Where one ends and the other begins, that’s the fun!
COLLIDER: Ding dong.
It’s time to take a trip toGinger’s Housewith the brilliant Ginger Johnson.
Custom image by Nimesh Niyomal Perera
GINGER JOHNSON:I’m really good.
How are you doing?
I am doing so well.
Image via World of Wonder
I am so excited I get to chat with you.
You are fricking fantastic.
GINGER: Oh, thank you so much.
That’s really kind of you.
I am so excited for the world to seeGinger’s House.The first episode is so funny.
Tell us about this show.
GINGER: Well, this is my prize that I won for winningDrag Race UK.
I get to make a series.
I really wanted to do something that was quintessentially me.
It’s inspired by a lot of the things that have inspired me along the way in my drag.
A lot of British comedy.
Sort of classic British sitcoms play into it quite a lot.
We had so much fun making it and I really hope that comes across when you watch it.
What was it like to be able to spread your wings from stage to a televised format?
GINGER: Oh, so fun.
I definitely had to be a little bit prepared and forearmed for the filming of it.
That will become very apparent as we get further and further through the series.
Tell me about the synergy of bringing your universe and your world of drag onto the show.
I hope is quite blurry.
you might’t quite tell when we’re in chat show mode and when we’re in sitcom mode.
I like to think that that’s quite unique.
That was my idea that I wanted to bring to this show.
It was really fun.
I’ve got these great guests,Cara Melle, Kate Butch, they’re from the first episode.
Coming up, we’ve gotMiss Naomi CarterandDanny BeardandVictoria Scone, Vanity Milan,Tia Kofi.
All of these really, really funny people.
Great people to bounce off in the show.
We found this amazing location house where we filmed the show.
I’ve actually had the location saved on my computer for about five years.
I’ve always wanted to do something there.
This is the one we’re going in there.
It’s got a particularly fantastic bathroom which is very heavily featured in an episode coming up later on.
It is my dream bathroom.
I think that might be the gayest thing I’ve ever said.
And that’s a lot considering what my job is!
And for me, British drag just hits home.
It’s the kind of blend of camp and theater that I adore.
How would you describe British drag to the world?
Drag is the paint and you are the artist.
you’ve got the option to paint any kind of picture you want with it.
That’s what’s so brilliant about drag.
I come from a tradition of live performers who talk.
That’s the tradition of British drag that I come from.
My icons of UK drag also come from that kind of tradition.
And some of my favorite drag is actually nothing like what I do at all.
Sometimes you want to take a little bit of flavor from lots of different places.
Variety is the spice of life, as they say.
Now, you do marry the worlds of theater and pantomime into your drag with ease.
Who are some of the influences in those worlds that have inspired you as an artist?
GINGER:Oh, wow.
So we hadLily Savage.
You might know of Lily Savage.
She was a huge icon of drag.
She had her own TV show.
She did stand-up shows.
She did game shows, all of that kind of thing.
And she is best known for being really sharp and witty and a little bit bitchy.
So she was definitely an icon of mine.
She played this older lady character, and that also managed to fit into lots of different situations.
And those three, I think, are probably the drag that I grew up around.
Apart from, of course, pantomime dames.
He’s just phenomenal.
So he’s definitely been a big influence as well.
I’m incredibly lucky to have these people to inspire me.
You make your own drag.
We got to see so many amazing looks during the season.
How did you learn to get into the world of creating your own looks?
And I got my very first professional panto job while I was still at university.
That was the situation.
I had to provide my own costumes.
I was a student.
I didn’t have any money to buy any or pay anyone to do it.
So I just had to learn how to do it.
And I still use puppets.
There is a puppet or two featured inGinger’s Houseas well.
So I knew how to use a sewing machine.
I just did the classic.
The rest of them were disasters.
Making the clothes is actually one of my favorite things in drag.
Called one of the stupidest, best looks ever.
Talk about this synergy behind the history of that look.
GINGER: Well, that look is inspired by a look from aSchiaparellicollection.
The year is not coming to me right now, but it’s not that long ago.
It’s a really spectacular look and it screams drag because it’s a really unique shape.
There’s a sense of illusion to it because of how the waistline is cut into it.
And it’s completely impractical.
You cannot live a normal life wearing that outfit and drag needs to be that sometimes.
We need to say to people, ‘your clothes don’t have to serve you.’
Just get on with it, put the most ridiculous thing on that you’re free to find.
I was actually really happy to see somebody else do it.
And I believe someone on another franchise has also since done that.
And we all did it at the same time before we’d seen each other do it.
So I think that just speaks to how fabulous and theatrical Schiaparelli is as a designer.
My Matador It for the finale was also partly inspired by Schiaparelli because they did a whole matador collection.
You are the fifth winner ofDrag Race UK.
What does that mean to you?
GINGER: Oh God, it means everything to me.
When I went into the competition, I never in a million years thought I would win.
Never in a million years.
It just wasn’t even on my radar at all.
And watching it back, I think you could tell.
And thankfully, those are two things that really chime withRuPaul, you know?
It’s, it’s been a huge honor.
My time as the reigning queen is unfortunately coming to an end now.
I have honestly had the time of my life this year.
So many dreams that I’ve had for many, many, many years have come true this year.
It’s not just the crown and the scepter and the TV series that I get out there.
You’ve been able to take your victory on the road.
You’ve gotten to see the world, and it also means extraordinary opportunities.
What has been the wildest experience you’ve done since winningDrag Race UK?
GINGER: Oh, there’s so many of them.
I went to Australia.
I don’t know this, but Australia is incredibly far away.
Yes, it is!
GINGER: And to be honest, I’ll be very honest with you.
I had never had any interest in going to Australia at all.
Partly because it’s so far away, and I am terrified of flying.
I don’t think I will ever get used to that.
What is it about the relationship between you and Kate Butch that is just so magical and special?
And we went to all sorts of measures.
We put a great big metal fence all the way around the set.
We didn’t tell her what day it was on.
I don’t know.
Kate and I, we immediately got on onDrag Race.
We have a very, very similar sense of humor.
I think we have the kind of outlook on life that it’s really not that serious.
There are very few things in life that are serious.
There are some really great Kate Butch moments coming up.
Are there any other universes or mediums that Ginger Johnson might drop into next?
What’s the next dream?
GINGER: Oh, all of them!
Well, I’m currently touring my new solo show calledGinger Johnson Blows Off.
That’s all about me trying to become a daredevil stuntwoman.
It leads up to me firing myself out of a cannon at the end of the show.
Inspired by me seeing a woman fired out of a cannon when I was a child.
That’s the challenge that I’m taking on at the moment.
I’ve been doing this a long time now, and I’ve written a lot of theatre shows.
And that’s what really inspires me.
So who knows where she’s going to go?
Well, I know where she’s going to go next, but I can’t tell you yet.
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