Troxy has long been a home for performances that demand scale, character and atmosphere. Sasha Velour’s appearance on our East End stage was exactly that kind of event. A drag queen, author, artist and producer, Velour brought to the venue the genre-defying theatricality that has made her one of the most distinctive performers in contemporary drag. Widely known for winning season nine of RuPaul’s Drag Race (and changing the game forever for her iconic rose petal reveal).
A witch burns in a field; a clown builds a theater; an underground gay bar rises up against the police. As Velour embodies different characters through a series of jaw-dropping lip-syncs spectacles, she invited us to take part in the cycle of existence, resistance, and camp that IS drag. Part performance art, part history, part call to action.
Hailed by Attitude Magazine as “one of the world’s finest drag entertainers”, Velour’s ‘Travesty’ arrived with a reputation built across five continents. From the moment the audience entered Troxy’s art deco auditorium, Sasha’s vintage glamour and bizarre storytelling was amplified by our recently refurbished 1933 venue.
With rich theatrical detailing provided a fitting backdrop for an artist whose performances blur the lines between cabaret, visual art, memoir and live theatre. Velour’s career speaks to a rare creative range. Her long-running New York show NightGowns has become one of drag’s most celebrated platforms, while her solo tours Smoke & Mirrors and The Big Reveal have played to sold-out audiences in landmark venues. It’s no surprise that all of us at Troxy were overjoyed to host LGBT+ royalty just as June’s Pride celebrations begin.
