Last night to see camp comedy at its best!
I arrived at the press night of Leslie Jordan: My Trip Down the Pink Carpet at the Apollo with enough cynicism inside me to sink a gay cruise liner.
But, while the performance wasn’t one for the weak hearted, homophobic or hight-ist (in stature he’s a wee morsel of a man), Jordan proved he has enough razzle dazzle in him to out gay Graham Norton, John Inman and The Village People combined, and it actually proved to be a pleasurable experience and a highly entertaining night.
A relatively unknown comic until his Emmy, won for his appearances in the US sitcom Will & Grace, (which he willingly mentioned several time within the opening 10 minutes) his show tells us his life story as an obviously gay man even if he didn’t know it yet, growing up in the American Bible belt and fleeing to Los Angeles “with 1200 dollars sewn into my underpants, a tiny suitcase and DREAMS!”. Jordon’s performance is a balanced mix of witty, bitter camp humour you’d expect, mirrored by poetically sentimental and emotional tails from his youth, infatuations, and time in rehab.
You can almost forgive his arrogance, self proclaiming he’s “the gayest man in the world” and after getting used to his gushy American dramatics the performance becomes more pleasure than pain.
His charms grow on the majority of the audience, who empathise with his public and personal battles with homophobia admitting he had been, “riddled with internal homophobia” for most of his life. Also as a man, who given his age has lived through the gay rights moment and lived to tell the tail.
I highly recommend you see Leslie Jordan tonight, even if it’s just to hear his hilarious horror stories, from Boy George to Tennessee drag queens in Chattanooga.
Tickets: 0844 412 2962
