Jonny Woo might be a drag icon and a stalwart of the London LGBTQ+ scene, but it wasn’t always the case. In Suburbia, billed as his most personal show to date, Woo begins his story in childhood, back in the Medway Towns of twitchy curtains and Woolworths Saturday shifts, before embarking on a heartfelt and raucous journey which will take audiences to 1990s New York, the London gay scene, and a canal boat in the suburbs.
Woo is as electric as ever, lip-syncing, raving and writhing in various states of undress like it’s the early hours in a nightclub rather than lunchtime in Edinburgh. Those seeking hedonism and glamour won’t be disappointed: there are strobe lights, chiffon and glitter a-plenty. But there’s also real heart and depth here; Woo’s adolescence and early adulthood play out against the backdrop of the AIDS crisis, brought to the forefront in moving prose sections and audio clips including public health announcements and Margaret Thatcher speeches. He manages a tricky balance with aplomb, a set of suburbia’s trademark net curtains barely obscuring him as he transitions between vulnerable and tender memories and riotous musical numbers that have the audience singing and dancing in their seats.
After an hour spent in his company and his story, it’s not hard to see how Woo became the icon he is today: Suburbia is a rip-roaring hour of cabaret, memoir and drag, delivering both sparkle and soul.
Jonny Woo: Suburbia, Summerhall, until 25 Aug (not 12, 19), 1.35pm