On Thursday, I went out for dinner at Lips, a drag club on Bank Street. In search of a fun night out, I found the place on the internet. Their website describes the club/restaurant as ‘the ultimate in drag dining’, ‘with a special party every night’. As I was attending on a Thursday night I was able to catch their nine o’clock dinner show, ‘Dining with the Diva’s’, described as a ‘non-stop celebrity extravaganza’ featuring performances by Diana Ross, Barbara Streisand, Madonna, Dolly Parton, Cher and many more. Coming from a conservative, mainly Protestant town on Northern Ireland’s infamous North Antrim Bible belt, I was prepared to be shocked by the events of the evening and I wasn’t disappointed. In retrospect, I can now recognise that my shock lay in my misconception that drag queen is just another word for a female impersonator; according to Julian Fleisher this is a common mistake.
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