Getting to know TALLY HO, winner of Vancouver’s, Entertainer of the Year, 2026!
With 35 years of experience across Metro Vancouver’s theatrical landscape—from the Rio Theatre to the 2010 Winter Olympics—Ryan Purdy has a deep understanding of what it takes to command a stage. In this interview, Ryan connects with Tally Ho, the recently crowned Vancouver’s Entertainer of the Year 2026. Tally Ho discusses their rapid rise in the drag scene and how a background in professional clowning and Douglas College theatre training has shaped their unique, story-driven approach to performance. From the technical challenges of "washing machine" costume malfunctions to their perspective on non-binary drag, Tally Ho provides a candid look at the artist behind the title.
Interview by Ryan Purdy
RYAN - Hi Tally, thanks for taking the time to chat with me about your exciting recent win as the winner of Vancouver's Entertainer of the Year, 2026 at Junction nightclub. Congratulations! So how does it feel to blast right to the top of the rankings in such a short period of time as a drag performer?
TALLY HO - Hi Ryan! It doesn’t feel real if I’m being honest with you, it feels like only yesterday that I was introducing myself to local performers with a ratty wig and a dream. Now I get to be introduced to, still in ratty wigs though. Rising so quickly was all because of the hosts of shows seeing me and believing that I could offer them something. So I did my best to meet their expectations, and let me tell you, I’ve been expected to do crazier and crazier things.
RYAN - Let’s just jump right in, how confident were you about winning going into the competition?
TALLY HO - When I go into these types of events, I can’t even think about winning or losing. The only thing on my mind is bringing a compelling piece to my audience. If I can connect with a single person in a crowd of hundreds, I’ve done my job. Every time I step on that stage, all my fears melt away, and I am left to do what I do best, tear up a stage.
RYAN - Exactly how long have you been performing in drag? Or since your style isn't traditional female impersonation, do you call it something else?
TALLY HO - I’ve been performing now for three years, having started skulking in the dank halls of haunted houses, and ever since then, no stage has been able to hold me for long.
To me, drag is the performance of gender itself, and as a proud non-binary person myself, I offer my perspective on the concept of gender by doing whatever I like! I don’t feel the need to simply do female impersonation, in fact I enjoy creating narratives to my performances more than just characters, I like to try and tell whole stories when I’m onstage.
RYAN - Vancouver now has a very robust pool of drag performers and more drag-babies are being birthed all the time. How has it been for you integrating into the drag community?
TALLY HO - I think the reason why I integrated quite well into this community is because of how stubborn I am, if I kept showing up, and making my name known, eventually someone would take a chance on me. The reassuring part about being surrounded by so many amazing performers in this city is knowing that we all bring something unique to the table, no single drag performer is truly the exact same as another, we all have something unique to bring to the stage, and we all have a place somewhere.
RYAN - I think I speak for your audiences when I say we’re very glad you found yours. I love a good origin story, so please tell me how you chose your stage name?
TALLY HO - It wasn’t some divine inspiration at all. There's this rock band called Tally Hall, and I quite like the music they make. I feel the oddities of their discography resonates with a lot of my own artistic expression; to put it simply, I like the music they make!
Tally ho is also a term of excitement for finding something, so I wanted people to always be excited to see me. Whenever someone sees me they can’t help but exclaim “Tally Ho!”
RYAN - Love it. You have a background in theatre as well don't you? I heard something about you going to clown college...?
TALLY HO - Ah yes, I studied performing arts at Douglas College and then perused a specification of clowning with Academy of Mask and Puppetry in Calgary. The training I have undergone has taught me discipline when creating art. I will spend hours a week trying to perfect a single moment or move on my own to ensure everything goes exactly how I planned.
That being said, I also have learned to embrace the beauty of a failure onstage and how much of a gift stumbling onstage can be. Training with clown has allowed me to be incredibly serious about being unserious.
RYAN - Then you’ll enjoy this next question.Thanks to shows like Drag Race, we all know now that queens are often time held together with nothing but hot glue, duct tape and a prayer where "wardrobe malfunctions" are just part of the risks you take going on stage, do you have a favorite story or moment about when your costume betrayed you?
TALLY HO - Oh god, where would I start? There was this very important event, I can’t remember any details about it, mostly because I try to mentally block out that memory. What I do remember however, was the amount of well-known local performers that were there! So, I needed to put my best foot forward.
I had created this comedy piece where I started in a cardboard washing machine and would pop out as a freshly cleaned laundromat flapper. Well, as I was stepping forward to get on stage, my costume gets caught while I’m walking inside my washing machine, and I fall face first onstage, my little feet both dangling in the air. In that moment I could’ve either made a huge stink, restarted my whole piece and pretended that never happened, orrrrrr wiggle around onstage and get the biggest laugh from the audience that night. Want to know which one I chose?
RYAN - Haha, I think I have an idea. But I’ve also seen the video on your insta. You handled it like a pro. So, speaking of Drag Race, is that something that's on your radar?
TALLY HO - Oh gosh, that’s a long way away for me. If I ever got that opportunity, I would need to be far more polished, I feel like even now I’m only just starting to learn who Tally Ho is. Broadcasting myself to such a huge audience would require a lot more confidence that I’m not sure if I have yet.
RYAN - Well you’d definitely win Miss Congeniality with that humble answer. So, random, leftfield question: If we were to do a tarot reading right now, what do you think the cards would say about the future of Tally Ho?
TALLY HO - There’s a dawn coming over the horizon, the future holds a lot of potential for me. Each day seems to open more opportunities for me as a performer as I step into the new day’s light. It feels like as I shed past doubts, I am able to forge ahead with an innocent heart and a reckless spirit.
RYAN - That’s beautiful and very inspiring. Thank you Tally. And for those of us wanting more Tally Ho live, when and where can we see you performing this year?
TALLY HO - You can find me at the Rio Theatre for The Happiest Drag Show on Earth on the 30th! I’ll be bringing another completely new angle of Tally Ho for everyone to see, and I hope I can bring some more smiles to the world! I also have a few more events happening that I will be performing at later this year, so please follow me on Instagram to find out more information!
RYAN - I’ll be there! Thank you so much Tally for taking some time with me and I guess there’s only one thing left to say, TALLY HO!
TALLY HO - Yesss, TALLY HO!
Ryan Purdy is a 35 year Metro Vancouver theatre veteran both on and off the stage. Was the Creative and Casting Director of Vancouver Horror Nights where he conceived of Vancouver’s first ever ‘open-world, multi-team, escape room featuring live actors’, Wesgrave and then worked seasonally as Cougar Creek’s House of Horrors in Surrey, as their Stage Director and Lighting Tech. He had the honor of working the final years of Port Coquitlam’s former Giggle Dam Dinner Theatre as Set Designer, Props Master and Stage Manager. He was also a proud dancer in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and works annually as Guest Assistant Director & Choreographer at Coquitlam’s, Pinetree Secondary School’s theatre program, Treehouse. He currently pursues multiple roles at East Van’s iconic Rio Theatre including Lighting Technician and occasional Stage Manager.