This is our theatre review of Cherry Jezebel at Liverpool‘s Everyman Theatre. So, let’s take a look at Cherry Jezebel!
Cherry Jezebel
Description Of Cherry Jezebel
This show is raw, rude and raucous. It’s an amazing new Everyman drama with Jonathan Larkin as writer and James Baker as director. The show is equally hilarious and heartbreaking. It’s a champagne blowout as well as the hangover from hell. And it takes us on a spin under the glitter ball with it landing in the gutter. Indeed, the bass is pounding, the audience is cheering and Cherry Brandy blinks back tears. Tonight’s the night that she finally receives recognition as the Queen she is. And with the crown to prove it! But will this be the triumphant moment she always dreamed of?
Because behind the mascara, wigs and six-inch stiletto heels, all that glitters isn’t exactly gold. Still, at least she always has her best mate Heidi. But growing up queer in Liverpool is grim. And the queer family they’ve forged may slip through Cherry’s nicotine-stained fingers. The show goes from the boudoirs to the bathrooms of Liverpool’s gloriously gobby drag scene. Furthermore, the show is a riot of lipstick and split lips, of bitching and bruises. And it’s a play that celebrates queerness while spilling the tea on the pain behind the polish.
Analysis Of Cherry Jezebel
This show is opulent, riotous romp to opening syllable to the very last gasp. Writer Jonathan Larkin clearly knows his chosen subject intimately well, which allows him to present it with the fabulously brash candour informed only by first-hand observation. It is this effortless authenticity that radiates throughout and serves to make this such an especially infectious production.
Despite the subject matter, which tackles drag, recreational drug use, homophobia, and gender identity, there was no woke posturing into this seamless comic piece. Minor, fleeting references to toxic masculinity and other buzz terms, were – thankfully – fleeting, and seemed more like a tick box exercise. The real victory was the characters. Queens being queens and, in doing so, being real. It was an authenticity that is rarely even seen in theatre.
Punchlines
There were scenes in which every line flowed into a killer punchline. Which from the outside seems contrived and exaggerated, however, take it from somebody who has moved in such circles and sat amongst such grand characters in the past, it was nothing less than incredibly real. Some may dismiss it as tasteless and trashy. Pandering to its both its not natural and clearly intended demographic. However, you can’t take Liverpool’s Stanley Street Sesame Scene and mangle it into Tarantino or Mike Leigh without sacrificing the very authenticity that elevates its stature. There was a complete lack of pretension about this piece that was truly refreshing and very rarely observed.
But this two-act piece was no one-trick pony. There were solid moral undertones that unfurled and took root throughout. It casually shone a spotlight on how supposedly straight men fetishise drag queens and transgender women. How they routinely use them and abuse them, only to glide by without any shred of condemnation or any real prospect of being held to account. Cherry Jezebel had heart in soul in abundance and, just as important, an unflinching commitment to unfiltered humour in an era of increasingly constricting hyper-sensitivity.
Summary Of Cherry Jezebel
This play is worthy of national recognition and, judging by the unhinged zeal with which its press night audience so duly lapped it up, word of mouth may very well carry it there. One word: joyful.
Notes
Target Audience: 18+
Content: Frequent Strong Language & Sex References
Recommendation?: Yes
