Cabbage the Clown is the drag creation of Eliza Nelso. Eliza trained in costume construction at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and has worked as a costume designer and wardrobe supervisor. Since graduating university they have won two of London’s major drag competitions, performed on the main stage Leicester Square for London Pride, started a drag clown collective called ‘Funny Business’ and produced numerous sellout drag shows. They are bringing their debut hour ‘Cinemadrome’ to the Fringe in August. We spoke to Eliza about the show, their approach to drag, and we very much appreciated their taste in movies.

Can you tell us about ‘Cinemadrome’?

‘Cinemadrome’ came out of my uterus, which was weird because I thought I had a smooth plasticky crotch like a Barbie doll. It was attached by the umbilical cord and it came out laughing. Not a sweet cheerful laugh like normal babies when they are born. A menacing, sarcastic laugh that sent shivers down my spine. It raised its eyebrows at me, as if to say, ‘I own your ass, you stupid bitch’. I’d seen this look before, it reminded me of someone I once knew. Tom Nook. 

Cinemadrome is a cinema chain and it’s the biggest one of them all, and it absorbed all the other cinema chains as it built to its conglomerating success and I work there and it’s okay but it can be a bit boring. I like working there because I like getting to see free movies but it’s sad because people throw away food all the time. Sometimes I eat their leftover food. It’s like my treat for doing a good job.

For those unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your comedy style and approach to performance?

Gay and camp and gay, mostly me falling over, pop culture vomit, gluttonous levels of props. When on stage you pity it, it being me, like when you see an ant next to a full slice of bread and it’s trying to drag it home and then you put poison on it cause ants are bad. My approach to performance is to try and perform as well as I can, I’m not at the top of my game yet but I’m just at the start and people seem to enjoy it and that’s all that matters.

What were your inspirations behind the character of Cabbage? There’s obviously a wealth of in terms of drag performance, queer identity, class consciousness, and film fandom in there.

Cabbage was formed out of lockdown insanity and begged the question, ‘Why am I doing a degree in costume construction when I don’t know how to sew?’ I am still searching for the answer. Many of my friends were acting students at their various drama schools and they were studying clowning. I heard about it firstly through their eyes and started wondering, ‘What would my clown be?’ At that exact moment Cabbage walked out the closet and said, ‘Put your trauma in me.’ to which I replied, ‘Say please,’ to which they said nothing, transforming into a pile of tear-stained pillows. I don’t know if what I saw was real, but I’ve been modelling Cabbage in their image ever since.

What are your favourite film genres and periods in film history, and why?

Okay I love slasher movies, they’re always so political and it’s really hard to get them right cause in the ’80s the genre was done to fuck. When you watch a really good slasher it re-invents the genre, it’s a deconstruction of gender roles and it’s highly political. Love it, yummy, put it in my tummy. My faves are: Scream, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and Ready or Not is also good. One of my more recent fav horrors outside of the slasher genre is Get Out, but now that’s just a cinematic masterpiece. 

Some other periods I get drawn to are ’80s dark wave surrealist camp shit. Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, The NeverEnding Story, Beetlejuice, Killer Klowns from Outer Space. If there’s puppets and campy real ass special effects I am SO there. ’90s futurism was a huge influence for ‘Cinemadrome’ branding. Think Hackers, Gattaca, Fifth Element, and Spy Kids. 

Lesbian movies – for obvious reasons, Watermelon Woman is a no-brainer and must watch if you’re looking for recommendations, truly one of the greats. But I’m a Cheerleader is an all-time fave – The set and costume design, editing style, and visual story of this movie is completely addictive. I recently watched Bound for the first time – potentially one of the greatest lesbian movies out there, it has everything.

Animated movies. Don’t ever overlook them! Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse transcends demographic, you’d have to be a miserable bastard not to enjoy it. Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle are my personal favourite Ghibli movies. Help I’m a Fish. Guilty pleasure is Prince of Egypt. 

Honourable mentions: Mockumentaries; I love Paper Heart and No Men Beyond This Point. ’90s/’00s chick flicks; 10 Things I Hate About You, Aquamarine, and Angus, Thongs [and Perfect Snogging] were an addiction. Finally, anything with sick costumes cannot be resisted by me  – Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge (Thanks Baz and Cath), Anna Karenina and, of course Eiko Ishiokas gorgeous designs in The Fall and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. 

‘Cinemadrome,’ is your debut solo Edinburgh show. What are your hopes and expectations for the month?

Mainly just to make new friends and discover some new artists that are making cool work that I can extract and inject into my eyeballs. In terms of my show I’m excited to hopefully know all of the words and cues by the end of the run. Oh baby, you better believe it’s gonna be sharp. I also have this panini place I went to once in Edinburgh that I’m excited to revisit. 

Apart from your show, is there anything you’re particularly looking forward to (or dreading) during the Fringe?

Spending too much money at the exciting food stalls. I love to eat. Especially under pressure, the thing is I have all these unaddressed food intolerances and the food stall temptations will be great. I want to put a deep fried Nutella pancake with clotted cream and Biscoff bits  in my mouth, please don’t let me do that. I’m allowed to have a panini from the panini place though. Also, seeing shows x

Beside ‘Cinemadrome’, can we expect to see you performing elsewhere during August?

Yessssssyyyyy! I’ll be performing at some iconic local drag shows including but not limited to: Fruit Salad at Paradise Palms on 3rd August and as part of the Fringe – Knickers Cabaret on the 15th August, Fast Fringe on the 31st and 14th at 6.30pm and in discussions for more too :)))

Are there any other acts at the Fringe that you would recommend audiences see?

SO MANY. Lachlan Werner, Su Mi (‘ThisMotherphucker’), Soft Play, DeliaDelia, C U Later, Simulator, DYKE Systems Ltd, and tons more that I haven’t even seen yet; so many, so many.

‘Cinemadrome‘ is at Underbelly George Square – Buttercup from Wed 30 Jul to Sun 24 Aug 2025 at 21:45