The amazing Pythia serving crazy cookoo clown
Cabaret Mado is the most popular drag queen cabaret in Montréal. And if you didn’t know that, then you must be from out of town. Because even people living under a rock have heard of it. To prove my point, even our cab driver (who, I assume, was straight and probably in his 60s) made a comment about how he was driving us to the church of drag. Mado Lamotte, legendary drag queen and the owner, opened the cabaret back in 2002 and it’s been a staple of the Montréal Queer scene ever since.
Aizysse Baga, Miami Minx & Gisèle Lullaby
Providing the entertainment was Montréal’s own Grecian drag godddex Pythia and Canada’s Drag Race’s current reigning queen Icesis Couture. They were accompanied by the commanding Aizysse Baga, the burlesque glamour-puss tart, Miami Minx and the queen of the slow-splits, Gisèle Lullaby. They were all amazing but I particularly liked Pythia’s take on the Sims and Miami Minx’s burlesque perfection.
Icesis Couture, just being amazing
Montréal's drag scene has evolved a lot over time, but it's important to note that it was big even before the current wave of popularity that has come with the Rupaul's Drag Race franchise. I'm thinking of pioneers like Armand Monroe, Dick Montgomery, and of course Mado Lamotte. These performers pushed boundaries and opened doors to spaces that would never be available today without their tenacity. And that's the type of place Montréal is. This is a boundary pushing, rebel-hearted city. And these angels of genderbending fuckery are like our patron saints.
Let's not forget the spaces that allowed these queens to showcase their talents. Places that no longer exist such as Rockhead's paradise, Chez Gérard, the Tropical Room and L'Entre-peau. Today, there's Bar le cocktail, the Wiggle Room, Cabaret Mado and Café Cléopatre, which has a long and fascinating history of being a safe space for queer and non gender-conforming people.
Pythia and her homage to the Sims.
To really get a better understanding of this culture, take the QUEERSTORY tour!