Death Drop Back in the Habit, The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, 14 March to 18 March 2023, 4****. David Gray & Paul Gray
From Nuns on the Run through Sister Act to Derry Girls, we love to laugh about the women in wimples. Death Drop: Back in the Habit puts a new spin on the funny nun genre by giving us men in wimples, and to be honest, not that many wimples; I suppose they don’t work that well with big hair.
Fr Alfie Romeo (Drag King, LoUis Cyfer) is sent by the Cardinal (Corrina Buchan) to the remote and secluded convent of St Bab’s to investigate mysterious goings on and to locate the Saint’s lost ring. The four sisters he finds there (Jujubee, Cheryl Hole, Victoria Scone and Kitty Scott Claws) are clearly not all they seem. The plot is straight out of a B Movie and the show references every horror cliché you can imagine, playing it for maximum laughs. And this comedy is incredibly, falling-off-your-seat, funny!
A horror comedy that delivers big time on the comedy - and is often surprisingly scary - the show successful balances its various elements, and deftly manages to walk the fine line between camp and gratuitously over the top. It does this by being slick and highly polished while still managing to maintain an air of looseness and spontaneity. It is also blessed with a cast of consummate professionals, totally in command of their drag craft. Genius.
The larger-than-life performances are actually carefully thought through and highly nuanced but still manage to seem anarchic. All the actors maintain focus and drive energetically through the horror moments, skillfully drawing the audience in to the absurdity that is gothic horror. There is no self-indulgent milking of the material. The laughs and the scares are left to play themselves.
Whip smart dialogue is delivered in a wonderful send up of the kind of type of over enunciated and over inflected performances given by Vincent Price and Peter Cushing at their finest. One liners are all perfectly
timed. And the ring jokes just keep on giving. Making a virtue of a low budget, physical theatre is used to deliver many of the best effects and to crescendo the plot through to a breathlessly delirious and perfectly paced climax.
On the downside, there were two brilliant musical numbers. Why not more?
An honest word of warning. If you possess any religious sensibilities whatsoever, you will probably find elements of the show more than a bit offensive. That aside, this is a no holds barred, hilariously funny and bawdy romp in the best tasteless traditions of high drag. A true joy to behold.
Cast
Jujubee, Cheryl Hole, Victoria Scone, Kitty Scott Claus, LoUis Cyfer, Corrina Buchan
Creatives
Writer – Rob Evans
Director - Jesse Jones