Oh, how I love a good preview. Upon entering The Flair Ground, you find yourself in a typical cabaret environment. There is the bar with a ‘one night only’ opportunity to ‘make it spritz’, sweet mix-and-match tables and chairs and more traditional seating. The stage is simple, clean, and glittering with disco balls. I found myself smiling already, although the subject of this show is a more serious one. Acid’s Reign is a drag cabaret play about the climate crisis, writer James McDermott specifically explores the impact on the queer community, as the climate crisis is a queer crisis.

Acid, who has left the safe haven of Mother Nature’s club to become a banker returns one day to take over and make profit, profit, profit, not realising that by doing so she threatens not only the community but planet earth. But as we can see daily in the real world, Mother is not going down without a good fight. Lining up the forces of nature, she tries to make Acid see sense – this is a refreshing take on raising awareness of the current crisis.

However, the show does not feel fully realised in its current form. The storyline advertised in the press release has not been fully incorporated, and some edits to the script would easily strengthen the show. Son of a Tutu as Mother Nature worked the crowd and left me wanting more. Scarlett Harlett as Sea is incredibly entertaining, and I think we should all ‘Worry bout the Arctic on a Tuesday night’. Drag King Jamie Fuxx gives fantastic oil tycoon vibes, and boy, did I love Mischa Velasco’s vocals as Air. And then there is Joshua Oakes-Rogers as Acid, who brings all the elements of this cabaret together. From a stubborn business bitch, to rethinking their actions in only 60 minutes is a wild ride, but I am here for it.  

Acid’s Reign is a cleverly written piece which walks the tightrope of double-meaning jokes and displays great creativity in bending the lyrics of all our favourite pop songs. My favourites are the versions of P!nk’s ‘Get the Party Started’ and Billie Eilish’s ‘Bad Guy’. It brings an important topic to a well-receiving audience – I sincerely hope they will build upon the foundations they have in the future.

{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}

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