Will Power and Knuckle Sandwich on Bury St Edmunds’ The Hunter Club and importance of community

“Queer people exist everywhere, even in picturesque market towns in rural Suffolk.”

Matt Squance and Lauren Bryant, better known as Knuckle Sandwich and Will Power, know first hand the importance of creating safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.

Which is why, having performed their first event together in 2022, they set out to do so, and made Bury St Edmunds their first fortress.

Nowadays, the pair run their Now That’s What I Call… DRAG! shows all across the region, but it was at the town’s Hunter Club where the curtain first fell, which is why they refer to the bar as the ‘birthplace’ of the event.

While the shows entertain, enthuse and enthral guests, they also educate and shine a light on performers who may otherwise never take to a major stage, as well being ‘unapologetically queer’.

“The Hunter Club was the birthplace really of NTWICD,” said Will Power. “It has created a space for us to hone our craft and experiment with what cabaret shows can be and how to make them accessible to a LGBTQIA+ community and allies.

“It has been an education certainly for some of the demographic of Bury, and it's amazing to talk to people who are now regulars of the show that don't identify as queer and weren't aware of wider LGBTQIA+ issues and now are clued in, switched on and massive allies to the community.”

Knuckle Sandwich has their own personal connections to the town. Born in Southend but spending their formative years in Newmarket, weekends were spent between a mix of Bury and Cambridge.

“It's always held a place in my heart as somewhere I've loved to visit,” said Knuckle. “I'd never known there to be a regular dedicated event that platformed drag and LGBTQIA+ people in the area and knew that if it was something I saw growing up here, it would have given me a sense of security and validation knowing that there were other people like me here.

“The Hunter Club has been on board since day one. The owner and many of the staff are members of the community and when we went in with our first show, we couldn't have asked for a better fit and team to work with.”

It is these sorts of connections, environments, positive atmospheres, which are essential for not only making their events successful, but creating the freedom of expression and safe spaces which are so important for the LGBTQ+ community at present.

When Donald Trump was inaugurated, he effused there were to be only two genders in his administration, while the UK’s Equality Act which was supposed to protect trans people has instead been used against them. On April 16, the UK Supreme Court ruled trans women are not legally recognised as women under the act, which gave way to a swathe of transphobic discourse and public agencies making changes to their policies on trans inclusion.

Will said: “What we do isn't serious, but we take it really seriously and we recognise that our shows are a form of escapism for a lot of members of the community and allies where they know they can come, exist and not experience any judgement for being authentically themselves.

“Because unfortunately, it's not always possible for people to openly present as queer or trans in their day to day lives without fear of being hate crimed.”

Knuckle said a lot of the hate does get tiring, particularly when it comes from prejudice and misinformation and while there are bigger societal issues at play. They highlighted how queer people have always existed and will continue to, as parents, doctors, siblings, teachers, entertainers and more.

“There are more people than ever using food banks in local communities, there are people struggling to pay their household bills, schools being drained of funding, hospital staff worked to their limits, a nation experiencing a mental health crisis and yet, vitriol and hate is being whipped up for a trans person wanting to use a toilet, who represent 0.1% of the population.”

But while the negativity can be challenging, Knuckle Sandwich and Will Power also reflected on the difference their events make – how it can bring people out of their shells and, importantly, bring people together.

To date, the pair have run more than 120 shows together and provided paid work for more than 200 drag acts. The power and importance of togetherness is evident.

Since the start of NTWICD, Knuckle Sandwich and Will Power have seen people who have started out as audience members stepping the world of drag themselves while Will, as a drag king, has taken pride in seeing more and more kings working with them, such as Austin Tism and Mike Ryder. “Feels very full circle, I am a proud drag parent,” they said.

So, while rotating news cycles and political climates can feel like a ‘pit of doom’, the ‘unapologetic joy’ the pair see at their shows and the chance for queer people to simply celebrate who they are is not lost on them.

Will said: “Our role as 'kings and queens' in the community means we have a responsibility to educate, embrace the political climate both good and bad, and to bring people joy.

“Laugh together, cry together, celebrate together – the most integral part is that we are together.”