VIDEO: drag queen performers' support for rail commuters

Surprise performance at Victoria StationSurprise performance at Victoria Station
Surprise performance at Victoria Station
Commuters had their spirits raised at rush hour last night (Monday August 9) as three leading drag queen performers surprised travellers at Victoria Train Station with an impromptu rendition of disco classic '˜I Will Survive', in a show of solidarity amidst the ongoing Southern Rail service disruption and five day strike.

As seen in Absolutely Fabulous The Movie, semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent 2014 and second place act in Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK 2015, drag artist La Voix led the rousing chorus of Gloria Gaynor’s iconic song, supported by two other prominent London drag performers, Nancy Clench and Vanity von Glow.

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A press release from coach company National Express says the train station rush hour sing-along attempted to lighten the mood following weeks of frustration for train travellers, including those journeying between London and Brighton, who have seen Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR, operators of Southern) bring in a reduced timetable to cope with weeks of disruption to Southern services.

And this week, further misery ensues as the RMT union has begun strike action for a planned period of five days, starting on Monday and leading to limited or no services running on some routes.

Surprise performance at Victoria StationSurprise performance at Victoria Station
Surprise performance at Victoria Station

The release adds that in addition to the public chorus of ‘I Will Survive... the rail chaos!’, people at Victoria Train Station had the chance to snap up one of 100 free coach journeys on National Express to anywhere in the UK, or one of 3,000 discount vouchers offering 50% off between London and Brighton.

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The coach company has already added thousands of additional seats to its network between London and Brighton to help cope with demand caused by the rail disruption. The overarching message of the stunt was ‘travel between London and Brighton shouldn’t be a drag’, with the following campaign hashtag used - #notsuchadrag.

Tom Stables, Managing Director for National Express UK Coach, commented: “The unexpected performance and our on-the-spot coach ticket giveaway was our way of showing support for frustrated commuters.

“We believe travel should be stress-free and hope the event during last night’s rush hour raised a smile and highlighted there is another way for many people who have had enough of the rail uncertainty and delays.”

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