Join Masha Tiunova and Felicia Jiang/FJ of Tana Theatre Company for the Drag for this workshop where we will co-create our visions through drag, create unique drag personas and celebrate them through a catwalk performance.

The art of drag is an age-old form of creative expression that discovers new identities, celebrates communities, plays with gender expression and provides visions for the future. Drag challenges the status quo, blurs the lines between gender and performance, and gives marginalised communities a chance to envision new possibilities. Drag for the Future is a 2-hour journey of creating your drag persona, from sharing the perceptions around drag through acting exercises and costume fitting to the fierce catwalk. It is a breathing space to explore your identity and develop a communal sense of hope.

The workshop doesn’t require any drag or performing experience, and you don’t need to think in advance about who you want to become. Please feel free to bring clothes that can be used as costumes. Those can be clothes that you are willing to lend to someone else during the workshop or give away permanently. The clothes should be in good condition and fit for dressing up. Typically, there are 3 categories of clothes: a) labelled as feminine b) labelled as masculine c) fluid/fun/quirky clothes without clear gender attributions. 

The event is a part of our ongoing exploration of the themes of migration, diaspora and queer ecologies. 

Pushkin House is committed to making all of our events as accessible as possible for every audience member. Please get in touch with us if you have a particular request and we will gladly discuss with you the best way to accommodate it.

Photo by Nathaniel Sultan.

Masha and FJ met at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama while studying for an MA in Applied Theatre. Together with Isabella Londono, they started Tana Theatre Company to create spaces for people to resist intersectional identity limitations, and be seen in the depth and beauty of our shared humanity. Masha wrote her thesis on “Drag as a Methodology for Staging Personal Stories”, which laid the foundation of this workshop. She is working with queer communities from Eastern Europe and Central Asia as a facilitator and theatre-maker.

FJ initiated the decolonising performance-making project Drag Up! that engaged participants from the East-Asian queer community and is creatively involved in London queer-led performances. Masha and FJ graduated from Michael Twaits’ Art of Drag course and performed at the showcase at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

5A Bloomsbury Square London WC1A 2TA