Brighton Fringe 2010
Low Down
Tina C takes us on her personal journey through her own experiences of politics and running for office. A light-hearted and classy one person show that has everything in it – thrills, jibes, songs and politics.
Review
Despite the cold and dismal weather outside, inside the new venue of the Fringe this year, it was a very different story. Tina C took to the stage and dazzled us with her charm, flair and oozed sexiness through every pore. She is an international drag artist to be reckoned with and we were in for a treat indeed.
Kicking off with a very different interpretation of ‘I wanna know what love is’, she then proceeded to comment on our current political climate and circumstances. This at first I personally thought was going to be too near the bone, given the hung parliament we’ve ended up with, but judging by the audience’s reaction of applause and hearty laughter, any doubts anyone may have had about this show were instantly gone.
It was an interesting split of audience this night – half had seen her before and knew what to expect, whereas the other half including myself didn’t. With Tina’s ‘fabulousness’, grace and charm, all of us were hooked into her personal take on UK politics from an American’s point of view. Her wonderful quip about where all the money goes was great – she asked where or who it went to? Celine Dion’s bank account?!? It set everyone off in stitches of laughter and made us want more.
As the show progressed, Tina’s comedy style developed well and her storytelling skills gripped us as she entertained us with original songs and ‘political’ country and western takes on well known songs such as ‘9 to 5’ and ‘Nessun Dorma’ with Pavarotti. Her energy was high and never dropped for one minute – especially as on occasions, she shamelessly plugged her merchandise with the newly low valued pound translated from dollars!
But it was her reference to 911 and growing up in humble surroundings that gave the show its depth. These were indeed serious topics, but it was the way that the lines were said so matter of factly and seriously that created a whole ripple of laughter throughout the Freerange. Any heckles that occurred throughout this section were dealt with extremely well and she stayed in character the whole time. Also, any technical hitches that occurred were made part of the show and were extremely enjoyable to watch – we never felt uncomfortable the whole time.
When it came to the encore, Tina made sure everyone was up on the dance floor with a Bluegrass version of ‘Dancing Queen’ and even got us line dancing to it. Needless to say, none of us wanted the show to end.
This is a show that is fun, exciting and daring. If you like political comedy shows that are cutting edge and witty with no swearing and complete glamour, then this is the show for you. To quote Tina C, she would definitely like you ‘lowly ungoverned people’ to come!
