Stage: In a really good place

Glamrou: Drag Mother
with Amrou Al-Kadhi
Soho Theatre, London •  20-25.Jan.25 ★★★★

More performance art than a stand-up drag show, this one-hour piece comes directly from Amrou Al-Kadhi's soul, revealing a perceptive, funny and strongly engaging way of looking at the world. It's framed as a battle between Amrou and his sardonic Iraqi mother, who continually takes over the show and speaks to the audience to debunk Amrou's wildly imaginative stories about his life. So the show has a lot to say about the immigrant experience, how it feels to both be queer and to have a queer son, and the strength that comes from getting into drag and putting on a show.

Oozing glittery star power, Glamrou takes the stage with earnest showbiz gratitude, addressing the small Soho Theatre audience as "Wembley" and launching into a moody rendition of Bad Romance, accompanied by two musicians. Glamrou's full-diva attitude is hilarious as she speaks about her boyhood in Baghdad during the British invasion, growing up with an Islamist mother. Then mother takes over, telling the true story of Amrou's wealthy upbringing in Knightsbridge. She also points out the irony that in a Muslim family, Amrou is a man who can do whatever he wants, but he chooses to dress as a woman.

Intriguingly, elements of Amrou and his mother bleed into each other, discovering deeper connections and raising some surprisingly provocative issues. Amrou speaks about his big break as an actor in Spielberg's Munich (2005), then being typecast as a terrorist. This is echoed on a big screen as movie clips and childhood photos are projected alongside some fascinating memorabilia that explores his created backstory, as he felt pushed by teachers to live up to expectations. This intimately address nuanced issues connected to his ethnicity, religion and sexuality.

The juxtaposition of Amrou's fantasist storytelling with his mother's earthier honesty is often unnervingly clever, creating a show that's smart and very silly, but never frivolous. Even a series of musical numbers are performed with shades of personality and attitude, creating moods and feelings the audience doesn't expect. As Amrou continually says, "At 34, I'm in a really good place," but he always feels the flames around him. Indeed, his complex inner life sits alongside both struggles and triumphs. And of course this is something all of us can identify with.

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21.Jan.25