Written for The Stage
Full of philosophical poetry, sardonic wit and haunting vocals, if Boy in a Dress is anything to go by, La JohnJoseph is surely the artistic love child of William Blake and Penny Arcade, whose favourite uncle is Hedwig from the Angry Inch.
An autobiographical account of life as a third-gendered person, La JohnJoseph’s story is full of highs and lows. But though you care for this waif it is not empathy for his personal plight that hits you. Rather, as this fragile show unfolds – at some points falling down, at others teetering on the edge of brilliance – what is very clear is that this is a star in the making and he knows it.
Boy in a Dress proves that in a world where gender is dictated by genitalia, to be different means carving out your own path. While his glamorous stooge, Erin Hutching, looks unsure throughout this tumbling hour, La JohnJoseph owns the space he has carved out for himself. Through a sophisticated mash up of vaudeville, cabaret, live art, modern pop music and monologues – and an impressive amount of costume changes – La JohnJoseph proves to be a glorious role model for the fabulousness of ‘otherness’.
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