Look behind the glorious façade of drag as we interview Charlie Hides, the man behind Laquisha Jonz.

Charlie started his career in America and has been working professionally in cabaret, theatre and stand up for over fifteen years. Charlie shares his experiences from performing successfully in the US drag scene, to moving to the UK and having to start again from scratch. From that background he gives us a telling insight into the vibrant UK drag scene which he has clearly grown to love, he also predicts what he believes is the future for drag in the UK.

Charlie's most successful act, the sensational Laquisha Jonz has amassed a huge following on the cabaret circuit. We hear how Laquisha has managed to appear on Jerry Springer thirteen times and has even received praise from Andrew Lloyd Webber, "but that's the great thing about life and art", he cheekily adds.

Laquisha is a mixed race single ghetto mom who shops at Lidl, and feels most comfortable in a Primark tracksuit. Laquisha is part of the next generation of drag acts that are leading the revival of the art form, with their fully formed three-dimensional characters and slick theatre style shows.

Through his work Charlie confidently shows us how drag can continue to be both relevant and sharp; keeping us gays laughing a lot and possibly even thinking a little. By his own admission Laquisha is holding a mirror up to Britain, reflecting the strange mix of love and cringe we feel for our ghetto chavlebrity popular culture. Through her two-inch nails, her two stone medallion and her two foot weave, you can't help but find her both hilarious and perversely endearing.

How you did get into drag?

While I was studying fashion design at University, I met a very well known celebrity impersonator in America; he was performing in Las Vegas doing dead Diva's like Marilyn Munroe, Betty Davis and Judy Garland. He asked me to start doing costumes for him and other performers. I'd be hemming someone's skirt and cracking jokes, and they would be like "oh your funny". And I would say "in your show when you said that...it would be funnier if you said this...". Several of them started saying "you should do it". When I finally did do drag the first time, it worked also because of the way I look, I don't have any facial hair and I don't look particularly butch, it just lent itself, it got a reaction.

Tell me about some of your earlier drag characters?

I've done lots. My first a flight attendant character, not too dissimilar from Pam Ann, this was like fifteen years ago, and it was for an airline called Airotica. The logo was two golden boobs with wings that I had on. I also did a character called Magic Madge, she was the widow of a professional magician, who was the assistant like Debbie Magee, but she was past 70, and her husband's dead, so she thought "I'll do the act", except she doesn't know how to do the tricks. So its perverse magic and it all goes horribly wrong.

In America, I did a lot of celebrity look-a-likes. My face is really generic, there's nothing really distinctive about me. I'm kinda average, average height, average weight, average eye colour, you know everything about me is Joe Average. From that blank canvas I've been able to project. I've done Joan Rivers, Judge Judy, Sally Jessy Raphael, Dame Edna, Boy George, Ricki Lake.

You're currently performing Kandi Kane tell me about her?

Well The Times said younger bitchier and twice as quick as Joan Rivers. She's like a young Joan Rivers crossed with Anna Nicole Smith. She's dressed very Gucci aspirational, but then she's got toilet paper hanging off the bottom of her shoe, her lipstick is smudged and she's half falling over. Some places they think - "why did they let this drunk person on stage". Staring at me and thinking - "that's not right". I've had venue owners come up to me and say - "your not driving home are you?" They just didn't get it. The Kandi Kane character is quite tragic.

What is the inspiration for your characters?

The inspiration for Kandi was from B-list celebrities who never quite made it. In America there are a lot of starlets, a lot of wannabees who have the disappointment of being a has-been before they've even made it. To me it was very tragic, she looked the business, she looked the part, but there was no substance. All my references generally tend to be dark. I love dark imagery.

Your most successful character - Laquisha Jonz, was she based on anyone?

It was weird cos for years she lived in my head and then one night in Brighton, I was doing the Ricki Lake show and someone in the audience had on a pair of sunglasses on and they were sitting in the front row, indoors at ten o clock at night. I thought, "this guys a real idiot", and so I took his sunglasses off and put them on. And I said as Ricki Lake "I would like to welcome my next guest Laquisha Jonz" and I put them on and...BOOM...I just went into her.

So it was very off the cuff then?

I just starting improvising, and it got a reaction and the audience responded so I just kept on going and the more laughs I got the more I kept on going, and I just started making this shit up.

Your comedy tends to reference from modern popular culture, talk show and celebrity culture?

Well its what we have in common. I could go on stage and talk about really esoteric things that have only really happened to me. But if go on and talk about popular culture things that are going on in the here and now, then I get people's attention.

Are you trying to make a point with Laquisha?

I've used her to do a lot of social commentary, about immigration. I'm holding a mirror up to the British. For Laquisha, the UK and its culture, it's new and different. She's a fish out of water. A lot of times the audiences don't know if I know anything about the UK, so they take her at face value.
Do you have some people who take offence, as you're a white person playing a black character?

The character is mixed race. It's nothing to do with race. I've done Joan rivers and she's Jewish, but her act is nothing to do with being Jewish. In the same way I don't have to be a 68-year-old Jewish woman who's had a shit load of plastic surgery to play a 68-year-old Jewish woman who's had a shit load of plastic surgery.

Sometimes Laquisha has her sidekick Salama Kafeji, a fellow asylum seeker, burqua wearing DJ, and they do a couple of duets. Once at my show, a guy came up to me and said stuff like "you may have Muslims be upset", and "you're a white guy playing a black woman and it would be funny if you really were a black woman". My response to him was "the jokes are still funny".

I've always said unless I've offended one person I'm not doing my job. Somebody has to walk out. If I'm completely anodyne and safe then I'm not doing my job.

You've had quite a lot of success in America, appearing thirteen times on Jerry Springer and even receiving praise from Andrew Lloyd Webber?

Yes Laquisha's been on Jerry Springer thirteen times. It's all part of her back-story. She started making up reasons to go on, as they'd have topics like "who's my baby's daddy" and "lie detector test", and "paternity tests". For her it's just a free flight to Chicago and a chance to drink from the mini bar.

My real success in America was more about the fact that I was a working professional comedian who earned my living solely from performing. I have tonnes of friends that moved to New York to become Actors but they've become waiters. To have worked regularly, constantly and non-stop, then yeah, that's success.

Why did you move to the UK?

L'amore, l'amore. I moved over 7 years ago. My first gig was in Cardiff, the next night I was in Swansea, and they never asked me back! Back then audiences were used to literally a guy in a dress singing the "standard drag" stuff. But my background was in stand up and here I came out as a character. It was a steep learning curve!

What are the main differences between the US and UK drag scene?

In America there are a lot of beauty pageant sort of drag queens, it's all about looking like Miss America, with the beaded gown and the silicone breasts miming to like track three of a Celine Dion record. In America you can have a career just by looking good. But in England its a lot more performance based. People are far more interested in your artistic ability and your ability to captivate an audience. For me as an artist that's the most important thing. I just want your attention. I don't want you to think this its a good time to go to the toilet.

Over the years that you have been working in the industry, how has drag changed?

There are now shows like Little Britain, Catherine Tate and Titty Titty Bang Bang. There's a lot more mainstream acceptance of men playing female characters and that has changed audiences' expectations.

Is drag still relevant to the gay community?

You can get away with more things in a pub, nightclub and comedy club than you would ever get away with on television. Although there are very gay acts like Lilly Savage and Little Britain, they'll still have the censors telling them when they've gone too far. When you play a predominantly gay audience you can get away with so much more. So, there'll always be a place for men in dresses performing live drag.

How is your act different to traditional drag acts?

I hit the scene seven years ago, I was a foreigner and I had something new, different and fresh. I asked a lot of a pub audience because I was almost doing a mini fringe theatre show. I incorporate a lot of video projections in my shows; mini commercials and back-stories and stuff. I've edited myself into videos with Ewan McGregor, and a bunch of scenes with Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas; where Kandi is stalking Michael, and then Catherine is stalking Kandi. The videos started as a way of keeping the audience entertained while I did costume changes and now some people consider them the highlight of the show. The two minutes I'm OFF STAGE is the highlight of my show, how sad!

Do traditional drag acts need to evolve to remain relevant?

The older traditional pub acts still have a following, but there are certain acts I wish would evolve (Laughs). I played a venue the other night where there were three hundred 18-22 year olds chanting "you go girl". Laquisha was connecting on their level. I also did a gay hip-hop night in Shoreditch not too long ago, in a Primark tracksuit! And it worked. I don't know if the same thing would work for some of the other acts.

What's the future of drag?

Pam Ann built a following based on doing something no one had ever seen before, that's what acts need to do. It's interesting seeing acts like Trashville Tennessee and Topping & Butch, they've brought something totally different to the cabaret venue scene. In the future I see more acts like Kiki & Herb and Tina C; more fully formed three-dimensional characters, doing really slick theatre style shows.

Is drag changing?

Definitely. I've seen a lot of really interesting variety acts, like Ursula Martinez, and of course Jodie Harsh with her circus acts. It's completely different, it's spectacle and it's entertaining. Who would have thought a few years ago, that we'd be watching knife swallowers and trapeze artists in a cabaret venue.

Do you have any new characters in the pipeline?

I've just started doing Nana Kane, who is Kandi Kane's grandmother. She's just got two new artificial hips recently bought from Liza Minnelli off Ebay. She's got horrible dentures, a neck brace and she's clad in medical alert buzzers and inhalers. Her breasts are sagging down to her waist and she sings songs with her pendulous breasts swinging around. I've done her a handful of times - she's not right but she's ok! (Laughs).

So do you plan on killing off Laquisha?

I haven't given Laquisha a shelf life, she keeps evolving. She's a mixed race woman with different jobs, she's always going to be current. There are certain characters that I've done that I just know have legs. Dame Edna is celebrating her 50 year anniversary, she went from being a housewife to being an internationally recognised superstar. She's continued to talk about topical things and keep the character fresh. I think Laquisha has those kind of legs, but we'll see.

So does the future hold mainstream success for Laquisha?

I've had a lot of interesting people from the industry sniffing around. I won't name any names (Laughs). I just did a party for Elton john. It was Elton, David Furnish, Fergie, Liz Hurley... Basically it was 22 celebrities and Laquisha Jonz. That was an amazing gig; I insulted each and every one of them for half an hour. It was brilliant.

But in terms of mainstream success, I'd like to think that's yet to come for Laquisha. And if it doesn't happen, I'll keep enjoying doing what I'm doing. I feel really lucky I can go on stage and do what I enjoy and get paid for it. Nobody is telling me what to do and no one is writing scripts for me. I've got a tremendous amount of freedom and hopefully I'll continue to work in this - (Laquisha voice) crazy little business called show!

Special thanks to Charlie and James.

• laquishajonz.com
• myspace.com/laquishajonz
• Laquisha Event Dates

Words: QueensSpeech