RECAP: “RuPaul’s Drag Race UK 6” Episode 1 (Cabaret)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” is BACK for Series 6! I thought Series 5 was a much-needed return to form for the franchise, after two fairly disappointing outings. Based on what we saw in this jam-packed premiere episode, I feel good about Series 6 as well. We have a group of 12 interesting, exciting queens with some (I assume deliberate) connections. Two queens from St. Lucia! Two Filipino queens! Two burlesque queens! Two seamstresses! Two queens over 40 (you laugh, but that’s wildly uncommon in modern “Drag Race”)! And this time, for the first time in “Drag Race UK” herstory, they’re competing for an honest-to-god cash prize of 25,000 Pounds. Come through, prize money!
World of Wonder has posted the entire premeire episode on its YouTube; you can find it embedded below. Note that normally the show will be available on WoW Presents Plus in the United States, and on BBC 3 in the UK.
Read on for my takes on the cast based on their workroom entrances, Tickety Boo Cabaret talent performances, and hometown runways.
RELATED CONTENT
TOP 10: “Drag Race UK 6” Promo Looks
Fantasy Cast: “Global All Stars” S2 (VIDEO)
NOTE: Queens listed in order they walked into the work room.
Rileasa Slaves walked in a star, without question. She has an “It” factor, and it’s not just because in drag she’s basically a dead ringer for Rihanna. That said, I noticed that as more and more queens entered, she seemed to disappear into this crowd — that was a bit worrisome. For her cabaret talent, she did a lipsynch to an original song (she sung on the track) and a striptease directed to the very hot Brit Crew member. Sexy! For her hometown runway, she presented a sexier version of the traditional St. Lucia dress.
Charra Tea surprised me with her whole primary color/art thing — I did not pick that up from her Meet the Queen at all. This Northern Irish queen seems sweet but a bit unassuming. For her cabaret act she gave us an 80s aerobics parody. There was potential there — telling the audience to yell, “I’m a fucking loser and nobody will ever love me” while failing to hula hoop shows some originality and spice. But there were also misses, like the comedy bit with the tea bag. Between this and Orion Story’s underbaked 80s aerobics talent from Season 14, I think we can officially swear off this approach to a talent show. The “Derry Girls”-inspired look for the runway was absolutely adorable.
Zahirah Zapanta is fucking stunning, it’s almost unbelievable. She’s also really funny in her talking heads, which I was not expecting. For her talent she did a lipsynch to an original track, which was unfortunately largely uninspiring. The lipsynch itself was not good, the dancing barely hit “mid,” and she showed no connection to the song. Not a great introduction for Zahirah. On the Hometown runway she served up a gorgeous pageant-style dress apparently worn by a Filipino First Lady, and served us a beautiful, curvy body. I’ll say it again: she is so beautiful.
Chanel O’Conor: Full disclosure, this is now a Chanel O’Conor stan account. I wasn’t super into Chanel’s Meet the Queen package, but the moment she walked into this work room I was fucking obsessed. If I ever do drag, this is exactly what I would be going for. Rich, haughty bitch with a self-knowing wink, an acid tongue, but a sweet, chewy center. I love everything about her. For her talent, she came out and did a bit where she needed to check her lyrics, but it was all a fake out: she started singing “Happy Birthday” to RuPaul, offkey, and then ended with a naughty come-on to the Brit Crew. I’m sure it’ll be a polarizing number, but I thought it was a successful introduction to her sense of humor, even if it was unlikely to win the challenge. On the Hometown runway she gave us a beautiful super-long kilt made from her family’s tartan, knitwear made by her grandmother, and a great wig. Fucking slay.
Actavia: I believe she’s our youngest queen; she has big energy and a crunchy aesthetic. For her talent she also lipsynched to an original track, but she actually gave us some energy. The lipsynch itself was not great, but she did have high energy and some cunty moves. Her most successful element of the premiere was that Welsh dragon look, which was a triumph from top to tail. She worked that runway like an absolute superstar. More of this, Actavia!
La Voix: The “Queen of the Universe” star is a legend in the UK; when she walked in, one of the queens literally said, “Well girls, we’re fucked.” Another called her “Wish.com Divina diCampo.” Screaming. I’ll be honest, I’m hitting “QoTU” queen fatigue on “Drag Race” (in the past three months we have had Taiga Bravo hosting “Mexico,” Leona Winter on “France” 3, Maxie on “Philippines” 3 — and I think I’m forgetting someone). That said, La Voix was hilarious this entire episode; my god does she have the gift of gab. Her talent was an original song, sung live, with some funny lyrics and impersonations of cabaret divas (Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli). It was impressive, and I liked it even more the second time I watched it. The judges loved her Captain Cook-inspired runway look.
Marmalade: She’s beautiful and I love her cheek. The workroom entrance outfit didn’t have enough impact for me. For her talent, she did a poetry reading, a great piece about gay history and pushing the movement forward. Wonderful energy, inspiring. I loved her runway, inspired by the Welsh Mari Lwyd tradition. I’m definitely keeping my eye on Marmalde, I thought she was one of the most exciting queens of the episode.
Kyran Thrax: Kyran is a breath of fresh air. She’s giving young, edgy, enthusiastic, avant-garde drag. She came in quite literally dressed as trash. She’s a cocky girl, but I have to say, she may have the right to be. For her talent she did an absolutely wild original song with a puppet. It was so stupid and so smart, and genuinely funny — I loved it. I liked the concept of her runway, referencing the Pendle Witch Trials from 17th Century Lancashire. I thought elements of it were great — that jacket with flame-like feathers and stones. The leg elements were less successful to me. Overall, great episode for Kyran.
Saki Yew: I was underwhelmed with Saki based on her entrance look, and she seemed pretty low energy. That changed completely at the cabaret, where she gave us a burlesque number with some strip tease and comedy, executed to perfection. Loved it. On the runway, she gave us a bee-inspired dress, the color of honey, with a hat that referenced honeycomb and beekeeper. Super cute.
Lill: Loved the rich, detail-heavy entrance look. She’s odd, part of the Family Gorgeous. She described her own energy as subdued, which I definitely got through her talking heads. For her talent, she did a skit in which she put on her face in 90 seconds, while a voiceover presented her internal monologue. It was simple, different, and effective — her creativity and personality shined through. Her runway was a 90s Manchester acid fantasy, very odd and campy and alt.
Kiki Snatch: Kiki walked into the room serving it up, and she kept serving all episode. For her talent she sang live, giving us a sultry voice in a sexy r’n’b number. But girl, those boots were a boot. For her Hometown runway, she gave us a more reserved version of the national dress of St Lucia. The placement of the boobs was…suspicious. I have a feeling that Kiki will struggle with her styling, but there is a star there.
Dita Garbo: Based on the Meet the Queens, I was so excited for Dita. I don’t think it was a great first episode for her. She walked into the work room with a face beaten for the gods, but I didn’t care for that look at all. That trend continued into the talent show, a fan dance to an original number. The outfit was again, not great. But to Dita’s credit, the song was catchy! For her runway she paid homage to the first-ever beauty pageant, held in 1908 in Folkestone. I love learning about British history like this, but the outfit — a reference to a classic beauty-pageant swimsuit— felt basic, even if it was immaculately presented. That wig was beautiful, though.
After the runway, RuPaul announced that nobody would be going home — good, I always think queens need at least one episode just to get their bearings — and that the tops were Kiki Snatch, Lill, Kyran Thrax, La Voix, Rileasa Slaves, and Actavia. Personally I would have put Marmalade in there based on talent and runway, and Saki may have also squeaked in for a flawlessly performed talent and cute runway. In my opinion, if there WAS a Bottom 3, I think Charra Tea and Zahirah would have been in trouble (mostly for their talent shows, the runways were both good), and Dita may have also landed in the Bottom 3. Just my opinion.
After critiques, RuPaul named a Top 2 for the episode, La Voix and Kyran Thrax. Kyran absolutely deserved to be there, I’m not entirely sure I would have put Voix above some of the others, but I’m also not mad about it. The two of them lipsynched to guest judge Alison Goldfrapp’s iconic “Ooh La La.” I think it is clear that La Voix is not a lipsyncher; I think she did the best she could, but this just isn’t her lane (obligatory “Charlie Hides was right”). Kyran, meanwhile, gave us a wacky, funny, and at times overly sexual performance — she was throwing everything she could at the song, and if the singer herself was digging it, I guess I dig it as well!
It was pretty clear that Kyran was the winner, and in addition to a RuPeter Badge, she also gets immunity for the next challenge. An embarrassment of riches for our “UK6” queens!
Next: not only is it a design challenge, it is a TEAM design challenge. What in the “Project Runway” hell is this?!
What do you think of this season overall? Drop your thoughts in the comments.