All I Want for Christmas is Attention ☆☆☆☆
Ben De La Crème and Jinkx Monsoon
Kentish Town Forum
Christmas can be a nightmare for some, especially the way we are all forced into Christmas and its traditions regardless of background and for those that grew up in poverty it can be nothing but bad memories or so Jinkx Monsoon (Winner: Drag Race Season 5 in 2013) would have us believe.
Ben De La Crème (Miss Congeniality: Drag Race Season 6 in 2014) on the other hand, turns to her own perfect childhood and her Granma’s homespun wisdom to try and make Jinkx feel more included. What ensues is a funny, bitchy excuse for a right old song and dance with plenty of seasonal fun where we are urged to say happy holidays rather than Happy Christmas. Sitting on the front edge of the stage, they sing; “Life is tough, life is hard you can’t put that on a Hallmark card!”.
Jinx is Jewish and this serves as an authentic spur to question the whole omnipresent edifice of Christmas. Their voices complement each other, and their personalities bounce off and provoke each other which keeps the whole thing chugging along nicely – it’s like Bette Midler and Cher doing a remake of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.
Endless costume changes are facilitated by short films, some of which were funny (like the Midsommar skit) and everything was interspersed by pop songs, reworded to suit, and local references added in which remind us of the Panto tradition Americans don’t have.
The highlight was a play within a play where each controlled the others script. It’s both hysterically funny and savage at the same time. The ad-libs and recovery from missed lines and stage cues gives us insight to where their strength lies – razor sharp wit and a worthy adversary despite a tendency for the writing to turn into Sesame Street at times.
Tonight, there is a much more diverse audience than when Queerguru saw Battle of the Seasons way back in 2016 with Jinkx Monsoon on this very stage – not least there are a lot more men, both straight and gay. The UK has always had a very strong affinity with drag but it is extraordinary (and heart-warming) to see middle aged straight couples and groups of female pensioners roaring along to the filth all the same.
For details of PLACES and DATES for ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS ATTENTION UK & US Tour : https://jinkxanddela.com/
REVIEW : JONNY WARDJonny Ward, Queerguru Contributing EDITOR is a drama graduate but has worked backstage for many years at venues such as The ROYAL ALBERT Hall, The 02, Southbank Centre and is currently at The NATIONAL THEATRE. He lives in Hoxton, London and is delighted to check out the latest, the hottest and the downright dodgy in queer culture for Queerguru. (P.S. He is currently single) @JonnyWard360
