Those who know me in real life will know that I am absolutely obsessed with pin badges! I am trying to create my own version of that iconic Elton John denim jacket but with pins that mean something to me/are connected to myself in a certain way. When I saw that Queenz were selling pin badges for just six pounds then I knew I would have to get one. To my surprise, however, once I had paid for the badge I was made aware every purchase from the merch stand came with a free meet and greet ticket for after the show! I had never heard of a meet and greet ticket for just £6 before and so I was very excited to stay after the show and meet the wonderful performers! The show itself started with a very dramatic, vocal showcase of a reimagining of the last Gaga classic born this way. The phased beginning allowed each queen to introduce themselves to the audience set up their unique character/personality and showcase their vocal abilities with an iconic pride-centric anthem! Call it gatekeeping, call it being protective, call it whatever you like but I have this very strange protection over songs I enjoy and there is no song that I love more than than iconic Proud Mary by the recently departed Tina Turner. When the song initially started I was a little concerned that the remix treatment, that every other song had received thus far, would ruin such a beloved song but I have to admit that the pop injection/focus of vocals really helped to elevate the performance. The first half of the song saw the queens demonstrating their vocal talents as they were their own backing singers and soloists which is not an easy thing to do. As expected from this song, the second half was an absolute party with every single person in the audience singing and dancing along!
One of my favourite group performances of the evening would have to be the musical theatre medley that brought an end to the first act of the show. However, this was not your usual homage to the arts as the creative team had cleverly edited the words to create a much more mature and at times sexually fueled series of messages. The sequence began tame enough with songs about how expensive it is to do drag (with a brilliant reference to wish.com) and a brilliant Chitty Chitty bang bang number about queens being hounded to do a death drop at every show they perform in. I do have to say that I did shudder a little when we saw a depiction of Joseph and his amazing Technicolor dream coat in a rainbow tutu singing about a series of sexual acts mainly because this was a show I loved since I was a very young child and also the Christian overtones of the show. We also witness a homage to Evita as the group sang about how “some people think I’m a dickhead” to the iconic tune of Don’t Cry for Me Argentina which had everybody laughing. One of the more poignant moments in this sequence was the tribute to Wicked where they sang about defying gender roles (ten points if you can figure out the original song!) complete with the stage flooded in green lights and incredible vocals throughout! My favourite group performance of the entire night was when the queens decided to sit down and sing “True Colours” by Cyndi Lauper which was incredibly powerful and emotionally moving. Every single person on the stage and in the audience was close to tears throughout as the show took an opportunity to spread a message of self-love and acceptance. What was very unusual however was that this song was paired with an impassioned speech where each queen was referenced by their real-life names. Seeing this breakdown of drag persona and actual performer really drove the message home that everyone should be unapologetically themselves and that we can be a queen in our everyday lives! One of my favourite solo performances of the entire show would have to be when Billie Eyelash delivered an incredible rendition of Believe by Cher! Donning the iconic black leather outfit this song has become synonymous with, Billie Eyelash owned the stage and gave absolutely everything to this performance with every single audience member singing and dancing along! The energetic performer showcases not only incredible vocals but also channels the overwhelming energy required for the incredible choreography.
Throughout the show, there was a running joke that one of the stage crew members was absolutely desperate to be on the stage. As they were moving props they would perform small dance routines (including an incredible death drop) that had the audience laughing throughout. As the show went on their outfits became more and more drag-esque and the closing moments saw them officially join the queens on stage donning heels and an incredible feather boa. While this was a very clever show-long storyline, it also touched on the aforementioned message of being a queen as this was supposed to represent a normal person who just so happened to work behind the scenes. At one point Bella du Ball graced the stage and brought on the stage hand to simply accompany them on the piano which led to a hilarious sequence of exaggerated miming of the stage crew members. After all this had taken place Bella began setting up another one of my all-time favourite songs “I am what I am.” It has been my plan for the longest time that If I ever had the opportunity to perform this song then I would do so with a grand piano, spotlight with a one-man show/Broadway feel and so to see my idea being brought to life on stage was terrific! However, Bella only performed a small part of the song which I personally found disappointing (due to my affinity for the song and how amazing the vocals were thus far) and I wish we could have had the full performance as this would have again tied into the message of being yourself that the queens were promoting! This then led into a series of solo performances by each of the queenz all of which showcased iconic camp classics such as I Wanna Dance with Somebody, it’s raining men and I will survive! I initially thought that it was a fairly unusual choice to have the emotional drive “never enough” after the party anthems but this was one of the strongest vocal performances of the entire night (and that is saying a lot!)
Overall, queenz the Show is drag at its uttermost level with every queen being showcased while Simultaneously coming together to spread a message of empowerment and love. Every single performer flexed their singing, dancing and acting abilities throughout highlighting that drag is so much more than just crude jokes in a quiet pub somewhere. I do have to say that this is clearly a show for a more mature audience due to depictions of sexual acts and strong language but the performances themselves are some of the greatest drag acts I have ever seen! I would rate queenz 5 out of 5 stars! You can find out where the queenz are heading to next on their UK tour at https://www.queenztheshow.com
Rhysreviews 