Presented by: Carrot and Friends
If you think Doctor Who themed queer cabaret is a bit niche, you’d be surprised by the packed house for Gallifrey Cabaret, a one-nighter as part of Queer Contact 2023. Not only have Manchester’s LGBT+ Whovians turned out, lots of them have gone to town on the full cosplay, and everyone’s here for a good time. Reece Connolly, the cabaret’s genial host, has barely any audience warming up to do. The BSL signer and a cardboard cut-out TARDIS get a huge cheer before he even comes on stage and they go wild when he performs a medley of Dr Who one-liners.
It’s a great start to what is a very enjoyable and silly night of Who-related drag and lip synching, with a bit of stand-up, burlesque and poetry thrown in. Created by Connolly and Carrot, Gallifrey Cabaret is a celebration of everyone’s favourite timelord. While there’s probably enough campery here for any cabaret fan to enjoy, it’s certainly created by super-fans, with a with a super-fan audience in mind. All the acts, have created themed performances. ‘Non-binary drag creature’ Judas Darkholme is a creepy clockwork droid from Versaille. Carrot’s Astrid Peth from Voyage of the Damned (played by Kylie Minogue) brilliantly mashes up the story’s dialogue with Kylie hits. Mandla is a sexy burlesque dark angel, non-binary king Rex Cherry confirms the show’s ‘over 18’s only’ status with a bit of x-rated Ice Snake puppetry. And once you’ve seen Manchester Pride favourite Bailey J Mills as a Weeping Angel you’ll never look at them the same again (but, obviously, do keep looking). The highlight of the acts is Eva Serration as Missy, performing to a reworked version of Toni Basil’s Mickey (you can’t beat lyrics like ”Don’t break his hearts Missy”).
Cabaret shows, particularly in a theatre setting rather than a club, can feel disjointed, but the strong theme and Connolly’s excellent compering give Gallifrey Cabaret a coherent shape as we ‘time travel’ between acts (the audience gets to make the TARDIS noise, which, for a crowd that are obviously so familiar with the show, is, frankly, a bit poorly executed). At the end there’s a good political joke as the terrifying monsters on the screen are replaced by Tory Prime Ministers (also not a pretty bunch) and Connolly ‘regenerates’ with the use of some cheap but highly effective props.
Gallifrey Cabaret celebrates Doctor Who it in the most fun, feel-good way possible, in a space where everyone is welcome, and bringing it to Manchester is yet another Queer Contact success.
Reviewed on 10 February 2023
