Illustration by Melanie Snead
Ian Gill sips a smoothie on a coffeehouse couch. His black hair is cropped short. The only hint at his alter ego is under his eyes, where a smear of purple mascara from last night’s performance lingers. By day, the 22-year-old native of Liverpool, England, works in technology administration for Virginia Commonwealth University — his alma mater — and in his spare time, he sketches fashion designs. At night, he transforms into the glitzy drag queen London Lestrange.
How did you get into the drag scene? My first boyfriend freshman year was into drag and watched “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” I watched it with him and was like, “Well, why don’t we try this?” That’s how I started modeling — just messing around in my bedroom with makeup.
What’s it like to perform onstage? Every time, there’s an element of blacking out. It’s definitely scary. If you get a standing ovation or cheers, it’s exhilarating — you get goosebumps. It causes a sort of high, and it makes you want to do it again.
What do you mean about blacking out? Complete panic and sheer terror. When you get in the spotlight, it’s literally like being a deer in the headlights. Everything is black, and all you can see is the light, and you’ve got to portray something — a character, an emotion. You can’t be up there looking like you’re petrified. But the more I do drag, the more comfortable I become. It’s kind of an ego death. You have to kill the part of you that’s holding you back.
“If you get a standing ovation or cheers, it’s exhilarating — you get goosebumps.”
How much do you get to be yourself through the character? I’d say that only about 10 percent of the things that I’ve planned have actually happened onstage. By the time I get onstage, I forget everything. So most of it is me, just being my natural onstage self. As I get more comfortable, though, I’m committing more to what I planned beforehand.
What have been some of the highlights of your drag career? I started on my own and then got a “drag mother” named Michelle Livigne (given name Brandon Horton). He’s been very instrumental in pushing my boundaries. Rather than performing something for my sake, I want to perform something that everyone can enjoy. He’s been a key component of that.
Do you design your own costumes for performances? I do. I like the narrative of doing my work — my blood, my sweat, my tears. It’s challenging, but it’s very Zen — very therapeutic.
London Lestrange will appear with the drag troupe P3 on Nov. 12 as part of the Extra Cheese Drag and Comedy Show, hosted by Chicki Parm at Fallout, 117 N. 18th St. in Shockoe Bottom. Tickets are $3; doors open at 9 p.m., and the show starts at 10. 804-343-3688 or falloutrva.com.
