Baked beans, Britney Spears and absurdity at the circus: ‘Cirque du So-Gay’ a resounding success
Lucy Bailey reviews the 2021 Queer Revue.
Featuring energetic performances and engaging departures from tired tropes, 2021’s Queer Revue was a promising reminder of all the queer culture we’ll get to enjoy this year. With the theme of ‘Cirque du So-Gay’, the revue was bound by the loose general narrative of a young boy joining the circus and attempting to find his ‘expression’, a journey similar to the ‘found family’ experiences of many queer people.
The production, performed at the Seymour Centre and directed by Charlie Hollands and Jess Snelleman, was particularly marked by witty and relatable stories of belonging and discovery. A particular highlight was the opening sketch, which cleverly commented on the long observed pattern of LGBT+ kids excelling in the English classroom. This sketch and the implication that English teachers ‘hand select’ future gays, established the wacky tone of the evening.
The show was at its best when it boldly tapped into its absurdity. The audience revelled in sketches where it was clear that the cast was having fun rather than being painstakingly political. This approach was most markedly triumphant in two of the best sketches of the night: a power-crazed IT specialist making a student beg to be given access to canvas, and an audience wide search for a ‘straight man’ to fulfil a role in a sketch deemed ‘too weird’ without one.
Such absurdity was most noticeable when the revue revelled in the queer experiences that are largely inaccessible to straight audiences. This was epitomised through the use of baked beans as a metaphor for genitalia - presented both as an act of protest against gender determinist bigotry and as an act of sexual intimacy. Metaphorically reflecting the turbulent, emotional ‘disarray’ of both sexual relationships and one’s relationship to their body, the mess of beans onstage revealed a poignantly emotional dimension to the production where being queer means living in a politicised body and the emotional labour of always having to explain oneself.
Whilst the sketches were entertaining and had the audience hooting along with laughter, the show did have a few repetitive jokes, such as the recurring reference to the ‘U-haul lesbian’. The opening musical number was also a little timid, lacking the rest of the show’s strength. Music was much more effectively used in the closing of the show, where the cast danced wildly to a Britney Spears track, which better catered to the group’s strengths.
Overall, the 2021 Queer Revue was a resounding success. The actors revelled in the absurdity of their stories whilst also leaving audiences with some poignant moments of reflection. If you want to nab a ticket (and I really recommend you do!), there’s a few left for tonight’s show, available here.