Gingzilla: Glamonster vs. The World
Rating: ★★★★
Venue: George Square – The Bubble
Standing at a staggering height, Australian drag artiste Gingzilla, awaits attendees of her show dropping small bits of popcorn in their mouths. She is dressed in a classic theatre usher outfit that looks like it’s made from red velvet. It’s a fun move that provides a taster of the playful silliness and Hollywood nostalgia that we are about to experience. This is continually reflected in her show, Gingzilla: Glamonster vs. The World – a loving tribute to classic cinema (particularly B-Movie monster features) and outdated US sexism, with sprinklings of captivating musical numbers and improvisational comedy.
The premise is simple, Gingzilla is challenged by The World to turn from Monster to Glamonster. The seven-foot ginger bearded drag star accepts the challenge to subvert her image as 1950s style creature feature monster, in favour of becoming a glamorous and demure woman.
Whilst this pays loving tribute to its star’s obvious love of creature features and the dated silliness of classic female-aimed marketing (with lots of emphasis on how to be the perfect woman to please your man), there is a serious undertone about gender roles and performativity lurking here. Yet, Gingzilla delivers this set in such a high octane and fun-filled fashion that these themes are delivered with a light amusing satirical joy. Well prepared video resources with Gingzilla garishly edited in add to the kitsch appeal as we see the seven foot tall strawberry blonde drag queen terrorising small towns or sitting in a 1950s kitchen having coffee with a gal pal (a crude send-up of a fifties coffee ad).
There are moments of hilarious audience interaction – a brief intermission sees three unsuspecting gents from the audience fed a variety of cinema stacks. Fun for the audience, traumatic for the participants undoubtedly. There is more to Gingzilla’s talents than force feeding audience members, she can sing too – and this is shown in raucous versions of She’s a Lady, Gods and Monsters, and Chains.
Gingzilla: Glamonster vs The World is a savvy slice of fun that playfully deconstructs social norms in a raucous manner. Stellar vocal ability, well-handled improvisation, and a undeniably entertaining premise ensure that Gingzilla is one of the most enjoyable acts at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.