Over the course of an hour, Anita Wigl’it smiles, dances, jokes and guffaws with laughter as she tells the story of her life in a series of highlights, edited for maximum comedy effect.
She is a charismatic mixture of charming and cheeky, able to drop witty, rude one liners seemingly at whim, always following with a wink or a knowing look. Wigl’it has the audience in the palm of her hand within the first five minutes of the show beginning and is clearly loving it.
Most of the audience are only aware of Anita Wigl’it due to a little TV show called Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under, or from subsequent appearances on other iterations of the show in Canada, and Wigl’it is gracious in her acknowledgement of the show and the impact it has had on her and her career. Wigl’it is more than happy to take the audience back to her roots in England, New Zealand and subsequently in Canada to show the origins of her drag queen persona and the photos she chooses to demonstrate this are hilarious.
Chatter with the audience and more scripted sections are interspersed with lip syncs, and Wigl’it does them very well. Of particular note was her Shirley Bassey tribute Goldfinger, complete with actual golden finger!
Although not the most polished drag queen on the scene in terms of costumes and make up, she has come a very long way from her humble drag beginnings and is rightly very proud of herself and her drag journey. Her costume changes are quirky, quick and clever, though her final costume was visible underneath her others – something Ru Paul would never have let her get away with on Drag Race but she doesn’t care and neither do the audience.
The show isn’t just all about the laughs though. Two thirds of the way through the show, Wigl’it introduces a special guest via video, who is in fact Nick Hall, the man behind the Anita Wigl’it persona. This video contains a message about his early adult life and a harrowing incident of abuse he suffered that was clearly difficult to film. The audience are rendered speechless at this point, as Wigl’it then comes back on stage to demonstrate how she dealt with this period of her life, playing an incredible trumpet solo which is both beautiful and endearing.
It really feels like being given an hour long window in Wigl’it’s world, something not many drag performers do. This show is a great vehicle for Wigl’it to demonstrate her drag style – a mix of classy showgirl, smutty humour and vulnerability that is an absolute pleasure to watch. Anita has named this show Funny Gurl – and she really, really is.
Reviewed on 5 August 2023 | Image: Contributed
The Reviews Hub Score
Funny and endearing
