5 stars
We’ve all been in our early twenties, thinking we know best. It’s probable, too, that many of us believed with a surprising level of confidence that we’d so far made zero mistakes in our lives.
Most of our anecdotes, though, are conspicuously absent of crab holes, drag queens, and puppet money. In Drag Queen Stole My Dress, Gillian English flawlessly delivers a thrilling story involving these elements and many more.
Image courtesy of Gillian English and Dahlia Katz
This fast-paced tale is at once surprising and, for many, all too relatable. English shares it masterfully, her comedic skills keeping the audience in a constant state of enraptured fascination. There are no flat moments here, it’s all go, and it’s all captivating.
The show is not about some straightforward but amusing anecdote. It’s much more than that. It’s very personal; a story that gives us an insight into English’s identity.
Employing her signature style of spirited, sharp-tongued, and conversational performance, English exudes strength. Her impressive range of theatrical skills don’t only keep us entertained. They are used to great effect and illustrate how she had her strong sense of self, misplaced it, and found it again.
English portrays each character in her story with a level of clarity that has you feeling like you know them very well. Her expressions of joy, disgust, pain, dismay, and utter delight are astonishing and have the audience in stitches.
A drag queen may be pivotal to her story, but English is undeniably the queen of pointed, incisive, and downright angry social commentary. It’s a delight to witness.
Drag Queen Stole My Dress features a powerful, direct, but playful narrative structure and there’s a visceral quality to everything English conveys. As the mood of the story evolves, her characterisation shifts seamlessly, and we’re taken on a meaningful journey through a critical point in her life.
Passion in storytelling is an effective device, but when it’s as genuine and heartfelt as English’s performance was on opening night, it makes an interesting story gripping, exciting, and utterly affecting.
Tickets available from the FRINGE WORLD website.
JASMIN SEABROOK-BENSON