Sitting down with Charlie Nash (they/them), the face behind the glam that is Henrietta Dubét (she/her), their passion for their art is palpable.
When they first got into drag in the spring of 2015, Charlie was inspired by the best of the best: campy villains, unique characters, and the legendary Divine of John Waters fame. “Divine is incredible. She’s edgy. She’s unapologetic. She’s everything I love.” Nash describes Henny as “one hell of a woman.”
Originally getting into drag to play with their gender identity, Nash is visibly excited as they describe the feeling of being on stage, playing to an audience, and what that means to them as a performer as the world begins to emerge from COVID-19 restrictions. “Everything is coming to life again, it was all so weird [during the pandemic] when we started doing video shows—it’s such a different feeling. I’m excited to share this with people!”
If you didn’t already know, Henrietta is a #YYJDRAG staple; she’s even got a residency and a drink named after her at the Vicious Poodle. “If you’ve tried it before, you’ve got to try it again,” Nash urges, “it was just revamped entirely and this one is delicious!” The Henrietta Dubonnet—with whiskey, Dubonnet, egg whites, and lemon—is delightful, refreshing, and gorgeous: much like the queen herself.
“It’s so nice to have regular show dates again with a consistent schedule. And I’m really excited to share the drag experience in the upcoming show during Pride week!” Along with a host of other shows, the Henny Début Review kicks off on Thursday, July 1st at the Vicious Poodle. “It’s an amateur drag night for people who have maybe never even been on a stage before. Maybe they started during the pandemic and they want to experience a live audience for the first time. It’s going to be a great time!” Hosted by Henrietta, the show is not one to miss.
“I’m a different person now than who I was before I started doing drag,” Nash reflects, “Henny is loud, confident, in your face. I found out that she was there and I use that energy out of drag now too!” Nash says they like to play with a lot of physical comedy. During the show they pay a lot of attention to certain aspects of their “look”: particularly in the lip syncs. “My performances are really lip sync heavy and I put a lot of effort into making my mouth look like I’m really singing the song.” They say they received the most amazing compliment when a friend who is hard of hearing told them after the show that they were able to understand the lyrics based on their lip-reading abilities. “It really made my day, I’m so proud! Drag should be accessible and it feels good to be able to bring people into this.”
“If you’ve never been to a drag show, the easiest way to ease yourself in would probably be brunch,” Nash says. You can find them performing every weekend for drag brunch at the Vicious Poodle. Both the show and the menu are sure to please. “Brunch is great for everyone and they’re generally all ages. Bring the kids! Kids love drag!”
So if you’ve ever wanted to have a chat with the self-proclaimed “Queen of the People,” the “Princess Diana of Drag,” she encourages you to give it a shot and even has some pro tips: “Compliment us! We all love it!”
A huge thank you to Charlie Nash/Henrietta Dubét for taking the time to chat with us, it was an absolute pleasure. Please check out Henny at the Vicious Poodle, Friends of Dorothy, and various other events around the city as things continue to open up. “And make sure to tip!”
The Victoria Pride Society acknowledges that it organizes and works on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen Peoples and that the land’s relationships with the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples have existed since time immemorial. Further to this acknowledgement, the Victoria Pride Society affirms that colonialism and the attitudes and practices that have accompanied it contribute to systemic discrimination and violence against Indigenous Peoples and all marginalized and equity-deserving people. Read more.
