Gingzilla Glamonster Vs the World challenges everything, from audience expectations to societal constructs of gender. The show is raucous, filthy and utterly fabulous with Gingzilla sweeping from epic ballads to growling sleaze in seconds to create a show that is surprising, inventive and unique.
Gingzilla opens the show with a powerful rendition of The Zombies ‘She’s Not There’ before sauntering over to an audience member and licking his head and face. This duality of old-school glamour and the grotesque is seamlessly portrayed throughout the entire performance.
A vocal powerhouse, singing with only a recorded accompaniment, Gingzilla’s voice soars to impressively high notes and dips into deep, sumptuous belts with no strain. The music, from Tom Jones to Beyonce, is diverse but each choice is carefully linked to the story and the costume changes and short breaks are filled with vintage film clips and old sexist adverts breaking up the action and punctuating each section of the show.
The world created by Gingzilla is multifaceted and carefully curated and through this setting she inserts a commentary on the expectations imposed on women, classic gender roles and the oppressive nature of misogyny. This is skilfully and humorously done and never leers into cliché, covering everything from women being told to be quiet to the damaging effects of beauty standards. The only moment that is not pitch perfect is during an audio clip detailing domestic abuse where Gingzilla acts out being slapped by an abusive male which falls flat, lying in an awkward place between humour and distress.
Audience interaction is a huge part of the show from singing along to being thrusted at, fed and sat on and Gingzilla’s charisma and wit is most clear in these moments. She has the ability to blend with the audience, assuming their position and using people to highlight the comedy instead of simply making fun of them.
Gingzilla Glamonster Vs the World combines boundless talent, filthy humour, intimate audience interaction and a beautifully created theatrical world to comment on classic ideals of femininity, beauty and sex in a perfectly timed and skilfully constructed performance.