Writers: Matt Miller And Peader Kirk
Matt Miller and Peader Kirk have created a 90-minute entertainment that combines biography and car maintenance. The car is maintained with the be-jewelled, beautifully painted nails of Natalie Spanner, the drag alter-ego of writer-performer Matt Miller. Natalie guides the audience, carefully and compassionately, through the mysteries of the internal combustion engine by way of whole-group improvisations. The effect of a bunch of unsuspecting audience members creating the noise of an oil reservoir lubricating an engine is not easily forgotten.
The glam engineering course is the framing device for an altogether differently targeted show, in which Matt talks about growing up in Newcastle with his little sister and separated parents. He describes the love he has for his father, reciprocated but constrained by a sort of constipated male reluctance to share or to reveal any emotion, certainly no emotional pain. The drag persona and the confessional show are evidences in kind that Matt himself isn’t like that, and the fondness with which his father gruffly accepts his son’s flamboyant self-expression is well drawn and subtle.
The counterpointing of car mechanics in drag with honest, straightforward storytelling makes for very easy-to-absorb entertainment. Being a starter motor gives some relief from the low-key sadness of the childhood narrative; the well-realised biography gives depth to the pantomime fun of the framing device.
The show never drags. The small space of the Stanley Halls suits the confessional nature of the storytelling. The ad hoc set and lighting serve the glam show less well – the stage is full of car parts and boxes, with Natalie’s slightly bespangled overalls being the only sparkly thing that isn’t a spark plug. If ever a set cried out for mirrorballs and disco light chases, it is this one, and those are things the show could address with minimal effort. A better visual distinction between car workshop and down-at-heels Geordie living room would make the transitions between modes more telling, more dramatic.
This is nitpicking, however. The value of the piece is the fun of car maintenance with Natalie Spanner, contrasting with the truthful, confessional involvement with the childhood of Matt Miller. The two elements work well and make Natalie’s invocation of holistic car care a mantra both for vehicle safety and for emotional health.
Reviewed on 12 March 2026 and continues to tour
