Last week DCU’s LGBTA society put on the most glamorous night of the year, the DCU Drag Race, all in aid of LGBTQ+ helpline, The Switchboard. It was a night of action in a packed-out Helix with a crowd that went almost as wild as the performers.
From the start of the night host Phil T. Gorgeous provided non-stop laughs and expertly MCed the show. Further expertise came from the four judges, Paul Ryder, Regina George, Celtic Tigress and Dr. Count Evil, all veterans of the drag scene and the latter two past DCU Drag Race winners.
From the arrival of the first contestant Joanne Joanne in luxurious Hollywood style, the crowd were going wild and cheering non-stop, most notably one particularly vocal audience member going by “Fetish”. There was no sign of slowing down with the other contestants, Viktor Complex, TewTee. Seán D’Olier, Dan the Man and Sasha Shame.
The standout performances of the first round seemed to be first-time performer Seán D’Olier’s Jennifer Coolidge impression and Dan the Man’s cowboy inspired get-up. The second round provided some laughs with Viktor Complex’s lip-syncing of the Pokémon rap, Dan the Man’s karaoke version Dolly Parton’s Jolene cum mental breakdown and Sasha Shame inviting LGBTA society chair Maddie Smyth up for a fortune telling.
However, the stand-out performance of the night had to have been when Seán D’Olier came out swinging (literally) to Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball, twirling two inflatable wrecking balls around the stage in mesmerising fashion all the while wearing an eye-covering Sia-inspired wig. The crowd went insane with seemingly the whole audience on their feet by the end.
The three-way final saw Seán D’Olier, Dan the Man and Sasha Shame pitted against each other in a lycra filled lip-sync battle to the tune of Maniac from Flashdance. The finale did not disappoint, capping off a great night.
While all of the contestants put on great shows the winner was obvious to most from the second round and Seán D’Olier was deservingly named DCU Drag Race champion 2023, not bad for a first performance.
On winning, D’Olier said “I am very happy to have won the DCU Drag Race. My competitors were fierce and I was privileged to share a stage with them. I look forward to walking around campus as the official queen of the Henry Grattan.”
Reflecting on the night LGBTA society chair Maddie Smyth stated “We’d like to say thank you to everyone that came to DCU Drag Race, we hope you all enjoyed the show and we’re so happy that we could take this opportunity to support The Switchboard. An extra congratulations to our latest winner, Seán D’Olier, can’t wait to see where she goes from here.”
Brandon Perry