After 25 years at Edinburgh Fringe, where it's now the festival’s highest-selling show, 'The Ladyboys Of Bangkok' makes its Adelaide Fringe debut in the Octagon at Gluttony. The show is as smooth and sparkly as you’d expect from an ensemble which tours the UK for nine months of the year.
If you were to describe 'The Ladyboys Of Bangkok' in a single word, you’d toss up between 'liberation' and 'taboo'; maybe 'liberation from taboo'. For the ladyboys, or 'kathoey', who quick-change from one glittering outfit to the next, taking the stage and receiving cheers from a loving audience is empowering. For audiences, who are coaxed into shouting swear words during lewd comedic songs and into dancing like nobody’s watching, there’s a visible relief and release from societal expectations and judgment. The Octagon becomes a safe space.
'Ladyboys' follows a simple variety show structure: large group ensembles dance to precisely choreographed queer classics like ‘Dancing Queen’ or contemporary hits like ‘Apt.’ in the most dazzling of outfits, then there’s a comedic interlude, featuring one or two performers, while the group changes into the next costume.
Ole is a highlight of the costume change breaks, with renditions of Shirley Bassey and Tina Turner classics, while dancer Oak is perhaps the hardest worker of the night, appearing in the majority of the segments.
When you scan the Octagon audience, it’s impossible to discern a majority demographic. Married couples in their 50s mingle with groups of young men and lovebirds in their 20s. All walk out beaming from ear-to-ear. In Edinburgh, the show has grown so much that the Ladyboys have their own lavish tent, and the show could only really be improved by them flying this down here, as the Octagon stage is barren in comparison. With audience reactions like the ones they're getting so far here, though, the Ladyboys might end up buying an Australian tent too.
This Fringe, you’ll hear plenty banging on about Bangkok.
