What a spectacle.
Last night we went to see Ladyboys of Bangkok. And, wow! My chin’s still resting on my chest in shock; I can’t decide what to think of the whole performance.
Having seen Funny Girls, a drag show in Blackpool, I went in knowing what to expect. But how wrong I was. From the moment we walked in the door it felt like a freak show; a good freak show. The set up was very circus-like and it had the edgy feel that you’d expect if you walked in to an episode of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. But once you were properly inside the tent, you could hardly believe you were actually in a tent. However, after a few trips to the bar the reminder that you were in fact just sat in large version of something you took to Leeds fest last month comes from the dirty, smelly portaloos with a queue longer than the one to get you in to the show!
When the show started and the performers came on to the stage I got myself all excited. I was so excited that I was searching among the stage of women for the drag performers and for a split second felt cheated that for the first act, they’d thrown a bunch of ladies on to the stage rather than the ladyboys that I paid to come and see. But they’d not even reached the chorus before I had a flashback to when the compere had said: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the show is about to begin. Can I just remind you that the Ladyboys of Bangkok is a show of 16 male performers.’
So there I was, mesmorised in a stage which consisted of women who just happened to be men. May I add, they were absolutely beautiful and I couldn’t stop expressing how amazingly good looking I thought they were. I don’t know many men who wouldn’t fancy them, they’d just not admit it because they know as well as I know what’s lurking south of the stunning face and north of the perfectly toned thighs.
I’m still baffled, and think I always will be, at the sheer confusion surrounding their ‘man parts’. Are they detachable? Are they strapped underneath? Have they been removed? I’ve got so many questions; so many unanswered questions! One woman, I mean man, after the other stripped down to their underwear standing on the edge of the stage with nothing but a nipple tassle and thong. Oh, and a wig! We can all dress up, we can all be someone or something else but when we do so, it usually involves extravagant items of clothing, mounds of make-up and numerous props to distract anyone from seeing what’s underneath the host of monstrosities we’re parading. I don’t understand how these men trick us all in to thinking they’re women with such little ‘make-up’ so to speak; either they’re good or we’re deluded.
Some shows claim they’re for everyone, reckon they have something to suit everybody; not many live up to it. Ladyboys of Bangkok literally does attract all varieties of people; from young to old, gay, straight, bisexual, hen parties, grandmothers, sons and daughters. Every group was represented. Whether they were there for the comedy, the night out, the curiosity or just because the family had dragged them along, the range in the audience made the show what it was. Members of the audience were being picked up to go on stage throughout which for some of us, ensured we didn’t take up the whole seat we were paying for. I was sat on the edge of my seat in fear from the beginning right to the end!
Until today, I’ve always been weirdly and openly fascinated with transvestites but at the moment I’m still in shock with confusion at what I’ve just seen. They weren’t your standard drag performers; it was like something from the future where you’ve a remote to turn yourself from a man to a woman as fast as you’d change from the Channel 4 news to ITV. Part way through the show, a lady came on stage singing about who she really was and as the song progressed she changed from her very feminine dress in to a black, masculine suit. It was like watching two people on stage where the head, adorned in something along the lines of Chanel lipstick and blusher, didn’t belong to the body of the man set before our eyes. And finally the wig was removed and we saw a man, despite the make-up. It was like a real-life sex change, live on stage, in less than 4 minutes. Jaw dropping.
Transvestitism isn’t something I really understand, but I want to understand it.
The Ladyboys were dressed head to toe in glitter and the most fabulous outfits. But me, I was so confused, I just wore a frown.
