Dragtime! at the ADC, was, in a word – fabulous! It was my first experience of drag outside pantomimes and glimpses of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and in hindsight, an utterly bizarre, brilliant and quite transformative experience.

"The cast were fantastic and exuded confidence in a way that I have never witnessed in Cambridge theatre before"

It was a night full of lip-syncing, glitter and slut-drops, all set in the mysterious ‘Gaypole’.  There was a large cast and an even larger audience, filling out the ADC at 11pm and creating an electric atmosphere for the one-night performance. Laughter filled the air throughout, as well as awe at what was being witnessed on the stage. 

Review: Ken Cheng: Best Dad Ever

The cast were fantastic and exuded confidence in a way that I have never witnessed in Cambridge theatre before. The night was structured into individual acts, who came and ‘did their thing’ on an empty stage, with absolutely nowhere to hide. They each completely owned it, tottering around the stage, in heels most people would run away from and with a swagger that would send Madonna into a frenzy. 

The night certainly wasn’t boring, and this was in part due to a good variation of performances. There was singing, interpretative dance, rap and frequent references to the dire state of our Brexit/Trump situation, alongside what we would otherwise expect from drag. On that note, some performers bared all, whilst others remained slightly more conservative. Either way it wasn’t exactly PG-rated. 

Notes from the stage door

Throughout the whole show, the dancing was impeccable - it looked professional and the whole cast put so much enthusiasm and charisma into it. The final song and dance has to be given a special mention. Although the night had seen everyone stand-alone, coming together, the cast was pretty incredible, still maintaining their individual characters, but also moving together flawlessly as a team. It certainly ended the night with a bang, and you could clearly see the time and effort spent into choreography and meticulously rehearsing it.  

"Loud enough to be heard probably from The Maypole itself"

The music was excellent, ranging from High School Musical to Fergie, and loud enough to be heard probably from The Maypole itself. The hair, make-up and costumes were perfected and the attention to detail – from fake eyelashes to high cheekbones – only once more made the whole performance seem professionally done. All in all, it was a fun night and one I definitely will not forget.