Latitude 2009
Low Down
Sue is a piano-wielding prophet who has so far kept her thoughts to herself. Hilarious, tragic and curiously broadshouldered, she invites you into her lounge to bear witness to visions of her life from finishing school to Doomsday.
Review
This is a drag show with a heart – far from the overblown renderings of Mamma Mia offered by most gaudy drag queens, My Name is Sue is a piece of heartfelt musical theatre, about an unassuming, unhinged and rather likeable woman called, unsurprisingly, Sue.
Sitting at her keyboard, downing pills and a dubious looking beverage, Sue sings heartfelt tales about her difficult family life and slightly sad existence. She engages the audience wonderfully well, and is a lovely host – despite the cavernous space of the Latitude theatre tent, you could imagine you were in Sue’s living room being regaled with her life story. Sue doesn’t explain why she is telling the audience her tales, but after a short while three more taciturn and grumpy looking women, dressed just like Sue, arrive onstage and provide backing to her songs on drums, Cello and guitar. These women, also called, Sue seem to be an expensive and slightly unnecessary addition to a fringe show, but they certainly add value to the musical offering, and make for a nice variation from yet another one man festival show.
Sue is a nice, entertaining show to see, but it doesn’t blow your mind or do anything terribly different. It’s maybe one to slot into your Edinburgh experience if you’re wandering past the Pleasance and have an hour to kill.
