Jinkx Monsoon talks bringing Big Drag Energy to Doctor Who

Although the name “Master” may seem like a reference to another icon doctor who villain, there's something quite unique about the character played by Jinkx Monsoon in the show's return in May. Literally bursting out of a piano before consuming all the music in the world, Maestro proves to be one of the Doctor's (Ncuti Gatwa) most formidable opponents, overshadowing the time-traveling alien's first encounter with the Beatles in “The Devil's Chord.” “

He RuPaul's Drag Race The champion and Broadway star says Maestro was a “dream role,” a character who represents “the place where science fiction meets Greek mythology; you could see them as a god or a demon, but what they are at the end of the day is an extremely powerful embodiment of music. And as a musician, I felt very prepared for the challenge.”

In terms of casting, showrunner Russell T Davies wasn't specifically thinking about Monsoon while working on the script, but as soon as he finished, he knew she was the obvious choice. “And we booked Jinkx way in advance, I remember, because when it comes to a drag queen of that stature, they're booked months and months and months ahead of us,” he says. Consequence. “I'm delighted it worked. “It was brilliant.”

Monsoon and Davies met through an old friend of Davies named Michael, whom Monsoon would eventually marry. Davies says: “He was literally texting [Michael] That night he said, “I have a date,” which turned out to be with Jinkx Monsoon, which is awesome. I got on the phone and said, 'What do you know about Jinkx? Will Michael be okay? And each person said [Monsoon] “I couldn’t be a better partner.”

And, Davies continues, “the next thing you know, he said, 'I'm leaving Manchester and traveling the world with Jinkx.' “It’s kind of a showbiz story that you don’t expect to happen.” The couple are now divorcing, which Davies says “is very sad, but it's very amicable. “They are both moving on to different parts of their lives.”

In “The Devil's Chord,” the Maestro literally fights the Doctor in a full-blown “musical battle” (musical notes flying across the screen like bullets). However, Monsoon's favorite musical moment in the episode was using his voice “as a weapon.” . My friends have joked for years that if I became some kind of superhero or supervillain, it would be that I would have some kind of supersonic screech, because the people who live with me know that I just sing at my best. So the fact that I was able to short circuit the sonic screwdriver with my voice was cool. “I was really excited about that moment.”