Reviews and critics are a double-edged sword. A bad word in a review can kill a show’s run in its tracks. A good review though, will fill you with energy and enthusiasm for the whole run.
Part of our routine in Edinburgh was to visit Fraser Smith and the Press Office to see if we’d been reviewed or mentioned anywhere. Our first year we were the “hot new thing” and so we received a lot of press coverage. With over 2300 acts in the Festival, getting a review is as much luck as anything, and our first year gave us an absolutely massive burst of publicity.
Being the oddity of ‘Australian Drag Queens’ was a unique ‘hook’. We had an inbuilt ‘gimmick’. We were also invited on to ‘The One Show’, a high rating evening show, and we appeared on the front cover of The Scotsman’ newspaper’s weekly magazine. The Guardian had me as the unique Aussie Drag Queen, dancing on the National Monument in a clip that attracted 30 million views I was told. In the following years, we were back to hoping for reviews, since reviews bring audiences, so here are some of the reviews of Showbags progress and our Drags Aloud shows.
Reviews
Follow the links for some of our reviews.
- The Age reviews The Showbags Xmas Show
- SX National made us a must see “Melbourne Destination”
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Jessica was asked to be the ‘cover girl’ for ‘The Hilarian’ – Adelaide University Law Students Society’s student-run, satirical magazine. The image is Jess in our ‘promotional’ costumes and the signature look for Drags Aloud At The Movies. Jess made these jackets and hats to stand out in the incredibly crowded Festivals we were performing at. It worked a treat and it also helped find your fellow performers when showtime was approaching. We definitely stood out in a crowd.