Australia’s six-foot something songstress Prada Clutch plays the Goddess of Pop; Cher in her new show set on the Las Vegas Strip featuring an all-star line-up of her most famous friends.
The ninety-minute all-male revue includes some of the world’s greatest divas including: Barbara Streisand, Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Diana Ross & of course – Cher!
The show is headlined by Prada Clutch; one of Australia's most in demand live-singing drag queens. Carly chats with Prada about this brilliant diva tribute show, why Cher has stood the test of time and the ways in which drag performance continues to delight audiences across the world. Read the full interview below:
Prada Clutch
For our readers who aren’t familiar with your work, what is Les Divas and why is this show something that needed to be brought to an Australian audience? How have audiences around the country reacted to the work so far? Les Divas is from the producers of Prada’s Priscillas.  It’s an all-male revue featuring some of the world’s greatest divas being impersonated like never before.  We decided to produce and tour the new show as our audiences were hungry for a fabulous divas tribute show.  The show opened February this year and has been very well received. The tour is booked right through to December this year with no end in sight! In Les Divas, audiences get to enjoy Prada Clutch as the fabulous Cher. Are you a long time Cher fan and how have you gone about mastering both her songs and her distinctive voice? What preparation is required for this show and in general, how do you go about taking on characters like Cher? I’m a dedicated Cher fan.  She has really stood the test of time and she continues to pack arenas with her shows.  I’ve spent a lot of time speaking and singing as Cher whilst performing in drag for the past ten years or so. Cher also makes an appearance in my Priscillas show which has been touring for two or so years, so that was a good chance for me to refine the character. I play Cher, Barbara Streisand and Shirley Bassey in Les Divas so I have spent a lot of time researching their characters as I not only need to speak like them, but I also need to sing live like them. I’ve found it very useful studying other impersonators as this helps with the intricacies of the characters as it’s the impersonators that exaggerate what the characters actually do. In this production, you perform alongside a number of other fabulous performers who all take on the roles of some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry…and some of the biggest divas. What can audiences look forward to and why should they certainly not miss this show? Audiences can look forward to more than nine divas being impersonated on one stage! They’ll witness the greatest divas being impersonated like never before.  It really does mess with people’s heads when I introduce three drag queens at the end of the show but there has been more than nine divas on stage. Plus, we have four very talented and very sex boys that dance in the show; they really make the crowd go gaga and they always receive so many complements after the show for what they add to the performance.  It really is like nothing you have seen before. Les Divas: An All Male Revue has just recently set off on a huge tour. The tour features a number of regional destinations and I hoped you could speak a bit about taking the revue on the road and why you are excited to share this particular show with a regional audience. What are you most looking forward to and why do you believe it is so important to get more performers out of just the cities and into the amazing theatres spotted around our country? I focus on taking my shows to regional towns as I want to make a difference in peoples’ lives.  If you’re having a bad day or a hard time, my show is perfect to uplift you. If you are questioning your desires and sexual orientation, my show will show you that it’s okay to be you.  Quite often after my shows, when I meet and greet patrons, they personally tell me their stories and how my show has changed their lives. It’s not uncommon for parents to bring their child to the show; I think that it’s so beautiful that parents and society have come so far and it’s now okay to experience what we are performing. Why do you think drag performances are so popular across the world, from young to old, from members of the LGBTQ+ community and beyond? What role do you think the divas performed in this show have in the drag world, and why do so many drag performers keep coming back to them? I think drag performances are popular across the world as they are entertaining; the illusion, the glamour – it plays with people’s minds. Drag shows allow people to escape reality for a moment and live in a fabulous fantasy land – it’s a beautiful thing.  Some people would have never thought that they would see this many divas perform in their lifetime, but here they are seeing them being performed like they are the real deal. The divas in my show have inspired the drag world for centuries – without these divas drag queens would have no content –  after all, the art of drag is based around the impersonation of the female form. Drag performers keeping coming back to these divas as they are recognised and adored by millions. ​ RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS: Favourite production you have ever seen? Tina the Musical ​ You’re getting on a plane tomorrow and you can go anywhere in the world, where do you go? Las Vegas ​ Dream show to perform in? Dusty the Musical ​ Plays or musicals? Musicals ​ A hobby you have beyond the theatre? Fishing – I know!  A drag queen that fishes, crazy! ​ What’s next for you after this show? Time to release my first single ☺ Les Divas: An All-Male Revue is on at the Clocktower Centre in Melbourne on March 23 2019 for one night only. You can get your tickets here.