GINGER ALL THE WAY ⚝⚝⚝⚝
SOHO THEATRE, LONDON
Drag Race UK Season 5 winner Ginger Johnson (Donald Marshall) is living the dream. Self-described as a ‘helium balloon in the shape of a woman’ Ginger has landed disgracefully at the Soho Theatre to share their own happily melancholic version of seasonal mischief.
The fiery crimson wig, a bright orange gown, and a plush red velvet curtain make Ginger the inescapable theme of the night. They debut with a somber torch-song version of the Pointer Sisters’s ‘I’m So Excited’. It sets up the tone of the evening, the darkness that lies behind the twinkling lights of Xmas. Ginger has a theater-filling voice, not just in terms of its vocal power but also because the place is packed tighter than a drag queen tuck. Ginger is also well known by this London crowd for their involvement in Sink the Pink, and its pantomime offshoots Escape From Planet Trash and How To Catch a Krampus, all previously enjoyed by the Queerguru gays about town.
The show is a mix of bawdy stand-up and satirical songs. We learn that Ginger was enticed into nudity on all fours by an attentive gentleman. ‘Again?’ was our response. He had her posing suggestively all over his office. Unfortunately, he was only deciding where to put an old leather couch. Dirty, self-deprecating, and with plenty of delightful double meanings is Ginger All The Way.
Songs were pitched as vehicles for punchlines. Whether it was taking a dig at the truth behind Xmas, where happiness is a veneer for alcoholism, greed and family arguments or hilariously doing sad versions of the jingles that we know from adverts. Ginger can make the Shake & Vac song sound sadder than a post-Xmas abandoned puppy shelter ad.
Recognizing the fleeting and fickle nature of fame, a self-reflective Ginger’s big number was The Next Big Thing. It outlined the exhausting requirement to keep up with the next big thing that each generation revels in, only for them to cast it aside, and move on. Rinse and repeat. Can Gen Z even spell zeitgeist, or has it been replaced by an emoji?
Ending with a crowd-pleasing encore Ginger reached back into the archives and plucked out a call-and-response rap from Barbara Cartland, the pancaked author of last century’s cheesiest romantic novels. Ginger delivered that pungent fromage looking suitably cream crackered and sent the audience off in a fond fondue.
Queerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA and 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: 2023, Andrew Hebden, Ginger All The Way, Ginger Johnson, London's Soho THeatre, review
