Friday, 22nd March 2024 at York Grand Theatre.
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Five vivacious drag queens rule the roost in this lively and cheeky show with one clear intention: give the audience a top night out. Queenz – The Show with Balls, directed by David Griego and Kieran Powell, feels celebratory and uplifting, bringing the best of drag culture to the stage to provide cracking entertainment for the masses. Taking shape as a fun-filled concert rather than any particular story, Queenz packs in plenty: cheeky comedy, fabulous costuming and choreography, saucy ad-libs, crowd-pleasing anthems, and in this case, no lip syncing; these queens are proudly belting live.
Openly curtsying to the Spice Girls as their divine inspiration, the cast fashion themselves after the girl power icons with entertaining roles within their own girl group: Bella Du Balle (Ben Sell) is “The Golden Diva”; Dior Montay (Mark McCredie) is “The Classy(ish) One”; Candy Caned (Josh Hanson) is “The Sweet One”; Billie Eyelash (Craig Colley) is “The Rock Chick” and Zeze Van Cartier (Lew Ray) is “The Gender Bender”. They’re joined by Jase (Stephen Robson) who sure knows how to add glitter and glam to a so-called cameo role.
All have great stage presence and powerful pipes – and they make sure we know it, enjoying a fair few indulgent riff-offs across the show. Each gets their own time to shine with a mix of solo and group performances, offering respite from the spectacular musical onslaught with audience interactions and commentary.
Du Balle and Montay seem to lead the pack with their gutsy belting while Van Cartier exudes irresistible charisma and Candy Caned and Billie Eyelash bring all kinds of fierce and funny attitude. Montay in particular dazzles as a triple threat though, with great comedic timing, winning audience patter and an impressive rendition of The Greatest Showman’s “Never Enough” which moves expertly between silliness and an impressive vocal showcase.
And this cast know their audience too, rolling out every iconic sing-along song (well, almost) and encouraging their audience to dance, sing and capture the moment with videos and pictures. Numbers (arranged by Alex Turney) run the gamut from Spice Girls and All Saints to Gloria Gaynor; from “It’s Raining Men” to “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”, but also offering more recent hits from Beyoncé, Lady Gaga and Jessie J.
If you think that’s a cracking enough list, you need to pace yourself because the show also features a fair few ballads (delivered with plenty of spectacle and drama thanks to extravagant use of lighting and smoke machines) and a fantastic seven minute musicals sequence which pokes fun with adapted lyrics in true drag diva style. And also in true Drag diva style, the cast deliver on comedy too, nailing the balance between warmth and mercilessness when it comes to audience interactions and having just as much fun taking aim at each other.
Choreography from Kieran Dailey Ward, Max Rayzor, Stuart Rogers and Matthew Stevens gives us a mix of precise sequences and more free movement, with the best visuals coming from Six-style diva posing in canon or perfect synchronicity. And speaking of visuals – Rikki Finley’s vibrant costuming really pops and Adam Murdoch’s fantastic lighting deserves a special mention for almost being the sixth showstopper of the piece, bringing so much energy and a real party atmosphere to the show.
By the time we reach the heartfelt finale of “True Colours” accompanied by a pep talk, this show has taken us all on quite a ride. When they say their aim is simply a few hours of fun and making people feel good, they clearly mean it – this show offers real joy and I haven’t heard an audience so loud and adoring as this one since Six. If you’re looking for a cracking night of music, laughter and a bloody good time, this one is for you.
Queenz tours until April 2024, winding up at the Dominion Theatre in London – more information and tickets can be found here.
Always Time For Theatre 