Interview: Actor Daniel Jacob on English Touring Theatre’s THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST

English Touring Theatre’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Denzel Westley-Sanderson, has recently opened at Leeds Playhouse ahead of a tour. We spoke to Daniel Jacob - aka Drag Race UK star Vinegar Strokes - about starring in this brand new interpretation of the piece.

You're currently playing Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. What attracted you to the role?

The role itself is iconic, everyone knows the “Handbag” line, so the opportunity to play such an iconic theatrical female role was a big attraction for me but as well as that, I was really attracted to the premise of how this show was going to be presented. This story being told from the prospective of British Black Victorians really intrigued me. Consequently, learning about the history of Black Britain and that there were black people living and working in Britain in the Victorian times who weren’t slaves or servants, but actually had wealth and contributed to the arts, healthcare, engineering and other important areas was a revelation to me, why aren’t we taught this in schools? So that was a huge attraction for me when the role was presented to me.

A lot of people will be more familiar with you as Vinegar Strokes. How do you think that your appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has been for your career?

I feel RuPaul’s Drag Race UK is one of those great platforms that opens up the door for what you really want to do, whether that’s music, stand-up comedy, modelling, dance, presenting or whatever the dream may be. For me I always wanted to do lots of theatre, both plays and musicals and somehow combine the art of drag with that. I’ve been really fortunate that I’ve been able to do that, from the West End to an opera in Copenhagen and lots of other bits in between. My appearance on Drag Race UK has definitely opened a lot of doors in the theatre world for me and hopefully that will continue.

If you could play any role in any classic story, what would it be and why?

I would absolutely love to do a Shakespeare play at Shakespeare’s Globe. I adore his work and as the art of drag really comes from Shakespeare, I would love to play one of his characters and drag them up. My favourite is A Midsummers Night Dream and I think I’d make a great Titania or a drag version of Bottom would be hilarious.

You appeared with various Drag Kings and Queens in the UK tour of Death Drop, who was your favourite to work with?

It’s hard to pick a favourite as it was a fantastic cast of people to work with, everyone had their quirks and made the show funny and fantastic for different reasons. I will say though, I loved making Willam corpse on stage!

What can the audience expect from this latest revamped production of The Importance of Being Earnest?

Comedy, shade, wit, a new point of view and a cast of gorgeous and talented black actors looking super sexy in Victorian clothing.

The Importance of Earnest is currently playing at Leeds Playhouse until 17 September, before touring to Cambridge, Ipwich, Newcastle, Liverpool and Kingston-upon-Thames, with tickets available here.