It seems wild that the UK hasn’t been treated to a major, full-scale production of Hedwig and The Angry Inch since its West End iteration closed early in 2000 – especially given the subsequent cult status of the 2001 film version. Certainly, it feels like a smart bit of programming to revive John Cameron Mitchell (script) and composer Stephen Trask’s scrappy, joyful rock musical about a resilient genderqueer performer right now – and to ride the wave of mainstream interest in drag queens by casting RuPaul alum Divina De Campo as Hedwig.
But thankfully, this casting choice is less cynically canny than simply written in the stars: De Campo is made for this part and whips an eager audience into a froth of sheer delight. She has sublime comic timing, delivering both a purring, fabulous on-stage persona and showing plenty of cracks (pun intended; Hedwig and The Angry Inch is full of this kind of innuendo). De Campo’s Hedwig is rackety and raw, with tart asides acknowledging the lack of glamour of her situation.
