Queens of the Dead. Who Needs Drag When Zombies Are Onboard?

Who knew? Tina Romero’s Queens of the Dead is a bloody and surprisingly heartfelt mix of drag performance, splattery chaos, and one performer’s quiet journey back to the stage.

Queens of the Dead Movie PosterAvailable on Shudder

Not everyone may realize that Tina Romero, daughter of George A. Romero, is stepping into the horror-comedy arena herself. With Queens of the Dead, she blends character drama with splattery action as a zombie outbreak erupts during a packed Saturday night at a queer nightclub. For the performers and staff, the chaos at first feels like just another wild evening, until they realize they completely missed the evacuation alarm.

When the music is pounding inside Club Yam, no one is going to hear much of anything. Personal drama is already bubbling under the surface when the outbreak begins, and suddenly everyone is scrambling for safety. One storyline centres on Sam (Jaquel Spivey), who feels uneasy about returning to the stage after a traumatic past performance. When club owner Yasmine (Dominique Jackson) announces the show cannot go on as planned, someone else will have to step in. When Sam gets the call, he is forced to confront whether he is ready, emotionally and professionally, to drag.

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What’s New in Bootoria Event Guide 2022 Edition

Victoria, BC isn’t dry for scary things to do. There’s a lot of dance parties for Bootoria 2022, but why limit yourself to other family fun activities?

nullThere are not a lot of new special events going on in Victoria, BC as Halloween nears. Aside from staples returning to normal form as pandemic concerns abate, what’s new is limited to what is advertised and not. Please check our past Bootoria Event Guide(s) for those annual shows that may have come and gone. It’s safe to say not every organiser wants to be liable should immunised event goers get sick.

But as for those confirmed to be running, the list includes the staples–John Adam’s Ghostly Walks, Galey Farms’ Festival of Fear, Ocean View / Saanichton Corn Mazes Fright Nights, The Vic Theatre’s annual Rocky Horror Picture Show and Cinecenta offering some movie marathon. This year is Nosferatu Live!.

Sadly, the organisers behind Fear in the Pier and University Frights Theatre haven’t announced anything. Let’s hope they have something spectre-acular planned when we can truly put the pandemic behind us. But as for what’s new, I’m compiling this list as they become known for the public to purchase tickets in advance for. Thanks go to Theatre Victoria’s Facebook collective for contributing ideas to this list.

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The 2022 Vancouver Fringe Festival is Next! 12 Exciting and Nerdy Picks

The Vancouver Fringe Festival is back and takes place Sept 8 to 18th around Granviille Island.

Vancouver Fringe FestivalThe Vancouver Fringe Festival is right around the corner! This event will be taking place Sept 8 to the 18th at various venues around Granville Island, and for those who missed those travelling shows at Victoria Fringe have a chance at Terminal City.

Where possible, I’ve included my thoughts on why this particular show must be seen. The links will take you to their landing page on the Vancouver Fringe website and list the dates. As a bonus, ten performances will be live-streamed! Please visit the landing page here for a full list. I’ve mentioned a fond Victoria favourite and am still waiting for the return of One Man Avengers, once that act is fine tuned.

Tickets are $15 each (live and in person), and info concerning health / pandemic regulations can be read here.

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Five Victoria Fringe Festival Picks of 2022

It’s business as usual for the Victoria Fringe Festival this year, and it’s almost a return to pre-pandemic form.

Victoria Fringe Festival
Aug 24 to Sept 4, 2022 Various Venues

It’s business as usual for the Victoria Fringe Festival this year, and it’s almost a return to pre-pandemic form. That is, I can’t help but notice that there’s fewer international acts. That’s because not every part of the world has fully recovered from the pandemic or it still has travel restrictions in place. Until the latter lifts, it’s tough to get a true representation of all the acts touring this year.

Intrepid Theatre is no doubt being cautious in who to bring to the garden city. I’m just glad we have an event despite continous changes to where events can take place or the fact some venues, namely Langham Theatre is still temporarily closed.

Even though Mochinosha Company isn’t listed (they were a staple pre-pandemic), I hope once when travel restrictions to and from certain countries are lifted, they will be back! Suspicously missing is St. Michaels University School (SMUS) Summer Musical Theatre graduating performance. They usually perform a play every year, but ever since the pandemic hit, there hasn’t been a lot of news about what’s happening with them.

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