Fringe Comedy Review: Kinsey Sicks - Things

Kinsey Sicks: Things You Shouldn't Say | Gilded Balloon at the Museum (Venue 64) | Star rating: ***

Kinsey Sicks. Picture: contributed

If anyone, in this festival full of lists, is compiling a Top Ten Shows that Stick it to Donald Trump, then the Kinsey Sicks should be on it. There is a kernel of burning hot anger at the heart of this show – anger, mixed with grief.

The Kinsey Sicks are a troupe of acapella singing drag queens. On the face of it they are anything but serious. They have enormous, towering prom queen hair-dos, a fashion sense stuck in the early Sixties and a slapdash and not terribly subtle approach to make-up.

The group was created 24 years ago when a group of friends in San Francisco went to a Bette Midler concert in drag. They subsequently became an enduring musical act – although only one original member remains.

On stage, the Kinsey Sicks sing, squabble and gossip. One is serious, one is dumb, one is sexually rapacious and one thinks she’s a star.

But when original member Rachel shares her history of fighting for the rights of people with Aids and HIV the atmosphere becomes electric.

It’s a stunning speech – tear-jerking and stirring. It brings the audience to its feet and reminds us: political ignorance can kill.

• Until 13 August. Today 7:30pm.