transgender solo performer has by no means gained the Edinburgh Comedy Award. After 4 a long time, that would all change this yr. Jordan Grey is among the contenders for the celebrated £10,000 prize, sponsored by the Dave channel, to be handed out this Saturday.
Her present is cannily known as Is It A Hen? which references the gender subject and likewise nods to a superhero theme that runs by the efficiency. How, Grey asks as she swaggers round, is it simpler for some folks to simply accept Bruce Wayne figuring out as a flying creature in Batman than it’s to simply accept Grey figuring out as a lady?
The Southend-based musical comic oozes star energy from each pore, from the cheeky opening when she claims she has by no means touched a keyboard earlier than however could have a go, to the massive end after a fast costume change within the onstage telephone field which we dare not reveal, besides to say that Clark Kent by no means did this. In between she struts into each nook and cranny of the intimate venue as if it’s a flat she has simply purchased and is eager to get her cash’s value.
The songs are jaunty, jolly and touching, with catchy Tim Minchin-esque melodies and lyrical twists, masking matters from faith to sexual politics. She improvises and is fast to fill within the gaps when there’s a technical hitch. She has loads of instruments at her disposal in each sense. As she jokes to a few within the entrance row, “between my prime half and my backside half I’ve one thing for each of you – I’m like a sexual Swiss military knife.”
Severe moments punctuate the vaudevillian levity that, like her piled-high hair, evokes early Russell Model. As regards to some folks’s attitudes to gender fluidity Grey has the right response: “If I’m going to be a joke, I would as effectively be in on it.” More often than not the emphasis is on playfulness, similar to when she explains that her spouse is anticipating a child earlier than delivering a pay-off that’s not the one the viewers expects.
That is simply some of the entertaining reveals on the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe this yr. The standing ovation on the finish was for the electrifying efficiency as a lot as the feelings.
However the sentiments couldn’t be extra related. Grey, who appeared on The Voice again in 2016, sends out an necessary message about inclusivity. Is It A Hen? may really feel light-weight at instances, however the lightness most likely helps to get that message throughout. A present filled with instantaneous laughs but additionally moments that can linger lengthy within the reminiscence.
Meeting George Sq., to August 28; edfringe.com
Supply hyperlink
