EDINBURGH 2018: Review: ICONIC: A BRIEF HISTORY OF DRAG, Assembly
Never one to make a subtle entrance, Velma Celli bursts into the venue to the opening bars of "Sugar Daddy" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Armed with a sequinned notebook referred to as the "tranny bible" Velma takes us through some of her favourite moments in drag history.
Although the show is impossibly polished there are some excellent improvised quips and Velma Celli takes no prisoners when it comes to someone disrupting her show...
The songs featured are indeed iconic. The stripped back vocals from David Bowie's "Starman" to Queen's "I Want To Break Free" really highlight Velma's incredible voice.
I first discovered Velma Celli when her alter ago Ian Stroughair performed in the 25th-anniversary tour of RENT where he played Angel. We are treated to a duet of "I'll Cover You"- with both parts performed by Velma. Running through a history of Stroughair's West End credits (all one-word shows such as Cats, Fame and Chicago) Velma describes her origins and how Stroughair came to do drag.
As the title suggests this is merely a "brief" history of drag and Velma touches on the Stonewall riots and talks about researching how the riots started when she was in New York.
Finishing with a big belting "I Am What I Am" - widely considered the most iconic drag song of all time this ties the whole show together beautifully. If you're looking for a slick and theatrical drag show with killer vocals at the festival I can't recommend Iconic: A Brief History Of Drag enough!
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/iconic-a-brief-history-of-drag
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