Created by Ryan Patrick Welsh

Review by Dominic Corr

There are a lot of things which you may have to convince yourself to happen at the Festival Fringe. Yes, that was possibly Alan Cumming. Yes, that very likely was Phoebe Waller-Bridge. And yes, you overpaid for that baked potato. However, one thing that audiences will never have trouble forgetting is what precisely went down during their visit to Ryan Patrick Welsh’s fronted show, Sex, Camp, Rock N’ Roll.

A cabaret shows legs and shoulders above the rest, as Ryan Patrick Welsh, decked out in sheer, assless chaps and nothing but imagination, is joined by backing performers and music in a show not for the prudish, shunning the bashful and embracing the queer. But as the song and spectacle rain down, the glamour takes a graceful bow and allows the real heart of it all to emerge – a touching, and at times brutally clear conversation of being a queer sex worker, in a storytelling switch that wipes away the glitter, and turns the bare-skin into a more open and vulnerable representation, rather than a quick flash of flesh.

Sidestepping the sweaty, grind, and seduction, the most substantial element of the show, outside of the performances from the live band and singer Sharon Shao, is its ability to balance the provocative with the profound. It is delightfully explicit, but the depths it plunges into its conversations of self-discovery, acceptance, guilt, and connection are tangible and genuine. Journeys undertaken are relatable, even for those in the room who may suspect they couldn’t possibly find a connection here.

The musical cabaret nature sustains the first act, but audiences looking for more of that might find the pacing of the latter half lacking as the insight takes a more prominent centre stage. It’s a welcome addition for those looking for narrative and story, but for anyone who may have entered into the show purely for the Rock N’ Roll nature and the allure of the titillating, it might detach a little. But that’s their loss.

Challenging ‘societal norms’ and expectations while wearing killer outfits (or not much at all), Sex, Camp, Rock N’Roll is a daring and thought-provoking cabaret experience which engages as much as it entertains.

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