Review by Carly Fisher
Unquestionably, the best part about attending a fringe festival is going to see so many shows from so many different genres in the space of a short amount of time. If you’ve never been to a fringe, think of it like a binge watch but live. Though absolutely fabulous, it can certainly get exhausting when you are at it for as many weeks as I have been so far and so sometimes you need to end the night with a light hearted show that puts a smile on your face and some glitter in your heart. And when that is what you need, look no further than Drag Show the Game Show.
Lazy Susan is our emcee/game master for the night. A clear comedian, it doesn’t take long for the crowd to be comfortably in the palm of Lazy Susan’s hand and from here, we are her puppets - whatever she says goes. Having mastered the art of audience interaction - a perfect mix of playful fun and hilarious banter - Lazy Susan continuously proves her craft and through largely self deprecating humour, introduces us all to both our Drag Mothers and to the concept of being a baby Drag Queen.
From here, we are divided into teams, our scoreboards are illuminated and we are ready for battle. It is wonderful to be surrounded by, evidently, equally competitive people and though we have never seen them before, instantly we are attached to and cheering for our Drag Mothers - Zelda Moon for the pink team and Dandrogyny for the blue team. All three have entirely different but excellently executed costumes, flawless make up and a well chosen wig. Importantly, all three are clearly experts at their craft and it is a pleasure to watch them in action.
The show is fast paced, interactive and, for lack of a better word, spicy. It is impossible not to have a good laugh as the three lead us through some fun games, hilarious talk backs and a little taste test of the life of a drag queen. When the show takes an emotional turn briefly with the sharing of difficult personal stories of coming out or feeling accepted, the depth of this portion of the show is extremely well received by the audience who are keen to get to know more about the three before us. No spoilers but that brother joke was hilarious and absolutely one that left people talking after the show.
The only flaw of the show for me was that on the night I went, the adjudication throughout felt just that little bit too rigged and could have been toned down a little to feel that bit more spontaneous. That said, that’s a small critique for a show that honestly, I wanted to just go and love.
This is not a groundbreaking fringe show but it doesn’t claim to be one either. This is good hearted, well executed, thoroughly enjoyable late night fringe fun. So just when you think your night is over after your last show, turn right around and head into the Factory at the Garden of Unearthly Delights for Drag Show the Game show. I am positive you will have a great hour and a half or so of sheer fun.
Ps - yes, my team won…maybe my review would have been very different if Zelda Moon hadn’t led us to victory in the final round, but she did…whatever, I’m a sore loser haha.
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