The reigning Queen of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Ginger Johnson admits he couldn’t resist the title he’s adopted for the show he’s bringing to Brighton Dome, Corn Exchange on Friday, November 15 at 8pm.
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00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor at Sussex Newspapers. Now, if
00:07there are an award for the best title of any show, the gentleman opposite me would win
00:12it. Ginger Johnson, reigning queen at RuPaul's Drag Race UK. Ginger, you're heading to Brighton
00:19with a show called Ginger Johnson Blows Off. Now, how can you get away with that? And also,
00:26in what sense is it blowing off? Well, the show, believe it or not, the show ostensibly
00:34is about art. So it seems like it's a content warning in itself that we would call it Ginger
00:41Johnson Blows Off, which has been a surprise for some people when they've arrived. I think
00:46maybe it's a phrase that people don't use that much anymore, but it just made us laugh
00:51that when we were first putting the show together and that was one of the titles we came up
00:55with.
00:56But the wider context, this is you showing yourself off as a daredevil, isn't it, basically?
01:00Yes, that's right. The show is me chasing a new dream of becoming Britain's most dangerous
01:05woman. So it's a series of escalatingly ridiculous stunts as I try harder and harder to live
01:11up to the memory of this amazing circus performer that I saw get fired out of a cannon when
01:18I was younger.
01:19Wow. And what does it say about you that you're seeking out these dangerous situations live
01:24on stage in front of an audience?
01:27I think it says that I'm seeking attention. That's my full time job, you know, if you're
01:35not getting people's attention, what are you doing?
01:37Absolutely. But are these stunts actually dangerous? Is there risk?
01:41Yes. Yeah, they really are. And in fact, the ones that appear to be less dangerous are
01:47the most dangerous. And I think that's because while I'm doing them, I'm really concentrating
01:52on making sure that they don't go wrong, you know?
01:55So is that the approach when you're approaching danger? It's concentration, is it? You've
01:59got to be in that moment.
02:00Oh, yeah. Well, it has to be for my safety and for the safety of the audience as well,
02:05because the audience are not spared in this show. They get in their own amounts of danger
02:12throughout the show as well. Nobody is safe.
02:14So it's a fabulous thing to be doing, especially as you come to the end of your year as the
02:19reigning RuPaul's Drag Race UK champion. How have you enjoyed that?
02:25Yeah, well, I've got to leave a lasting impression, haven't you? And if that involves farting
02:29in front of a room full of strangers, then that's what I'm going to do.
02:32You were saying winning the title did change your life, inevitably.
02:37Oh, absolutely. It's changed my life. Yeah, I'm having the best time. It's just opened
02:42up so many doors and I'm getting to meet so many amazing people and work with people that
02:47I have idolised for years and years and years. And I think one of my friends said it to me
02:51the other day, and I think he described it best. He was saying that winning Drag Race
02:56has just given me the opportunity to realise the most ridiculous ideas that in the past
03:03maybe I didn't have the time or the budget or the platform to do. Now, nothing is stopping
03:08me and that's how you end up with Ginger Johnson Blows Off.
03:11Nothing is stopping you and this is what you do. Ginger Johnson Blows Off. It sounds brilliant
03:15and it's coming to Brighton. Lovely to speak to you. Thank you very much.
03:18Thank you. Thanks so much.