Roll up, roll up! For one night only, nine-foot-tall drag glamazon Cybil War hosts a Halloween special edition of her House party at the White Swan this Saturday. Her crew of freaks are a zany bunch at the best of times, so expect this weekend’s creations to be off the weirdness scale. And here, Ms War explains more.
Hi Cybil, we suspect you may be looking forward to your Halloween party at the White Swan…
Just a little bit! Halloween is gay Christmas and it’s always been my favourite time of the year, and this year we’ve concocted our biggest and craziest Cybil’s House yet!
Halloween is the ultimate gift in terms of theme theme nights – what made you choose a Circus of Horror?
There is something intrinsically creepy about a circus. I love that it gives you the freedom to take characters that are supposed to bring joy and twist them into the stuff of nightmares. Some of the most successful old circuses were freak shows and I’m so excited to see what freaks and monsters people create.
What can we expect on the night?
We’re taking over the entire White Swan and turning it into our own twisted circus with fire breathers, evil magicians and ghoulish go-gos. Of course no Cybil’s House is complete without an insane drag show and we’ve got not one but two killer shows this month with a whole host of terrifying performers.
Can you talk us through your performers?
Joining the Cybil’s House family this Halloween we’ve got the reigning Drag Idol UK champion Tracy Barlow, Norwich’s bearded monstress Luna Howl, gender-bending powerhouse The Phoenix, a living anime doll all the way from New York, Patti Spliff, the queen of Essex Cheryl Hole, and even the witches behind Mariah&Friendz will be dropping in to terrify and delight our guests. There may even be some pop-up terror throughout the night too from mind-bender Neil Kelso, demon child Ruby Wednesday and of course our resident Mistress of the Trick or Treat, Jackie Deripper!
And what about the soundtrack for the night? (DJs and music)
The resident Cybil’s House DJs, Vivien Mobile Disco, Msc4Msc, and Samuel She are being joined by Mynxie Monroe (Her Upstairs) and Cactushead (BeefMince) to create three rooms of musical madness each dedicated to the very best in pop, R&B and electro. We’ll have something for everyone and you can expect to dance until you DIE!
We know people love to dress up at Cybil’s, can you tell us what that means to you when they make such an effort?
I started drag because I love dressing up, and I started Cybil’s because I wanted to create a space that would allow people to explore themselves creatively and be supported in doing so. I really can’t express how much it means to me to know that we’ve accomplished that and people feel like they can really let loose. At the end of the day, as long as you’re having fun it doesn’t matter what you wear, but the looks people come up with each month for Cybil’s never ceases to blow my mind. We’ve had everything from crucified bunnies pooping Easter eggs to Vivienne Westwood inspired aliens, so I’m so excited to see what nightmares they cook up for Halloween.
What’s next for Cybil’s House at the White Swan?
Well, hot on the heels of Halloween we go straight into getting ready for November’s Cybil’s House on the 18th, which is our annual fundraiser for the Albert Kennedy Trust, and of course that means I’ll (and a few others) will be waving goodbye to our moustaches in the name of charity. We’ve then got the return of our Very Tacky Xmas on 16 December and then it’s on to 2018 and we have some BIG plans, so watch out kids!
Cybil’s House is at the White Swan, 556 Commercial Road, Limehouse, E14 7JD.
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