The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special ☆☆☆
Some people love a Holiday special and some people hate them. Drag queens Jinkx Monsoon and Ben DeLacreme have managed to sashay that tight rope and put together a show for both sides of the fractious Holiday divide.
For those who start their holiday shopping the morning after their Halloween costumes end up on the bedroom floor of a stranger, this one-hour online show will fulfill all their desires for an overload of seasonal traditions. Holiday specials are expected to have big song and dance numbers, Jinkx and DeLa deliver a winter wonderland avalanche of them. They are supposed to use the tunes that everyone is familiar with, Jinkx and DeLa apply heavily made-up lips to them all. And even though shows are inclusively labeled as Holiday Specials, everyone expects there will be an extra dollop of Xmas-infused sentiment, Jinkx, and DeLa grab the Christian religious elements with both manicured hands.
Manicured nails sometimes act as talons when wielded by drag queens. For those who hate the predictable traditions, the sickly-sweet sentiment, the enforced jollity, and the cash draining strain on their wallets Jinkx and DeLa fight their corner too. The tunes may be familiar but the lyrics come with a satirical twist that at points is darker than a lump of coal in a stocking. When Jinkx and DeLa explore the non-consensual implications of the Immaculate Conception by pairing it with the rapey connotations of the song ‘It’s Cold Outside’ there is no ignoring their message that the holiday season for many was never as good as Hallmark cards claim.
There is plenty of queer fun amongst the barely concealed theme of Xmas trauma. JInkx does their own version of Away in a Manger and turns it into A Gay and a Stranger, an ode to anonymous bareback sex in the age of Prep. Combined with a tad more nudity than there is in the average Holiday special this is not the Xmas shows of our childhoods.
The story arc rests on the pro-Xmas DeLa trying to persuade Jinkx to embrace the Spirit of Tradition. It evolves into the message that some of us set limits on our future because of our pasts when really the future can be whatever we want. The big song and dance numbers are enough to keep the gushing fans of the Radio City Rockettes on board but for those of us whose Holiday greeting is Bah Humbug, it’s dark and dirty enough to cheer our teeny tiny cynical hearts.
Queerguru caught a rare online screening of the show now online at AMAZON PRIME, and the live show is still touring the UK and US: all the dates are at https://www.jinkxanddela.com/tour
Review by ANDREW HEBDENQueerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA & CULTURAL STUDIES graduate spending his career between London, Beijing, and NYC as an expert in media and social trends. As part of the expanding minimalist FIRE movement, he recently returned to the UK and lives in Soho. He devotes as much time as possible to the movies, theatre, and the gym. His favorite thing is to try something (anything) new every day.
Labels: 2021, Ben Delacreme, drag, Holiday Show, Jinkx Monsoon
