Writer/Performer: Eliza Nelso
To set the scene, we’re greeted by Cabbage as they check our tickets (this is the Cinemadrome after all), and we’re swept into the day-in-the-life of a cinema worker, except this front-of-house ticket scanner is in full drag and fabulous! The show is a full-on mash-up of film parodies, lip-syncs, mime, dance, multimedia, and audience interaction extravaganza, and we are living for it. Visually it’s full-on DIY glamour that makes the crate we gleefully piled into a full-on auditorium, and with a lot of cinema references, it’s teasing the cinephiles while clearly aimed directly at them. The course of the show is a worker’s dream of something bigger, something bolder and something more inspiring than a clean-up in screen 6.
From the moment Cabbage kicks into gear (there’s a short joke about finding one’s seat taken in the cinema I think we can all resonate with), there’s a breakneck pace, and the energy is non-stop. Cabbage is mischievous, but any and all audience interaction felt inclusive without exposing anyone for the sake of a joke. As a performer, Cabbage is full of charisma, timing and the ability to just explode within a moment; they leap towards an audience member like a cat. “That’s new for this show; I’ve not done that before”, tiny choices like this make them so watchable. The show moves from goofy slapstick, beautiful costumes and tender moments you won’t see coming to super fun queer joy.
There’s so much in this show to love, from the visual treats with various costumes to the emotional openness to the completely silly yet brilliantly edited pieces at the Cinemadrome. You may feel like you’d like more of a narrative you can follow, but there’s enough to give this show real chops. The design that’s gone into making the magic we see, the cinephile wit and stagecraft make this easily the best Drag-Clown show at the Fringe and I can’t wait to see what Cabbage is throwing at us next year!
Runs until 24 August 2025
