It has been a good couple of years since I first discovered Alfie Ordinary, and although I see him fairly regularly on the LGBTQ circuit, for some reason or other I have managed to miss his show, HELP! I Think I Might Be Fabulous every time I’ve booked tickets in the past.
Which leads me to quite how delighted I was to finally get to see him on home turf on the final night of his run at The Speigletent as part of Brighton Fringe. The last night of Alfie’s show happened to be on the Tuesday evening after a particularly debauched bank holiday weekend, but despite this, the auditorium was alive with that excitable charged energy of anticipation of when you just know something is going to be good.
I must admit my expectations were extremely high with the amount of great press and friends that have raved about the show, but I was completely blown away by his immeasurable star quality and just how fabulous the show was.
I have seen my fair share of drag over the years but HELP! I Think I Might Be Fabulous was so cleverly put together and well scripted I could have happily bought my eight year old nephew or eighty year old grandmother to the show, who I am positive would have enjoyed it in equal measures.
Although ‘coming out’ can be a painful and difficult experience for most people (including myself) – Alfie finds the perfect balance of innocence, power ballads and witty repartee to turn this troublesome topic on it head and shed a new perspective which I hope has resonated with audiences across the globe.
Alfie describes himself as a Drag Prince – and reminded me greatly of one of my true Brighton heroes, Boogaloo Stu – oozing charisma, lovable energy and camp hilarity at every turn. A total thumbs up from me – I’ll be first in line to book tickets for his next show.
