The Edinburgh Fringe has never been short of bold, boundary-pushing theatre, but this year a trio of shows are making a strong case for drag kings as one of the most exciting forces in live performance right now.
First up is FUCCBOIS: LIVE IN CONCERT, and if the name alone does not tell you exactly what kind of night you are in for, the show absolutely will. This is a high-energy drag king extravaganza built around the format of a boyband concert, and it commits to the bit completely. The performers strut, preen and harmonise their way through a set that lovingly skewers every boyband cliche you have ever cringed at, from the choreographed hand gestures to the dramatic key changes. It is sharp, it is funny, and the crowd energy is infectious. If you have ever sat through a Take That documentary with a mix of affection and mild horror, this one is for you.
Over at MAN!FEST: The Drag Boyband Musical, a similar premise gets a slightly different treatment. Where FUCCBOIS leans into the concert experience, MAN!FEST goes full musical theatre, giving its drag king performers a proper narrative arc to work with alongside all the sequins and swagger. The result is something that feels a bit more structured, though no less fun. There is real heart underneath the comedy here, with the show quietly making points about masculinity, performance and identity while keeping the audience laughing throughout. The songs are catchy, the performances are committed, and it earns its finale in a way that feels genuinely satisfying rather than just loud.
Both shows are riding a wave of growing interest in drag king culture that has been building at the Fringe for several years now. Drag queens have long had their moment in the mainstream spotlight, but drag kings have historically been the less visible side of the art form. Shows like these two suggest that is changing fast, and the Fringe is proving to be exactly the right place for that shift to happen.
The third show in this loose trilogy is Doughboys, and it takes a sharp left turn in terms of setting. Rather than a concert hall or a theatre stage dressed up as one, Doughboys plants its drag king characters firmly in the trenches of World War One. It is a comedy, which sounds like an uncomfortable combination on paper, but the show handles it with enough care and wit to make it work.
The premise draws on a long tradition of wartime performance and the blurring of gender in entertainment during periods of conflict, when men dressed as women to perform for troops and vice versa. Doughboys takes that history and runs with it, using the drag king format to explore camaraderie, survival and the absurdity of war without ever tipping into bad taste. It is probably the most ambitious of the three shows in terms of what it is trying to do, and while it does not always land every joke, when it does connect it is genuinely funny and occasionally quite moving.
Taken together, these three productions say something interesting about where drag king performance is right now. It is no longer just a niche act tucked into a late-night comedy slot. These are fully produced shows with proper dramaturgical thinking behind them, and they are drawing real audiences who are not necessarily already fans of the art form.
The Fringe has always been the place where new performance styles find their footing before breaking into the wider culture, and if these shows are anything to go by, drag kings are very much in that process right now. Whether it is the boyband parody format or the more theatrically ambitious trench comedy, there is a confidence and craft to this work that feels like a scene coming into its own.
All three shows are worth catching before the Fringe wraps up, though if you can only pick one, your choice probably depends on what you are after. Want pure chaotic fun and a singalong? FUCCBOIS. Want something with a bit more story and emotional payoff? MAN!FEST. Want to see what happens when drag kings take on the Western Front? Doughboys has you covered.