Mary’s, Cardiff
Sun 16 July
***
A whirlwind introduction to many of Cardiff’s drag staples – as well as a decent array of amateurs – the Cardiff Fringe Theatre Festival’s free drag night was a bewildering mix of genuine entertainment and confusingly raw expression. Boasting kings, queens and bio-queens the night had something for almost every taste.
While admittedly not the strongest singer, opening act Polly Esther (Jack Grimshaw) nevertheless put out a decent stand-up routine with enough charisma and likeability to carry the room. Esther would benefit from more confidence in her stand-up and less reliance on her singing – self-deprecating humour is always enamouring and she does it well.
Not all the acts impressed. Heidi Wurst lived up to her name, her A to Z being a bit too heavy on the zzzs. There was also an over-reliance on lip-synching songs, and some acts comprised of this only. While it is certainly a part of drag, we had hoped to see a greater diversity of performances. Saying that, there were some standout lip-synching performances, notably Fae West’s take on Marilyn Manson’s The Beautiful People.
Cardiff’s drag scene is as tight-knit as any you’ll find in the UK – all the performers know each other, though they may not always get on. The night was accordingly packed with in-jokes, shade-throwing, and ego-bashing. Heidi Wurst’s lengthy segment in particular stood out in this manner; lacking much in the way of artistic content Wurst instead opted for a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation. Wurst is an experienced drag artist and crowd-pleaser who nevertheless brought weaker material than would be expected. Gentleman Jack (Amy Lessani) thrilled the crowd with an attitude-filled rap performance filled with disses of other drag queens and kings, while compère Polly Amorous (Twm Bollen-Molloy) tossed good-humoured insults at the assembled artists all evening.
While most of the acts during the evening were drag queens, Gentleman Jack’s rapping was well composed and well delivered; it suffered however from the same problem of being composed of almost entirely inside jokes and references, which were lost on the reviewer, and ended with a confusing and unnecessary imagined conversation. While Gentleman Jack undoubtedly has talent, we would have liked to have seen more of his drag persona, since this did not come out particularly strongly in the song.
While admittedly not the strongest singer, Polly Esther (Jack Grimshaw) nevertheless put out a decent stand-up routine with enough charisma and likeability to carry the room. Esther would benefit from more confidence in her stand-up and less reliance on her singing – self-deprecating humour is always enamouring, and she does it well.
The show ended on a touching and emotional note. The penultimate act, Rita Mortis (Eleanor Thorpe), used her slot to announce that it would be her last performance because she was leaving Cardiff. Recreating one of the end scenes of the film Love Actually playing Andrew Lincoln’s role with large signs, declaring her love for the drag community, tears running down her face, before launching into an energetic and emotive lip-sync. The final performance saw Rita Mortis return to the stage as drag queen Demi Gorgon gave her a makeover to Coldplay’s Fix You.
It wasn’t perfect, but the evening had truly entertaining moments – diamonds in the rough – and even some of that rough only needs a polish. Part of the problem might have been the short amount of time allocated to each performer.
Despite the artifice and faux-glamour of the drag genre, it’s undeniable that the performers are expressing themselves genuinely and unironically, and it’s an exciting, disarming thing to witness first-hand. Newer queens like Mandy Matisse poured their hearts out on stage. Casual RuPaul viewers could benefit from taking themselves to a drag show and engaging with the community: through the sass they’re all there to entertain, to be accepted, and to rock killer outfits.
Mary’s of St. Mary’s Street offers weekly drag shows, info: www.maryscardiff.co.uk/cardiff
The Cardiff Fringe Festival runs until Saturday 22Â July, info: www.cardifffringetheatrefestival.co.uk
words CHRIS HAYES AND JOHN MCLOUGHLIN