Sam Harvey checks out Bianca Del Rio's Dead Inside tour as it stops off at the Royal Concert Hall
As a regular connoisseur of the Nottingham Drag scene, I like to think my standards are high when it comes to raunchy comedy, knockout drag performances and jokes that will definitely send me to hell for laughing at them (looking at you Nana Arthole and Maralyn Sane)! I’ll be the first to admit that I entered tonight’s show with some trepidation. When a show marks itself as ‘not for the easily offended’ or ‘the least politically correct show around’ you can usually expect the same tired jokes about identifying as a helicopter, or some painfully cringy attempts at doing foreign accents. Not so with Bianca Del Rio! Her reputation as one of the funniest and shadiest drag queens in the world did not disappoint. Other comedians take note- it is possible to perform a wickedly offensive comedy show whilst still being incredibly funny!
Tonight, we were called every slur under the sun, heard a joke and/ or criticism about every single group in society (not limited to children, the gays, old people, Mexicans, and of course- Derby), and were treated to every shady opinion on Drag Race Queens past present and future- and the audience loved every second of it! I have three pieces of advice for surviving this show:
Do not ask the Make a Wish charity for tickets to see this show. Bianca does not care that you have cancer- you will be subjected to the most inappropriate yet darkly hilarious jokes for at least a quarter of the run time (I hate to admit that I laughed at all of them)!
She will drag you up on stage and make you record a sex story
Do not submit a question to Bianca during the meet and greet. She will drag you up on stage and make you record a sex story to your ex, she will also read your outfit to filth, berate your life choices and mock you relentlessly. Even theatre staff and security aren’t safe- I’m glad I kept my head down during the audience participation! Thirdly, do not go with your partner! Whether you are queer, straight, or even with a friend- you will become a target!
Special shout out to opening act Mary Mac who did an amazing job of warming us up for the chaos to come! Her 12-minute rendition of Maniac (with about 50 accompanying dance performances), alongside her 18+ rewording of the Steps catalogue was the perfect encapsulation of all the things that make British Drag a hilarious cultural staple!
I left tonight’s show feeling like a much worse person than when I went in- and for that I can’t recommend the Dead Inside Tour enough!
Bianco Del Rio's Dead Inside Tour played at the Royal Concert Hall on September 19th 2924.
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