Phoebe Metcalfe tuned in to watch Yak’s very own Bio Queen, Sticky Waffles, kill it on stage at Timberlina’s 2020 Drag Off.

There is nothing more exhilarating than being in a mosh pit – especially when there’s glitter raining down on you. Sadly, bumping shoulders and hips is now a temporary past time. For how long? We don’t know.

What we do know is that Timber Productions is putting everything into making Timberlina’s Drag Off just as incredible as ever. The new alternative to classic moshes is live seated shows or live streaming, and Newcastle Drag Queen, Timberlina, knows exactly how to provide a complete production.

I purchased tickets for Heat 3 about a month ago, and little did I know I’d be in isolation waiting for my COVID-19 test results. Thankfully, I was able to tune in via Twitch to watch the entire show (intermission included). And oh my god. The quality of the stream, the graphics, the lighting, literally everything production-wise was more than I could’ve hoped for in an alternative to a live show.

I may have been sitting alone at home, but I was dressed up, drinking, and totally there in spirit. All of the Queens, and King, that performed killed it and were completely engaging. You could hear the screams from the audience and feel the lights hitting you.

One of the most comedic acts of the night was Yak’s very own Sticky Waffles (Jayme Zimmermann, Staff Writer). In the performance portion of the competition, Sticky really took advantage of the streaming platform. Adorned head to toe in glorious blue, she performed a skit to Netflix’s ‘Big Mouth‘; a scene that appropriately referenced blue waffles and translated perfectly across my screen.

Sticky expressed how different it feels now that she’s able to get back on the stage.

“I’m very used to performing to a much larger crowd that swarms the stage and everyone usually is dancing and singing along. With a seated audience it’s harder to interact directly to the crowd, but in saying that, I’m still just very grateful to perform in front of any sort of crowd during this time.”

I asked my fellow Yaks who were able to attend in person what the energy in the room was like since everyone was seated.

To quote Ryan Reece (our Public Relations Coordinator), who’d never been to a drag show before: “It’s fire “.

The winners of the last three Heats, and the People’s Choice winner, will be performing their hearts out again in The Grand Finale this weekend, Saturday 29th August.

Tickets are still available for purchase here. Or, you can stream The Grand Finale live (and any of the Heats) via Timberlina’s Twitch channel.

You can follow both the ever tasty Sticky Waffles @sticky__waffles__, and the delicious hostess with the mostess Timberlina @thetimberlina, on Instagram.

Feature Image: Keighley Bradford, Yak Media Managing Editor
In-text Photographs Provided by:
Keighley Bradford, Yak Media Managing Editor
Phoebe Metcalfe, Yak Media Staff Writer & Public Relations Officer
Tara Louis, Yak Media Lead Promotions Officer