catch me and pack me off home on the Megabus to Glasgow.
• Mary Mac hosts ‘Mastermind’ at West 5 every Wednesday
