Just when you thought that London couldn’t take on any more drag queens, the mother of them all deigns to grace us with her presence. No, not RuPaul – Elizabeth I. This Friday, performer Christopher Green will be lacing up in regal garments based on the famous ‘Armada Portrait’, donning a ginger wig and tackling the role of the original Liz for the one-off performance piece ‘Elizabeth I: Construction of an Icon’.
Starting at 10.45am at the Queen’s House – site of Greenwich Palace, where the monarch was born in 1533 – the ‘Queen’ will cruise upstream on a Thames Clipper and proceed in state from the London Eye to the National Portrait Gallery, accompanied by ‘ladies of the bedchamber’ – members of the Amies Freedom Choir, survivors of human trafficking who use their music to raise cultural awareness. On arrival at the NPG, ‘Elizabeth’ will be viewing her portraits and posing for a life drawing session with her loyal subjects. Between the costumes, the pomp, the powerful message of the choir and the whole performance, you won’t ever have seen anything like this before.