Photo: Shaun Vadella
by Steve Desroches
Bianca Del Rio is waiting in the wings as the crowd in another sold-out venue somewhere in the world bristles with anticipation for the drag queen that goes “there.” And by “there” it’s not just the geographical location, as there is no other drag performer in the world that currently covers more ground than Del Rio, performing everywhere from São Paulo to Sydney. “There” is more a matter of Del Rio’s ability to say the shocking and offensive and turn it into comedy gold. It been 10 years since Del Rio, a.k.a. Roy Haylock, won season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and the persistent power of television has continually propelled her around the world. To date Del Rio has performed in just over 40 countries, on six continents, and in almost every state in the Union. But as she bounds onstage wherever she goes there’s a sign taped to the monitor that lets her know what city she is in so she doesn’t have a “Hello Cleveland” moment, when she’s actually in Detroit.
“I’m looking out into a big black space,” says Del Rio. “I don’t see anything with the spotlight on. It’s not glamorous touring. I go from the airport or the bus to the hotel, to the theater, do the show and a meet and greet, head back to the hotel and then take off for the next stop. I’m in constant motion, and it isn’t often I get to see anything of where I’m performing.”
Nevertheless, Del Rio loves it all and wouldn’t have it any other way. And if there is one place she doesn’t have to be reminded where she is, it’s Provincetown, a stop on all her world tours, where she’s completed several summer runs, and where she’ll be this Sunday evening at Town Hall as part of her Dead Inside global tour kicking off Carnival Week. For Del Rio Provincetown is often a transitional gig, where she ends one part of the tour before heading off to another. She’ll arrive in town after finishing up dates in Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Moncton, New Brunswick, with a quick dip into Saratoga Springs, New York. After her gig at Town Hall she’ll stay a while in town to visit friends, and then catch her breath before she kicks off the European leg of her tour in Belfast in the beginning of September, wrapping up the continent in Milan at the end of October. She then heads to Brazil for a show on Halloween, zips around South America, and then starts the New Year in Brisbane touring Down Under and wrapping the whole thing up in Christchurch, New Zealand, just past Valentine’s Day, almost a year to the date when the tour started in San Diego.
RuPaul might be the world’s most famous drag queen, but De Rio is the undisputed queen of the road. The tours are assembled by a long string of Del Rio just saying yes to “what makes sense.” If she’s playing Bergen, Norway, and a gig is offered in relatively nearby Sweden, she says “yes,” and so and so on and so on, until before she knows it she’s playing Warsaw, Johannesburg, and Manila. Television and social media helped spread Del Rio’s reputation for her bad-ass and bawdy take-no-prisoners style of comedy, but it’s really been global word of mouth, and the expansion of English as a lingua franca, that has allowed her to be in demand the world over. That and her indefatigable work ethic. Each show is different in part as she puts local references into each show, researching each locale as she travels, using airport lounges as her library. With comedy being one of the most subjective art forms, it’s amazing that her jokes land wherever she does. But it’s a product of her fearlessness. With no translator, she has to rely on her gut instincts and brazen talent. She’ll go anywhere.
“I did have second thoughts about Hong Kong, though,” says Del Rio. “I thought to myself backstage, ‘Uh oh. What if they don’t get it?’ But you can’t underestimate the power of Drag Race and how the world gets it. And as for me, I think the main thing to realize is that I’m the biggest joke there is. I think that cuts it down for people.”
On this particular day Del Rio is in Palm Springs, California, where it’s 102 degrees, getting ready to film a project with drag legends and pals Candis Canye and Sherry Vine. She pauses and expels a laugh of gratitude. Del Rio has been doing drag since 1996, and she not only cannot believe how much has changed for drag queens, but her own good fortune. She never in a million years thought she’d still be doing drag for almost 30 years, never mind continually conquering the world selling out venues like Carnegie Hall and Wembley Stadium. It seems she is on a mission to bring Del Rio to every corner of the planet. And despite the heat she’s having some frozen dreams.
“I’ve performed on every continent except Antarctica,” says Del Rio. “And I’d considering going. For me it just has to make sense, and I’ll go. Whatever makes sense then I’m all for it. There must be a research station there or something that would book me.”
Bianca Del Rio performs at Provincetown Town Hall, 260 Commercial St., on Sunday, August 18 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets ($75-$150) are available online at ptowntownhall.com and at the door day of if not sold out.
