Comedy Queens | Connections Nightclub | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
Some of the best of Boorloo’s drag and burlesque scenes come together once again as the formidable trio of Cougar Morrison, Sugar Du Joure and Lucy Lovegun reunite for Comedy Queens.
A follow-up to last year’s PrideFEST and Fringe World favourite Comedy Queen, the new show refreshes the original with a mix of revisited numbers and fabulous new material.
Like the original, the show’s title references the restrictive labels we tend to put on our performers. Comedy queen, dancing queen, look queen… fans and critics of the performing arts can often confine stars of the stage to one single category, perhaps dismissing their range of talents. These three have proven this: Cougar is a mainstay of both drag and cabaret stages all over, Sugar is one of the busiest performers in the business and Lucy is celebrating a decade in the spotlight.
The show opens with a spectacle of drag and burlesque showgirl campery to the sounds of We Are Family and the Scissor Sisters, at the intersection of classic cabaret and contemporary performance that Cougar, Sugar and Lucy do so well. This is just the first taste of the threesome’s myriad talents as they showcase exactly why they’re all both comedy queens and much, much more over the next hour.
Cougar retains the mantle of MC, as their personal story guides the narrative throughout the performance. Cougar is unstoppable on the mic, expertly delivering prepared material while bouncing off the audience and reacting with lightning fast reads that would wither the most hardened drag veteran. She weaves personal stories of her life, drag career and Pride between the performances, neatly tying everything together with hilarious highs and balancing lows.
The Comedy Queens take turns in the spotlight with numbers that range from burlesque to dance, lip-sync, stand-up and more. Sugar pays tribute to the wonder of breasts with a variety of increasingly silly props. Lucy shares her best and most sensual culinary secrets with the aid of some pickles and a jar of Nutella. Cougar brings some hilarious original tunes that pokes a little fun at touring artists who may need to update their material. There’s no doubt the show brings exactly what the poster offers, lashings of laughter, and the crowd was certainly howling throughout.
The show’s only downfall is that the trio set such a high bar with their first outing, you can help but directly compare the pair. For example, the delightfully bizarre group number that celebrated the art of accounting was a standout in the original but it took an odd left turn this time around. More importantly though, the show has not lost any of what makes it so special. On top of Cougar, Lucy and Sugar’s immense talent, there are moments of beauty, protest and stories of Pride that keep it all elevated.
From making light of the despicable campaign against Cougar’s Drag Story Time appearances, to sharing a beautiful story about the power she found in the quietly queer lyrics of La Vie En Rose before launching into a soaring rendition of the Edith Piaf classic, Comedy Queens proves that these three cannot be contained to just one label. The joy they all feel in celebrating community and bringing laughter to their audiences shines through everything they do. This hilarious offering is full of heart that’s worth much, much more than its ticket price.
Comedy Queens’ PrideFEST run has ended but stay tuned for more dates to come. Find out what else is on this PrideFEST here.
Leigh Andrew Hill
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