Theatre review: Boy in a Dress, The Stand Comedy Club, III & IV (Venue 12), Edinburgh

ONE day La JohnJoseph will be a star, and in the meantime you should take the chance to go and see her sharply observed and gloriously imperfect autobiographical show.

Boy in a Dress

The Stand Comedy Club 
III & IV (Venue 12)

Rating; ***

Morphing from a diva to a working class 15-year-old caught between being a boy and a girl, the sparkling chameleon charts her journey from Liverpool council estate to New York stage with wit and charm.

There’s a lot of razzmatazz, but this is merely a thrilling aside. Describing herself as “third gendered”, La JohnJoseph uses innovative costume changes to break down her identity and question how we define ourselves. The difference between a clichéd drag queen and something more authentic is brilliantly summarised as co-star Erin Hutching hams it up in clown make-up.

In a combination of the political with the personal, La JohnJoseph’s spiky tales of her fast living mother’s string of boyfriends become a metaphor for tolerance. The point behind a finale in which Hutching smears our “star” in blue paint is less obvious. The show tries to do too much with too little focus, but is a fascinating and thought-provoking insight into a great character.

• Until 26 August. Today 4:20pm.