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Such a Drag - Drag Artists to Look Out for in August 2026

James Macfarlane James Macfarlane
25 Jul 2026

Every drag performer has a line between the character and the person underneath. Has preparing the show moved that line at all?

[I had to make] everything flame-retardant. I wish I was joking.

Baby Lame: I am currently in the middle of a full blown identity crisis creating this show, so the line has genuinely never been blurrier! Not only am I channelling my regular alter ego Baby, but I will also be embodying the roles of Britney Spears and sci-fi legend Sigourney Weaver (I promise this will make sense if you see the show!). It's certainly a challenge playing a pop superstar like Britney, but I feel like I've got her iconic dance moves down, I've mastered her Louisiana southern drawl, and if all else fails I obviously have the same raw animal sexual magnetism when I hit the stage. Without being cocky, I'm essentially the Meryl Streep of drag.

Fanny Bleach: Absolutely, I didn’t think it would but it definitely has. Every character within the show is already a part of myself I guess, but the main character Daniel (tour guide of The Nearly Naked Show) is basically me as a kid, which wasn’t what I’d originally planned. Out of all the freak show characters I’m pretty surprised he’s the one I relate to the most, an awkward, shy teenage boy obsessed with his new role as tour guide. 

Kate Butch: This show deals with some quite personal things which I don’t think people really know about me. A lot of my shows have been very silly, and on Drag Race I only showed a very upbeat, comical side. I’m quite excited (and very nervous!) to show this different aspect of my life.

What can drag do on a Fringe stage that stand-up or theatre can’t?

BL: I need to be real with you for a second — there is a lot of shockingly bad drag out there at the moment, so if we want audiences to enjoy it, people need to step it up! A lot of drag queens are more concerned about having good makeup and a nice human hair wig than actually performing, and it's giving the artform a bad reputation. When drag is done right though, it can fit into so many different styles of performance — comedy, theatre, dance, clowning, you name it — and it's that fluidity that makes it so special in my eyes.

There are haters too. I've experienced a lot of snobbery during my career, especially from straight male comedians on mixed bill lineups — people like that try to reduce you into a box when you're in drag. So nothing is more satisfying than being the underdog in situations like that and blowing them out of the water with a killer set. Because shock horror — drag can be funny!

FB: When someone goes to see a drag show they expect audience interaction and the ‘fourth wall’ to be non-existent. I get that this can scare people a bit, but it doesn’t mean the show has to be intimidating. A drag show can hold your hand (sometimes literally) and take you to another world whilst staring your right in the face. It can make you laugh and cry and have a party all at the same time. Stand up and theatre can too I’m sure, but there’s something about drag that I believe can make the journey especially vulnerable and a bit more sparkly.   

KB: Everything is more fun when dialled up to 11, and that’s exactly what drag is! I think drag artists have always been the court jesters, the critics of society, and we get to package our message in a larger-than-life, glittery box.

What’s the biggest creative risk you’ve taken with this year’s show?

BL: The biggest risk in my show are my co-stars, aka the entire audience. It takes a village to pull off the legendary Britney Spears story, so my audience are very much involved in helping me create the full blown immersive Britney experience — they'll be playing key characters, operating scenery, and of course helping sing along to BJ's (that's Britney Jean) biggest bangers. We're doing all of this without any rehearsals, in a late night slot, with a probably quite tipsy audience — what on earth could go wrong? Performers don't normally like drunk crowds. I say bring on the chaos!

FB: The amount of props and costumes. Every time I make something new I swear I’m going to strip it back to the bare bones but before you know it there’s a giant mono-boob, 24 pack of condoms, 6 bottles of squirty cream and 7 wigs to get in my suitcase. Usually, it doesn’t matter too much because it’s one gig and I can go home afterwards and wash the scum off of everything in time for the next show, not at Edinburgh…

I am also attempting to use a TV and video player. I’m awful with tech at the best of times and technically this kind of tech should be easy as it’s what I’ve grown up with but chances are I’ll forget to rewind the tape at least 6 times. But hey, I’m going to have to just embrace the chaos!

KB: It’s a toss-up between gross conflation of GDPR and genuine risk of catching on fire.

What’s one decision you’ve made about this show that only another drag performer would notice?

BL: Footwear. The show is really physical, so despite the facade of wearing huge drag boots, if you actually clock them properly you'll notice they are in fact a very sensible low wedge.

FB: This is a tricky one, I’m still toying with the idea of having very paired back drag makeup… Because I am playing so many characters I want to have a neutrality to my face, but at the same time I could not deal with people saying my face looked boring, or like I could have made more of an effort. However, I am a big believer that drag comes in so many forms, and sometimes it’s a 31 year old woman dressed as a teenage boy, wearing nothing more than a retainer and an oversized blazer.

I also think many drag performers would look at me and think ‘why the f*ck have they got so many props’?! I cannot reiterate enough how I really have dug my own grave here, and it’s full of carrier bags and pretend cigarettes.  

KB: Making everything flame-retardant. I wish I was joking.

If someone has never seen drag before, what do you hope your show changes their mind about?

BL: If you want something with sequins, lipsyncs and deathdrops — my show is definitely not for you. But if you want a genuinely unhinged, slightly x-rated and joyously stupid hour of Britney and non-related Britney content, then I have you covered! I've taken lots of inspiration from the Rocky Horror Show — it's loud, trashy, punky and really gay. It's unlikely to be hitting any TV screens soon, but I can guarantee you will not see anything else like it at this year's fringe festival.

FB: That drag doesn’t have to be gendered. It doesn’t have to be an AMAB person dressing up as femme or an AFAB person dressing masc (which don’t get me wrong I’m all for) But it can also be a warlord made up of carrier bags or a sex worker prawn or a little lad on work experience. It can be totally gender-less, human-less, it can be people and animals and objects and fantasy and monsters. The possibilities are endless. 

KB: That ‘drag’ isn’t just one style of performance. I always hate being labelled as a ‘drag act’, because drag isn’t the act, it’s the medium. Drag performers can be comedians, singers, dancers, models, activists, or everything rolled into one. Personally, I am a triple-threat: I can act, sing, and I have IBS.



James Macfarlane

James Macfarlane

Broadway Baby's Comedy Editor and Scotland Editor. In a previous life James did the same thing for ScotsGay. But we poached him.

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