Drag reveals as much as it conceals. A wig, some heels, a pair of lashes, and a bold lip can be as much a revelation as a refuge. In Sophie Dupuis’ glittering character portrait, a young performer using his drag artistry to build himself up must grapple with what it means to not just cede the stage but to make room within it for who he wishes to become.
When we first meet Simon AKA Glory Gore (Théodore Pellerin), an up-and-coming drag star in the Montreal scene, he is in his element. With a blonde wig and a flowy blue number to match, Glory Gore is lost in the fantasy as she lip syncs to ’s “Voulez-Vous.” Pop music, it seems, allows the young, lithe boy with big expressive eyes to harness a sense of self-assured composure he dons a bit more hesitantly—performatively, even—when he’s out of drag.
He’s a fiery performer, but there’s a seductive timidity about him, no doubt what first attracts the latest newcomer joining the ranks at the club. Olivier AKA La Dragona (Félix Maritaud) instantly sees in Simon a potential lover, partner, muse. Solo Solo Soon the two become entangled on and off-stage.
Their fiery chemistry, driven as much by mutual admiration as by a perhaps unhealthy dose of awed envy, leads Simon to lose himself in Oli’s outré aesthetic. A tad older, Oli’s approach to drag is a bit more punk, harder edged than the soft, tulle-fueled antics Simon’s mastered with the help of his sister Maude (Alice Moreault), a talented costume designer w.
