This month’s interviewee is an accomplished all-rounder who performs at LGBTQ+ cabaret venues across the UK and on theatre stages, most notably in West End musicals. Drag diva Miss Moppe talks past, present, hopes for the future, and more…
Which comes first for you, drag or theatre?
I think they’re probably two sides of the same coin. At my first nativity play, I vividly remember the audience laughing every time I picked off the Maynard’s Wine Gums my mum had lovingly glued to my crown and naughtily ate them. Yes even then I was playing high status parts! I caught the theatre bug there are then.
Drag is important because it gives me an outlet for all the pent up actor energy. West End musicals don’t come along every day, and when the?.hygt56=-98÷l÷aughter, adulation, love.
As a successful drag artist, what’s the secret to maintaining a consistent drag career?
Well, consistent really is the right word here. Whenever you can be, you have to be at your best. Audiences notice if you’re not quite yourself; as do venue staff. Trust me, I’ve had the conversation many times.
Because of the way I sing, and the amount I sing now every week, I have had to start being careful how many shows I do in a day or week. For instance, it’s no good boasting about my three show Saturday, if I’ve got no voice by the time I get to the Old Ship on Sunday night. It gets embarrassing pretty quickly croaking out a few unimpressive numbers when you’re known as the belter of Blackheath.
My advice is this: Do your best to be your best at all times. Whatever that means: how you look, committing to your pre-show vocal warmups, or just toning down the after partying till the end of the working week.You will feel a lot better about everything.
You also have a stunning voice. How and when did you start singing?
Like most kids I started singing at school in assembly. However, unlike most kids my father was, and still is, friends with a kiwi opera singer. My dad didn’t do much to support my burgeoning poofiness, but the best thing he ever did was ask his friend to give me singing lessons. I first learnt classical technique for singing, then later on at college and uni I learnt how to belt and other vocal techniques.
I love singing because, for me, it’s the supreme way of experiencing music. You can play something in the bath and relax to it. You can blast something so loud in your car you feel the roof might come off. But the only way to get that amazing feeling music gives you is to physically create the vibrations within your own body. It is part of you and you are part of it. That’s why we all sing along at concerts and shows.
What would you like to do in the coming years that you haven’t done yet?
It’s a very timely question Jason, because I’ve recently found myself feeling that drag is all getting a bit too easy, and I’m starting to find it not as fulfilling and challenging as I used to.
Something like Drag Race would force me out of my comfort zone and challenge me a lot. I’m not going to poo-poo it. I think it would do me good. I’d also like to follow in the footsteps of the girls before me, onto the cruise ships and the national tours. That would be a lovely next step for me.
Your happiest place away from the stage?
Great question. Anywhere on my own. I’m a very social person. Being personable and upbeat around people is a huge part of what I do. I have great friends and family around me. But aside from social time, I need almost an equal amount of time to myself to function properly. I have to let my social battery recharge and I do a lot of my thinking when I’m on my own. I’m very happy in my own company, and it’s valuable time that is very important to me. So could you just go and leave me alone please?!
Miss Moppe performs regularly at Halfway to Heaven, 7 Duncannon St, WC2N 4JF
You can catch Jason with another cabaret interview same time next month or give him a follow @jasonreiduk
