Zelda Stone entertains brunch crowd at 137 Distillery in Newbury’s Parkway Shopping centre

By day and by night he is Matt Sparkes – who works behind the bar at 137 Distillery in Newbury’s Parkway Shopping centre.

But at brunch he is Zelda Stone, who mesmerises crowds with her "epic" drag act.

Zelda was the star of the show for Newbury’s first ever ‘drag brunch’ on Saturday – and is fast becoming the talk of the town after a hugely successful event.

Zelda performed a range of crowd-pleasing classics including The Weather Girls’ hit 'It’s Raining Men', Queen’s 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and Britney Spears’ 90s song ‘Oops!…I Did It Again'.

This was much to the delight of the huge crowd, who gleefully sang along as they soaked up the atmosphere.

Matt said: “It was great, the audience reception was better than I could have expected. It was amazing. Everyone who came said they couldn’t believe this hasn’t happened in Newbury before.”

Matt, who has been performing in drag for 11 years but only professionally for the past two, added: “Being on stage in drag is incredibly liberating.

“You can say and do what you want because you are being someone else. It’s incredibly empowering – it feels like you’re wearing armour and you can do anything.

“I get to make my own show and perform my own material. I don’t have to answer to an agent or a director or anyone else. I just love it.”

He added that “it would be nice to have a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community in Newbury because there isn’t really anywhere to go at present”.

Matt also said he hoped the show would help break down barriers.

The owner of 137 Distillery, Pete Lumber, said: “It was something we toyed with before but only just got around to doing.

“It was epic. I cannot explain just how amazing it was. The response from people was phenomenal. We had all ages there, both young and old. It really was an event for everyone.”

“It is something that 137 really wants to be known for – events with an experience.”

The drag brunch was such a success that 137 Distillery has already organised two more – on May 20 and June 24.

There are also plans to host an 80s themed brunch, more details of which will be announced soon.

The bottomless brunch is priced at £45 per person and includes brunch, two hours of unlimited prosecco and the entertainment.

To book tickets, go to 137 Distillery’s Instagram page.