From this week’s Galway City Tribune – Galway’s up-and-coming drag king was travelling in full costume in a taxi at Cork Pride last weekend, when the driver asked: “So, you get paid to dress up and pretend?” 

“I was like, yes, that’s exactly it,” laughed Sharon Nolan, whose alter ego is Viktor Complex.

The former political hopeful – Sharon narrowly missed out on a seat in Galway City Central for the Social Democrats in the 2019 local election – has now embraced a different sort of showbiz.

“A drag king is someone who would dress up and perform as a masculine character. It’s a gender flip on drag queen,” said Sharon, who uses the pronoun they.

The performer “fell into drag” over a year ago.

“There was a local drag competition organised for beginner performers. I’d worked in a costume shop previously. I’d done loads of costume design projects. I’m no stranger to a microphone. And after Covid, I really felt I needed something to get me out of the house a bit more,” Sharon said.

This is a shortened preview version of this story. To read the rest of the article, see the August 4 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can support our journalism and buy a digital edition HERE.