Cazeleon: The Movies in My Mind

• Katharine Gemmell
• 5 August 2018

This article is from 2018.

Old school Hollywood glamour as you've never seen it before

The popularity of drag has exploded in recent times, with audiences being won over by stars pushing the boundaries on rigid concepts of gender. But rising Aussie born, and London-based Cazeleon's show feels more urgent and necessary than your average drag show. It's not just about being fierce and confident, it's also about showing vulnerability and the importance of the fight to be yourself.

Using the motif of the rise and fall of a Hollywood star, Cazeleon goes from wide-eyed child pushed away by their peers for not fitting into a box, to killing off the person they used to be, and becoming a star. She channels silver screen idols like Elizabeth Taylor in her aesthetic, looking impossibly glamorous and weaving her way through numbers as diverse as Duke Dumont's 'Ocean Drive' and Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain. In the end, Cazeleon's former self comes back to haunt her and it finishes with her bare-chested, no wig, no costume and a skewed gender symbol across her chest.

Cazeleon's pitch-perfect voice mixed with an emotionally stirring performance creates a piece that seamlessly blends theatre and drag. The show's message about not having to comply with society's norms or anyone else's idea of what you should be captures the zeitgeist of today.

Gilded Balloon Teviot, until 27 Aug (not 14), 9pm, £11–£12 (£10–£9).