one4review | On 16, Aug 2024

Drag King Chip Johnson, portrayed by the fantastic Maggie Metnick (she, her, they them), is a product of the American education school system and attaining valedictorian malakey. Chip is a far-right-feminist-ally who is pumped up to the eyeballs with white boy confidence. Bursting at the seams and powered by the ‘lemur testosterone’ drink SPLORT, he mansplains the crap out of the latest news for women.

Firstly, we receive an intensely frantic welcome accompanied by a strong and manly handshake, then the back story of how baby Chip came to be, followed by introducing us to his fellow trust fund buddies who seem to have missed the show. Nevertheless, he takes us through a set of witty one liners and delivers a solid satirical masterpiece on politics and controversial issues that affect women and their bodies. Chip goes head-to-head with the idea that yes the patriarchy is detrimental for women but also it is wounding men. We watch him derail and lose his mind until and thankfully the Chip God saves him.

I’m a fan of the satirical comedy genre and I think Maggie brings to life a grotesque but weirdly lovable character very well. There are times when we can see Maggie’s own personality trickle into the room, and this is not a criticism here because instead I am feeling more invested with her portrayal. I was impressed by how relevant and very current the writing was; material that only dropped the day before the show was used.

I really was gaslighted into falling for this intelligently loathsome and silly character, this show is definitely a must see. For us locals it is still very relevant as Chip brings to us his policies for our own Scottish soil too. Thank God for Chip women are gonna be fine, sigh.

*****
Reviewed by: Jen
Venue 21 C ARTS C aquila – studio
20:15 (1hr)
Until 18th August