Injuries are essentially a workplace hazard when drag is your career, and Saki Yew got that lesson during her run on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 6. When a slip eventually took her out of the competition, this Manchester/Melbourne performer looks back on her experience as a significant learning lesson alongside amazing competitors and now sisters. I got to sit down with Saki to discuss what it’s like representing two distinct hometowns, and she gave me a peek at the stunning role she would love to step into as part of a “wickedly” legendary show.
Michael Cook: Tell me about your RuPaul’s Drag Race UK experience..
Saki Yew: It has been amazing. It has boosted me up in ways that I cannot even describe. The experience has been just so amazing.
MC: When you saw your RuPaul’s Drag Race UK cast assembled, did you find yourself intimidated or did you feel more than confident that you could compete against such a powerhouse group as the full cast of Season 6?
SY: I wasn’t intimidated at all, I was really excited. Like you said, we are all on the same level. I was excited to compete with girls that were on the same level and we could just go ham on it!
MC: With each cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, the UK cast brings their typical polish and experience year after year. What is it about UK drag that keeps raising the bar?
SY: I think not the that US girls don’t take pride, but the girls on the UK scene when they get out on the streets for their gigs, they want to be on point for absolutely everything. We treat this like a proper business..we love branding (laughs)!
MC: What do you think your rose and thorn are of your RuPaul’s Drag Race UK journey?
SY: My highs would be walking that first runway. Getting to present my two hometowns coming together which meant so much to me. The low would definitely be..a little slip (laughs)?
MC: Seeing you present the two places you are from must have been a very meaningful moment for you..
SY: It is the most amazing feeling. You get to show the judges where you have come from and how you want to represent that hometown; I represented Manchester and Melbourne. I collided them together to come up with this beekeeper that harvested Australian honey!
MC: When the slip you mentioned actually happened, what was going through your mind?
SY: At first I didn’t think it was that bad. When it happened, I was just like “Oh it’s not that bad” To me, when it happened I was like “It’s just a little slip, it’ll be okay”. Obviously as the day went on, I had to really think about it and go “Yeah this is obviously quite serious”. I pushed through as far as I could and then it was like “Okay let’s stop pretending” (laughs)!
MC: You definitely had that Aussie sensibility but you are immersed in the UK drag scene. What do you think are the starkest differences between these two scenes?
SY: What I’ve found is that here in the UK they really love a live performer, a queen who can really sing and belt her lungs out; campy, they really like to really interact with the audience. While in Australia, it is very “boom ka-ka”, they’re just pocket rockets, they dart from side to side back and forth and there isn’t a lot of interactions with the audience. It is like “this is what I’m doing, enjoy it”.
MC: What’s next for you post-RuPaul’s Drag Race UK?
YY: I kind of want to take each day as it comes, I want to enjoy the present because it’s nice to slow down sometimes and just enjoy the ride. Also, there are things that I want to do within the dance industry. I want to touch back on my roots with musical theater, I want to do some intensives with the up and coming talent.
MC: If you could headline any show, what would it be?
SY: I wouldn’t headline a show, I would love to play Boq in “Wicked”!
MC: What is one piece of advice that you’ve received that you took into Drag Race UK that stays with you?
SY: Be you. Sometimes, especially nowadays. it is so easy to fall into trends and fall into people’s fashion and the way that they do their makeup and all that. Sometimes it’s nice to take a step back, and say “No, I’m doing okay, just be me and people will love me for it”. Instead of trying to create something around yourself that is not really you.
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