“Fans of Miz Cracker will be thrilled with the highly personal nature of Who’s Holiday“
Theatrical reimaginings of some of fiction’s greatest villains from the Wicked Witch of the West to the six wives of Henry VIII have become increasingly popular in the last few decades. So, naturally, why not do the same for Dr. Seuss’ Christmas-stealing Grinch as told by a grown-up Cindy-Lou Who, now a raunchy ex-con who couldn’t be more different than her sweetly hopeful younger self.
Matthew Lombardo’s Who’s Holiday puts a naughty spin on the popular Christmas tale as Cindy-Lou – played by Miz Cracker, a fan favourite from the tenth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race – regales the audience with the story of her tumultuous love affair with the cantankerous old Grinch whilst waiting for her friends to arrive at her holiday party.
The sixty-minute, one-woman show fully embraces the rhyming speech of Dr Seuss’ novels with many hilariously naughty pairings throughout. Directed by Kirk Jameson, Who’s Holiday treats its audience to an intimate chat with Cindy-Lou alongside audience participation and regular movement into the stands which is sure to delight any fan of the talented drag queen.
Miz Cracker does well to hold the audience’s attention throughout the performance and impressively does not err once during the show’s extensive monologue nor a short rap number. She is however at her best when allowed to deviate from the script’s strict rhythm – her little asides to a reluctant participant brought on stage and her witty retorts to overexcited audience members being just some opportunities for her to display her fantastic humour. Brilliantly funny though these moments are, they, unfortunately, also leave the audience wishing that our star was permitted to have some more freedom with the script.
The plot is captivating enough but long sections of speech would perhaps be better received if broken up by other entertainment – it is a shame that there is only one musical number, for instance. Moreover, rather unexpectedly, our (anti)hero’s tale is largely tragic and an audience can expect to go ‘awh’ just as many times as one laughs. The tone is thus slightly confusing and though the play ends on a positive note it is hard to forget the depressing journey it takes to get there.
Successfully lifting the mood throughout however is Justin Williams’ gloriously sparkly set – the interior of Cindy-Lou’s beaten-up old trailer. A real highlight and appropriately festive. The only strange artistic choice is to not have a working door at the back of the stage to allow Miz Cracker to enter her own home – instead she is forced to come from stage left at the play’s opening and do a faux exit at the end.
The lighting (Kieron Johnson) brings a welcomed playfulness to the performance – a wonderful snowing effect in the play’s final scenes is particularly entrancing. The sound design (Mwen) is also strong and situates the audience right in Cindy-Lou’s kitchen from her phone ringing to Whoville locals pelting her door with snowballs.
Fans of Miz Cracker will be thrilled with the highly personal nature of Who’s Holiday and impartial viewers will be easily charmed by the queen’s natural stage presence. The confused and rigid script is however a significant let down and won’t leave most audience members feeling particularly festive at all.
DIANA: THE UNTOLD AND UNTRUE STORY at the Pleasance Theatre
★★★★
“nothing can prepare you for the exceptional creativity, insanity and uniqueness of this production and its talented cast”
Linus Karp, the jellicle founder of Awkward Productions, returns to the stage with his newest piece of chaotic nonsense – Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story. Diana, Princess of Wales, has gained an almost mythic status since her untimely death in 1997. The people’s princess’ crowded marriage and messy divorce with now-King Charles; her extensive humanitarian work; and her effortless style captivated the world population and Karp (in drag) shares a thoroughly imagined reimagining of her extraordinary life.
The hour-long extravaganza is a feast of audience participation and multi-media. Before the show begins, random audience members (including your reviewer!) are handed character cards to indicate that they will be up during the performance to read out a short script. Props – from a mitre to a corgi mask – and hilariously pointless characters such as A Landmine and Gay Fan #2 make these interactions thoroughly enjoyable.
As expected, Karp makes great use of PowerPoint and video throughout his play. Supporting characters such as The Queen (Geri Allen) and God (Zina Badran) appear in short video clips throughout the performance with Stage Manager Joseph Martin timing them perfectly to simulate conversation and amusing interruptions. The use of such lively happenings on the screen means the barren stage is barely noticeable though some jubilee bunting or decoration to that effect would not have been amiss. A life-size cardboard cut-out of Charles is about the only item that sits on stage and even he is removed halfway through.
Karp is strong throughout and his energy infectious. Allen gives it her all as The Queen; her scenes some of the funniest. It would have been enjoyable to see more of Badran as God, a character who is only introduced in the last quarter of the play. Martin, apart from his role of Stage Manager, does an exceptional job of ‘operating’ Camilla who is represented by a giant rag doll puppet with a demonic voice. A real highlight which makes for some outlandish fight and sex sequences.
The audience are treated to four iconic looks from Diana’s wardrobe including a baggy jumper and cycling shorts and the so-called ‘revenge dress’. The wedding dress with an extremely long train also features as does the repeating motif of the princess falling to the ground in anguish as often seen in her fictional portrayals. The Queen’s various looks are impressively accurate and again it would have been nice to see more from God who simply wore a sparkly top. Perhaps some Diana merchandise or a shirt that said, ‘I went to Heaven and all I got was this lousy t-shirt’?
There is no space for tragedy in this untrue retelling of Diana’s life and as her death grows closer it would be fair for the audience to have some concern about how this might be handled. Karp’s production is undeniably tasteless but there is great sympathy for her tragic end too. This is a fantastical and campy ‘what if’ made by and for the queer community whom Diana greatly supported and in turn has been immortalised as a gay icon. There are moments where some will certainly take offense, but the play is clearly devised and delivered with good humour and an awareness of its absurdity.
You may think that you will know what to expect in Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story based on its eponymous lead’s notoriety. But nothing can prepare you for the exceptional creativity, insanity and uniqueness of this production and its talented cast. The show – enjoyable in its own right – will also leave any audience member excited for whatever Karp decides to do next.
