WEDNESDAY,JUNE 21,2023
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BINGO!
Drag yourself along Erin Kavanagh-Hall
erin.kavanagh-hall@age.co.nz
This Saturday, Masterton will be hosting a bingo night — with an “outrageous” twist. The balls and scorecards, caller’s expressions and competitive spirit will be the same … but this game comes with a side of big hair and makeup, Vegas-style lipsync performances, and plenty of off-the-wall humour. Auckland-based drag performer and television star Anita Wigl’it will be “hostess with the most-ess” at this weekend’s Drag Bingo Masterton! event at the Copthorne Hotel & Resort. The event, part of Wig’lit’s North Island-wide Drag Queen Bingo tour, will include three competitive rounds of the game of probability, followed by a drag show – featuring the hostess’ trademark camp theatrics and saucy comedic observations – a mix-and-
mingle session, and “fabulous food”. Wig’lit is best known for co-hosting the TVNZ series House of Drag, and appearing on the wildly popular competition reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race [RPDR] – as a contestant on the spinoff series RPDR Drag Race Down Under and Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs the World. On RPDR Down Under, she became a favourite among the show’s international fanbase for her darkly humorous impression of Queen Elizabeth II and her upbeat, irrepressible energy – which won her the title of Miss Congeniality, voted by her castmates. Drag queen bingo nights first originated in the US as a fundraiser for the LGBTQ+ community during the AIDS crisis, and have become a regular fixture in the New Zealand drag scene. Wig’lit began hosting drag bingo events in Auckland and Hamilton earlier this
year – and soon found herself flooded with enquiries from further afield. Before long, she had enough bookings for a tour “from Kerikeri down to Wellington”, including stops at Whangarei, Whangaparoa, Tauranga, Rotorua and Palmerston North. “The response has been huge. I’ve sold more tickets for Drag Queen Bingo than for my comedy shows!” she laughed. “Drag bingo is a lot of stupid fun: It’s silly, it’s interactive, it’s light-hearted. We add in a lot of outrageous humour – we make the bingo calls a bit risque, which people enjoy.” “It used to be that bingo was for older retired people, but recently a lot more young people have gotten into it. And they take it pretty seriously – it can get so competitive! Wigl’it has recently wrapped up a nationwide Continued on page 6
Drag me to bingo! Drag performer and Drag Race alum Anita Wigl’it will be the hostess at Drag Bingo Masterton! at the Copthorne this weekend. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
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