Connections Nightclub creates a space for aspiring and emerging drag performers every Thursday night with Dragathon, and when I dropped by this week I caught a moment of magic.
Making her debut was performer Nikki Minogue, and while many performers opt for lip-syncing and dance moves, Minogue had something different to offer.
The performance was a mix of stand up comedy and magic.
Reaching into her bag of tricks Nikki Minogue pulled out a contraption which she claimed gave her the power to read people’s minds.
To the naked eye it did look like a tin foil hat which a colander added via a hot glue gun, but she promised it was laden with technology and special powers.
She proceeded to invite audience members on the the stage for a card trick. It was a rambling and shambolic presentation, but we were strangely hooked.
Along the way she tripped over her own stage props, and then she broke a heel, but it all added to the chaos and built suspense.
Watching the haphazard performance, and a growing feeling it could all end badly, I recalled captivating performances at Connections years a go by British performer Scottee.
Scottee performed the classic Vaudevillian routine of Yellow ‘Bandana’ where a performer plays a ‘how to’ cassette tape of learning a magic trick. It all goes pear shaped when instead of a yellow bandana, they pull out a yellow banana. The beauty of the act, that had been done by many performers over the years, is that when it looks like its all gone wrong, it suddenly works out.
Watching Nikki Minogue tackle a magic trick, I was worried we were just going to be left with a smashed banana.
But it all came good and she pulled off, accurately guessing the correct card for each of the three guests on stage.
She then got her wig tangled in her special hat, adding another level of comedy to the proceedings. It was an impressive debut, and I could help but heel that there’s an entire Fringe World show waiting to happen.
Head down to Connections every Thursday night for the unexpected.
