Opening with the winning song of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, Euphoria, Denim had me on their side straight away (that song is amazing). The following medley of ‘original’ songs stolen from girl groups, including Girls Aloud, The Spice Girls and the Sugababes, was fabulous, and clearly showed off the impressive vocals of the group.
These queens can walk far better than I can in heels (not hard) and rock some pretty epic outfits throughout the show. Wigs reach for the sky and there is glitter in abundance; the glam is perfect, and the fact that it is paired with hairy armpits, unshaved legs and some slightly flabby bellies only makes it even more so.
We get to know each queen a little better, first meeting charity-obsessive wristband-collector Elektra Cute (Guy Woolf), who dedicates a song to the Save the Mongoose foundation. Joint biography-writers Aphrodite Greene née Jones (Charlie Parham) and Crystal Vaginova (Tom Rasmussen) treat us to a cat-related medley with their genuinely sensational vocals, and Shirley DuNaughty (Hugh Wyld) performs a High School Musical number, which is everything a millennial could ever want. Glamrou La Denim (Amrou Al-Kadhi) explains his split with Islam and makes an important and resonant point about discrimination with clever comedic flair.
Some of the jokes feel like they go on a little too long, and the energy sometimes drops between songs, but the numbers themselves are consistently excellent. The strong message of self-acceptance at the end of the show is supported by a beautiful rendition of This Is Me, which fits perfectly. They get a standing ovation, partly for their performance, yes, but partly - I think - for their message. These are five queens who are completely themselves, and they are fabulous.
Denim: The Reunion Tour is on at 22:30 at Assembly George Square Gardens until August 26th, excluding the 25th. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the EdFringe website.
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