Queerguru’s Andrew Hedben checks out GLAMROU : DRAG MOTHER “an absurd and intimate tour of a damaged psyche’

Glamrou: Drag MotherSoho Theatre  ⭐⭐⭐ Glamrou (Amrou Al-Khadi) is confused about who they are. Or their mother is. Or their audience is. Or nobody is. Or everyone is. In a show that delights in its own ‘mythtruths’ one is never sure quite what is real and what is not. Is it the revelations of a misunderstood queer Muslim from a Baghdad bedsit? Or is British Iragi Glamrou extracting cash with a heavy lashed wink by reversing the exploitative expectations of their ‘white liberal audience’ . Is Glamrou exposing their Muslim Mummy as a monster in a niqab ‘giving Darth Vader’? Or is Mum just sick and tired that her son gets paid to dress as a woman for an hour on stage whereas she has had the thankless task of being a real woman these past 60 years? Glamrou never completely answers the question but there’s certainly a lot of fun in the way they pose it.The story arc stretches from Glamrou’s childhood (real or fake), through puberty and sex, towards romantic misadventures, in a push/pull of spotlight between them and their mother. Each can fill a hundred expensive handbags with the blame that they heap on each other’s heads for their mutual disappointment. Is Mum selflessly trying to save her son from the fire of hell, or ‘as the Koran says’ if the child burns in hell then the mother shall too, is she just trying to save herself from being theological toast? Or does Glamrou know exactly what side her bread is buttered, delivering against the audience’s expectations of Islamic homophobia with a side of drag queen Oedipal angst. With a rather talented musical accompaniment Glamrou injects a little pop into their performance with rearranged and well done slow versions of Gaga’s Bad Romance, Whitney’s So Emotional and a perfumed splash of Lourde, Charlie XCX and Katy Perry. It is interspersed with their formative tales of the three loves of their life. Mr Paper, who insists love making is only a meeting of souls if Glamrou puts a brown paper bag over their head. Mr Carpet, who has a Princess Jasmine fantasy about Glamrou, straight out of Aladdin. And finally Mr Polly, who wants a polyamourous relationship (as long as he can go straight home to his wife – Polly). It’s an absurd and intimate tour of a damaged psyche, an exploration of Islamic mores from a Freudian perspective, or a satire on the Islamophobic expectations of their audience. Take your pick. Glamrou is clever enough for all choices to be an option. An occasionally tentative delivery lands some lovely punches in an immaculate manicure. Queerguru Contributing Editor ANDREW HEBDEN is a MEDIA and cultural STUDIES graduate spending his career between London, Beijing, and NYC as an expert in media and social trends. As part of the expanding minimalist FIRE movement, he recently returned to the UK and lives in Soho. He devotes as much time as possible to the movies, theatre, and the gym. His favorite thing is to try something (anything) new every day