Bianca Del Rio, Tuesday 3 September, Brighton Centre

BOLD enough to tackle virtually any subject, Bianca Del Rio’s It’s Jester Joke arena tour tip-toed a fine line between offensive and hilarious, much to the delight of the sold-out audience at the Brighton Centre.

After a crude and very funny support set from fabulously foul-mouthed singer, rapper and comedian, Wendy Ho gave the crowd a taste of what kind of humour they were in for, Bianca hit the stage to ear-piercing cheers and applause.

The 2014 RuPaul’s Drag Race winner, comedian and star of two Netflix films clearly meant business from the outset, arriving on stage in a dazzling, pink, sequined jumpsuit and orange wig and pulling absolutely no punches with razor-sharp insults and cutting wit.

The Argus:

It was clear from the outset that if you were easily offended, this was going to be an uncomfortable sitting but thankfully the audience, mainly of long-term, dedicated fans knew exactly what to expect and lapped up every filthy and boundary-pushing punchline.

Bianca Del Rio, the drag persona of New Orleans-born Roy Haylock, covered a huge range of topics, all in her trademark tell it how it is style, from politics to family life, social media to travel, Trump to society’s oversensitivity.

Refreshing unapologetic throughout, and occasionally brutal especially when dealing with anyone brave (or daft!) enough to heckle, Bianca was abrasive but somehow also warm.

The self-proclaimed ‘Clown in a Gown’ and ‘Queen of Mean’ had the audience in stitches, cheering, squealing and even gasping when delivering extremely taboo zingers.

It seemed that nothing was off limits as she discussed her sex life in graphic and hilarious detail, making a joke of even the most sensitive subjects from sexuality to disability, abortion to cancer, her RuPaul Drag Race co-stars to STIs. There were even a few references for a UK audience including Brexit, Theresa May’s dancing and regional teasers.

Surprisingly, little of Bianca’s material was about the show that made her famous, making the Jester Joke tour accessible for any audience.

This stellar, one hour and 15-minute stand-up set ended with a Q&A from the audience. This was a contrast from the rest of this sharp, fast-paced show and could have done with a bit more rehearsal or better questions, but she did the best with what she had including delivering audience members a few real stingers thinly veiled as advice.

This month sees Bianca Del Rio become the first ever drag queen to headline Wembley Arena, and they’re in for one hell of a show. 

Gemma Logan