Dr Beverly Ballcrusher is known for belting out a tune (she is Welsh, it’s in their DNA), making people smile, and for not pulling any punches! Graham Robson caught up with this sharp-tongued lady from The Valleys to find out what she’s been up to do beat the doom & gloom!
Hey Bev, what have you been up to
I’ve been lucky enough to spend most of the last couple of weeks staying with my best mates in the Midlands. Before I left home I did a live quiz for Pride Cymru in Cardiff with one of the local girls, Opal Fruits, which was really well received and I’m hoping to do another one really soon. I was also asked by one of the Welsh MPs to write and record a poem for his constituents which was broadcast on his social media alongside others by Matt Lucas, Samuel West and Harriet Thorpe. That was really fun and received a lot of love on twitter!
Have you been keeping an eye on other online performances?
I’ve been watching some of the other girls performing online, Miss Penny, Mary Golds and my particular favourite was Sandra live from her kitchen alongside her wig and cornflake collection! I have so far refrained from doing any other form of live performances online but I have had people ask so maybe I’ll sneak on and do it in the coming weeks! The fun thing is you get to reach an audience across the world and may not be able to watch you normally!
How have you been keeping out of mischief?
I have kept myself busy with box sets (rewatched Pose again!), have done some ‘zooming’ with friends and had online pub quizzes with them… Also managed to do some writing to help a friend’s project… always a busy one!
Any tips while in lockdown?
Hopefully everyone else is keeping themselves challenged… These are weird times we’re living in and I think we all need to reach out to friends, maybe drop a message to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. That message could be just what they need to lift their day!
What do you miss the most?
I’ve really missed travelling around the country for gigs and seeing friends in London, Brighton and Southampton. It’s more than just a gig ’cause you catch up with friends and get to see other drag queens perform… I can’t wait to do that again – I even promise not to moan about the trains! In the meantime I guess I have time to learn some new tracks and chat with friends on social media… Being alone doesn’t mean you have to use social media, see what you can do for your local community, support each other. Then let’s party like New Year when this is over!
Any thoughts on Brighton & Hove Pride? We’re really going to miss it…
Brighton & Hove Pride is one of my favourite Pride events… the way the entire city gets wrapped in a giant rainbow. I was on a float a couple of years ago with Kara Van Park and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life… and of course my traditional ten mins on the back of a lorry for the Queens Arms followed by an hour of my “exceptional” customer service on the outside bar… I swear it’s the only reason they book me for Pride!
Like pretty much the entire LGBTQ+ community in the UK I’m extremely saddened that this year’s 30th Anniversary won’t be happening, especially for the organisers who put so much into it and to the many charities that benefit from a huge cash injection afterwards. I’m sure that everyone will happily donate towards them and show support for the team as they now get an extra year to make things even more fabulous for 2021!
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