If you’re patient enough, with some luck you might just find a rare sight in Edinburgh – an Australian. And if you’re really luckier, it’ll be not just any Australian, but the Queen of down under herself: Courtney Act. Found lurking in the Underbelly Circus Hub, The Girl from Oz offers Scotland one of drag’s finest as a spectacular experience.
Courtney Act has localised a few of her song choices, lyrically altered them to fit a Scottish Fringe theme. The most refreshing thing about tonight is how excited Act seems to be at the Fringe. There’s a true humbleness to the performance, and a warmth felt throughout the tent. If you’re at all familiar with Act’s appearance on Ru Paul’s Drag Race, you’ll be accustomed to her voice. Thankfully, the interludes between musical segments are frequent, humorous, inventive, but most importantly natural.
Trading on beauty can be dangerous, and Act has Aphrodite-like charms. But this is far from all that she has to offer. This lady is beyond a triple threat; she’s a killer (Queen). She defies glamour’s superficial allure with a take on the Bee Gee’s Stayin’ Alive. Described as a Lana Del Ray interpretation of the song, it’s tone is chilling. The atmosphere shifts and hairs stand to attention as the song is delivered with heart, soul and a sensational voice. Its timing with recent events is poignant, which Act discusses without motive other than love.
Oh, but there’s still raunch to the evening. As the ruby slippers evolve from skates into heels, they end the evening thigh high, scarlet and sultry. She closes the evening with a tribute to Australia’s finest export, Kylie, combined with a distractingly provocative performance of I Touch Myself. The simple matter is that Courtney Act is a mistress of her art, bluntly put: long live the Queen.