River Medway (drag queen)

River Medway
Born
Dexter Clift

(1998-04-08) 8 April 1998
Medway, Kent, England
EducationMillennium Performing Arts
OccupationDrag queen
TelevisionRuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 3)
Websiteriver-medway.com

Dexter Clift (born 8 April 1998),[1] known professionally as River Medway, is an English drag queen and musical theatre performer who is best known for competing on the third series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK in 2021.

Career

In 2021, River Medway was announced as one of the drag queens competing in the third series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK. During her time on the show, River Medway's runway look inspired by Thomas Fletcher Waghorn gained comedy attention on social media.[2][3] She also discussed her mother dying from COVID-19, and revealed that she received a call for the show not long after her death.[4][5] River Medway was eliminated from the competition following the Snatch Game episode, alongside Choriza May after a lip sync to "Shout" resulted in RuPaul deciding to eliminate both of them in a double elimination.[6][7][8]

In 2022, River Medway embarked on the RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official Tour alongside her fellow cast members.[9][10] Later that year, River Medway joined the cast of the show Death Drop: Back in the Habit, alongside Drag Race alumni Victoria Scone, Willam Belli, and Cheryl Hole.[11] The show played at the Garrick Theatre followed by a UK Tour in 2023. In October 2023, it was announced River Medway had been cast as Ariel in the parody musical Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch.[12] The show played for 10 weeks at Southwark Playhouse and embarked on a UK tour to 20 cities in 2024. River appears on the Original Studio Cast Recording.[13]

In July 2024 River Medway was announced as the Mistress of Ceremonies in House of Cleopatra, which played at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.[14] Shortly after, River Medway was cast as Jem in the Jukebox musical Here & Now: The Steps Musical[15] which played at the The Alexandra, Birmingham later that year. In 2025 the cast made television appearances alongside pop group Steps on Britain's Got Talent [16] and National Lottery's Big Night of Musicals . Following this, the show embarked on a UK and Ireland tour which concluded in May 2026.[17] The show received a nomination for Best New Musical at the 2026 WhatsOnStage Awards.[18]

Personal life

Dexter Clift was born in Medway, Kent to an English mother and a Singaporean Chinese father.[8] The name of his drag persona comes from the River Medway that flows through his hometown.[19]

On July 25th 2024, Dexter was awarded with an Honorary Doctor of Arts (HonDArts) by the University of Greenwich recognising his outstanding commitment to the Medway area and exceptional representation of the LGBT+ community (as River Medway).[20]

Discography

Singles

Cast Recordings

Year Title Notes
2024 Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch (Original Studio Cast Recording)
  • Wildpark Entertainment
  • Formats: Digital download, streaming


Filmography

Television

Year Title Notes Ref
2021 RuPaul's Drag Race UK Contestant Series 3 (6th/7th place) [22]

Stage

Year Title Promoter Locations Ref
2022 RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official Tour Voss Events / World of Wonder Ipswich, Oxford, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, Bournemouth, Southend, Manchester, Sheffield, Blackpool, Llandudno, Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Basingstoke, Portsmouth, Plymouth, London, Derby, Bristol, Bradford, Aberdeen, Southampton, Stockton, Brighton and Newport [9]
Death Drop: Back in the Habit Trafalgar Entertainment/TuckShop Garrick Theatre [23]
2022-23 Death Drop: Back in the Habit [UK TOUR] Trafalgar Entertainment/TuckShop Bromley, Dartford, High Wycombe, Cardiff, Crewe, Brighton, Sheffield, Leicester and Aberdeen [23]
2023 Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch Wildpark Entertainment Southwark Playhouse - London
2024 Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch [UK TOUR] Wildpark Entertainment Salford, Liverpool, Aberdeen, Crawley, Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Peterborough, Oxford, Glasgow, Cardiff, Blackpool, Southend-on-Sea, Exeter, York, Bromley, Nottingham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Southampton and Wolverhampton
2024 House of Cleopatra [Edinburgh Fringe] Alchemation / Nathaniel Hill Edinburgh Festival Fringe [14]
2024-26 Here & Now (as Jem) Steps / ROYO / Pete Waterman The Alexandra, Birmingham, UK and Ireland tour [24]

References

  1. ↑ @river_medway (8 April 2022). "thank you everyone for the birthday messages! today i'm 24 years old and very grateful for my life and proud of all my accomplishments" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ "Queen's Thomas Waghorn drag is 'iconic'". Kent Online. 24 September 2021. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  3. ↑ "Drag Race UK's River Medway couldn't do original Snatch Game choices". Attitude.co.uk. 1 November 2021.
  4. ↑ "BBC Three - RuPaul's Drag Race UK, Series 3, Episode 4, You've helped so many people, River Medway". BBC. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  5. ↑ "Drag Race UK's River Medway opens up about losing her mum to Covid-19". Attitude.co.uk. 15 October 2021.
  6. ↑ "Drag Race Debrief: River Medway on her shock elimination and the challenge she missed this year". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "How Choriza May & River Medway Felt About Their Double Elimination". www.out.com. 1 November 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Drag Race UK's River Medway on "BDE", backstage drama, and living her truth". Digital Spy. 29 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  9. 1 2 "RuPaul's Drag Race UK Tour". Voss Events. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Exclusive: River Medway "loved every minute" of shock Drag Race UK exit". GAY TIMES. 29 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "Drag Race's River Medway and Victoria Scone to join the cast of Death Drop: Back In The Habit | London Theatre Direct". www.londontheatredirect.com. 30 September 2022. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  12. ↑ "Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch reveals cast for new London run and UK tour". 19 October 2023.
  13. ↑ Writer, Staff (14 June 2024). "Cast album released for Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch". Theatre Weekly. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 "House of Cleopatra musical announces complete casting". 20 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "Steps musical Here and Now announces complete casting". 4 September 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Editorial, West End Theatre (23 May 2025). "Here & Now – The Steps Musical to perform on Britain's Got Talent with Steps and Diversity | West End Theatre". Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "Steps musical Here and Now reveals full tour cast". 4 August 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "WhatsOnStage Awards 2026: nominations in full". The Stage. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  19. ↑ "River Medway reveals all following drag race elimination". Kent Online. 1 November 2021. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  20. ↑ Haggis, James. "Dame Zandra Rhodes among Medway cultural figureheads awarded honorary doctorates". www.medway.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  21. ↑ "Feeling Fruity (feat. River Medway)". music.apple.com. Apple Inc. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  22. ↑ "Who is River Medway? Meet RuPaul's Drag Race UK star and Hannah Montana super-fan". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  23. 1 2 "Drag Race stars sign up for Death Drop: Back in the Habit tour". Digital Spy. 1 October 2022. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  24. ↑ Stephen (4 September 2024). "News: Full Cast Announced for the World Premiere Of Here & Now, featuring Steps' most beloved hit songs". The Theatre Cafe. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
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