A stellar drag cast has been announced for climate cabaret Acid’s Reign.
A new drag cabaret play about the climate crisis and its effects on the queer community is being put on at the world-renowned VAULT Festival by Relish Theatre. The show is written by award-winning writer James McDermott (Eastenders; Time and Tide, Park Theatre) and with music directed by Olivier-nominated Joe Beighton (SIX: The Musical).
The show will be performed by a star cast of drag artists portraying Mother Nature, Sea, Land, and Air. A drag-cabaret play repurposing Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and recycling camp pop songs as green anthems, Acid’s Reign explores the queerness of nature and the effects of the climate crisis on minorities.
Son of a Tutu, an award-winning drag queen, actor and activist, will portray Mother Nature. Taking on the role of Sea will be East London drag icon Scarlett Harlett. The role of Land will be performed by all-star singer and drag king Jamie Fuxx. Actor Joshua Oakes-Rogers will play the role of tycoon Alex Acid. The last member of the cast, and the one who bursts onto the stage as Air, is Mischa Velasco.
It is important to emphasise that the climate crisis is a queer crisis; when civilisation collapses, so do civil rights, which means historically persecuted communities are most at risk from the effects of climate change. This issue disproportionately affects those already subjected to systemic oppression, as it is with most global crises. As a result of their marginalisation, marginalised people are more likely to live in areas at the most significant risk from climate change. They are less likely to be able to access resources or relocate, and they are also more likely to be discriminated against when seeking assistance from public services.
Homelessness is 120% more likely to occur among LGBTQ+ youth than among cisgender, heterosexual youth. As a result of climate change, there will only be an increase in housing instability, food insecurity, and an overall threat to well-being, all of which contribute to poverty. These issues must be addressed now.
With the help of a bit of drag magic, Acid’s Reign forms part of Relish Theatre’s Regeneration Season – a trio of new LGBTQIA+ plays. In the play, Alex Acid is a gay business tycoon who wants to develop a gay leisure resort in their coastal hometown, but the damage he will cause to the surrounding environment will be catastrophic. Acid’s siblings (Sea, Land and Air) are waiting backstage to teach them a long-overdue lesson in environmental responsibility. They are ready to tear it down and destroy anything and anyone standing in their way, including Mother Nature herself. Will Acid reign? Or will they learn to embrace all that Mother Nature has to offer?
Acid’s Reign on Tue 14th March – Sun 19th March at The Flair Ground, The Vaults, Leake Street London, London SE1 7NN, United Kingdom.
https://vaultfestival.com/events/acids-reign/
