5) Why the comedy?
Comedy has been central to pantomime since the very beginning. It persisted even when women were finally welcomed into the theatre community. The use of pantomime dames remained a means of humour. The dames’ apparent manliness became a crucial element of the joke. It is supposed to be fun; I mean, imagine the challenge men were faced with playing women. Wearing high heels? Phew – pure comedy right there. It’s all a performance, and the aim is to entertain your audience.
RuPauls’ empire was also, of course, built on the premise of comedy, which began with his first single, “Supermodel (You Better Work).”
In an interview from The Guardian, he shares that comedy is what saved his life; something he learned during his teenage time in Atlanta: to laugh the horror of the situation “in the face”. “If you cannot laugh at it”, he says, “you gotta buck up and get strong. Cos I think everything is a fucking laugh riot.”
Following his statement that drag is dangerous and makes fun of everything, he proceeded to explain that “it breaks the fourth wall” and “mocks our culture and identity: how much you have, where you’re from, your economic background. Drag mocks all of that. It’s the antithesis of mainstream.”
Given the history of its nature, it only makes sense that comedy remains central to these artistic practices. It is at the core of their foundation.