As the Western world and its liberal attitudes towards homosexuality and transexuality mostly continue to blossom in the 21st century, Berlin stands tall as an open and unified bubble of freedom where gay clubs lead the market for the majority, and sexual freedom is commonplace and worthy of celebration. We all have a modernized idea of what drag queens are, however dedicated to the cause or uninformed we are.
Whether Berlin is ready for drag or not is barely a question, given the consistent avalanche of creativity and openness the city experiences. The bigger notion is to widen the boundaries of those regularly checking out drag performance, and not merely for the liberal agenda, but because it is simply brilliant and you deserve to witness it.
As you might imagine, the drag scene in Berlin is brimming with activity, with a pocket of locations frothing with shows and characters to keep us entertained. But unless you are an active member of the LGBT, and more specifically, drag community, it can be somewhat difficult to step under the colorful lights of the historic form of entertainment and expression.
Without its delectable outside banner, setting it apart from the hoards of Berlin bars that deny to inform you of their name, you might have walked past The Club on your hunt for your new best drinking hole. The back room is where the magic happens. The mismatched benches and chairs face the delicately homemade proscenium arch stage, set semi-permanently with a delicious Chaise Longue and armchair arrangement.
During my first afternoon visit to The Club, the back room was gloriously littered with confetti and primary-colored balloons for a film that was being shot that day. It felt vaguely reminiscent of a Miley Cyrus video layered over a scene from a Wes Anderson movie. In the backroom with Cher Nobyl, Olympia Bukkakis et al. Courtesy of Vincent Reynaud. The Club hosts alternative weekly drag shows and a plethora of other activities to tickle your mildly creative energy.
