Writer: Robert Evans
Director: Jesse Jones
Reviewer: Isabella Crawley
Death Drop: Back in the Habit delights both horror and drag fans alike with a cast of well-known drag stars undertaking a genuinely tense supernatural mystery.
From the moment the curtain rises, Death Drop’s set of archways and hanging lanterns is
reminiscent of a familiar Hammer Horror location, its six oversized entrances and exits promising chase scenes yet to come. Every visual is one of classic horror camp.
A brief exchange between our protagonist, Father Alfie Romeo (LoUis CYfer), and an unspecified cardinal (Corrina Buchan), eases us into the self-aware humour that continues throughout. We are filled in with the necessary exposition – a missing priest, a holy McGuffin, and a quest to find both that draws Father Romeo to the central location: the convent of Saint Babs.
Once there, we are introduced to Sisters Titis (Alex Roberts), Mary Berry (Cheryl Hole), Maria
Julie Andrews (River Medway), and their Mother Superior (Victoria Scone), who give Father Romeo more obstacles than solutions on his search. From here, the actual plot runs a little thin, based loosely around a legend of ghostly children haunting the convent and the so-called ‘Ring of Saint Babs’ lost somewhere within. Although somewhat vague, it is enough to string together the series of physical comedy pieces, grisly murders, and raunchy jokes that make up the heart of the play.
The sisters at the convent offer more than just familiar faces to fans of Drag Race UK. Victoria Scone, towering over Father Romeo, makes for a genuinely imposing Mother Superior, and River Medway plays up a hilariously dim-witted Julie Andrews knock-off. Alex Roberts makes an excellent stand in for Willam – the widely advertised queen who will join the production 19 December 2022 – and even Buchan gets laughs in each of her increasingly ridiculous bit parts.
While enjoyable individually, the sisters make for an even more hilarious whole. The group
choreography is well-polished and the dynamic between their opposing drag personas offers plenty of humour. Even watching the group struggle through their corpsing to hold a scene together when Victoria Scone stumbles on the name of a major character is delightful.
CYfer brings a genuine acting talent to the role of Father Alfa Romeo that would not be
out of place in any comedy horror piece. Amongst a cast of perhaps better-known drag queens, the role of a drag king does not suffer in comparison with CYfer, who treats us to a deft portrayal of a snivelling, cowardly horror protagonist. Nevertheless, they also fit just as camply into the world of the queens around them, earning laughter with every flash of his sock garters.
The show is largely held together by its stellar drag artists, as most drag shows are, so the fact the plot is a little ropey and plenty of clues go unexplained feels largely irrelevant. Perhaps the more hardcore horror fans in the audience would like a more cohesive narrative or consistency to the seemingly endless array of threats that our clergy members face, but any major plot holes are filled well enough with dancing, singing, and hairspray. Its humour is a mix of fourth-wall-breaking wit and raunchy innuendo that accompanies moments of genuine suspense and fright.
Death Drop: Back in the Habit brings the worlds of drag, horror, and comedy together into a unique production that will delight fans of any of the above, with a stand-out performance from CYfer.
Runs until 24 December 2022
