Skank Sinatra is the drag creation of Danish-South African-Australian “trilingual diva” Jens Radda. Self-described as an “international icon and occasional soprano”, Sinatra’s here to deliver a cabaret show-turned-self help seminar on how to become a performing icon.
That seminar structure is a thin veneer, quickly abandoned, over the familiar solo cabaret show structure: modified show tunes and original songs strung together with cheeky quips, nods to the great divas, and hints of social commentary. And there’s no doubt that Sinatra is very good at all that – highlights include an interpolation of My Favourite Things that lists “bright copper buttplugs and red latex mittens”; a tune skewering South African NIMBYism; and a rousing multilingual closing rendition of Don’t cry for me Argentina.
While it may be churlish to criticise the show for the flimsiness of a premise it doesn’t hold onto too strongly anyway, How to Succeed never really takes us beyond what we’ve come to expect from a solo cabaret show – in fact, with numbers and features centred around, say, Liza Minnelli and Kylie Minogue, it can feel like it’s trying to hit all the essential notes. Radda is a talented enough performer to hope for something fresher in the future.
Skank Sinatra: How to Succeed in Show Business Without Really Trying, Assembly George Square Studios, until 30 Aug (not 18, 24), 6.30pm