Can a game of bingo really be a work of art? It can when Jonny Woo adds his superlative touch to it.
Generally regarded as the pastime of old ladies with blue rinses it was only ever a matter of time before one of cabaret’s most ingenious minds was to transform its already camp characteristics (“two fat ladies 88”, “legs eleven”, et al) into a genuinely theatrical affair. And so, Gay Bingo was born when the trio of John Sizzle, Ma Butcher and Woo delivered a run of events that would culminate, ten years later, into one almighty addendum to a decade of deranged antics and performance art.
Taking over the imposing Hackney Empire, Gay Bingo was a roller coaster variety performance, incorporating opera (Le Gateau Chocolat’s resounding vocal prowess) and new compositions (Jonny Woo’s hugely personal ‘Can’t Get The Glitter Out Of The Groove’) to reinterpretations of pop numbers and classic disco from Ma Butcher and John Sizzle. The legendary Lavinia Co-op, and contemporary stars Legs & Coq, Holestar and Jacqui Potato all gave their time and talent.
The powerful ending was totally unexpected, throwing a sobering thought to the glitter and glitz that preceded it. The stage fell into black as a screen bearing details of human rights activist Peter Tatchell’s foundation lowered, with a delivery from Woo on the importance of recognising the right we have to be gathered as we were to celebrate our freedom of expression. It was an opener to the final number, the superb ‘Putin’s Rasputin’ [*YouTube it] which saw some thirty or more performers, headed by the Sink The Pink crew, give a touching tour de force that had the audience appropriately moved.
Opera, pop, cabaret, comedy, drag, politics and a bit of bingo. Thank you Woo, Sizzle and Ma for a night not to be forgotten any time soon.
• The Hackney Empire, 291 Mare Street, E8 1EJ
