Anyone who thinks theatre costumes are incidental decorations should go to Sound of the Underground. Anyone who thinks that drag performances are only about frocks should join them.
Travis Alabanza’s new show, created with Debbie Hannan, brings queer culture to the Royal Court in a glorious, multiforked parade of talent. It sets out to rescue performers from the jostling commercialism of RuPaul, the villain of the evening, and from being wheeled on to strut predictably at hen parties. It aims to celebrate the individual work – song, movement, the making up of a persona in front of an audience – that used to take place in sticky basements. It discusses difficulties, from verbal abuse to low pay. It teases the Court’s audience and parodies its stage: a bucket is sent around for money; a glossy kitchen-sink scene, styled with a “Cos-style aesthetic”, has actors snapping and pausing portentously while they make tea.
