★★★ by Ifan Llewelyn
“Who here has never been to a drag show?” asks Karen From Finance as she opens an hour of drag cabaret from Australian troupe Yummy. Unsurprisingly, not a single hand goes up in the audience. Drag in London is unavoidable, with every pub, bar and brunch spot trotting out a man in a wig to belt out a few numbers or spit out a few zing one-liners. It takes a lot to thrill and shock a British audience, particularly one that turns up for a drag revue. Though not doing either of those things, Yummy succeeds in delivering a very polished and tightly choreographed hour show.
Stipulating a ’15 years and up’ recommendation for their audience, it’s strange that hostess Karen From Finance, who unexpectedly lives up to her unassuming name, delivers a succinct and inoffensive commentary for the evening. She presents a roster of dancers, singers and lipsyncers who serve an entertaining range of back-to-back performances. There emerged a few stand out from the evening with the Swift-esque hula hoop stylings of Hannie Helsden that was truly impressive, and Jandruze’s sandwich number giving the evening its only shock when they swallow a dribbling mouthful of mayonnaise.
The costumes were stunning, the makeup was flawless and the hair was on point, but there’s no escaping that London audiences expect more from their drag queens. All you need is to take a glance at those queens who hail from the East end who, despite looking like Tiny Tim in smeared lipstick and a pair of fishnets, still serve a daring and exhilarating performance. Perhaps a little more mess and grit would serve the Yummy gang well.
Yummy is at the Underbelly Festival, Southbank SE1 8XX until July 28th.
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