Who’s Holiday – Southwark Playhouse Borough

The Ru Paul Industrial Complex continues its imperial sashay to every corner of the globe. This franchise mission creep can be viewed as a be-wigged beacon of tolerance or a toxic cash machine that bleeds underground culture. 

Drag Race alumni find themselves yanked from skanky obscurity to meet-and-greet mania in a matter of weeks. For the truly talented, this can offer a unique chance to shine and earn some coin after decades of thankless graft. 

Miz Cracker was a popular contestant on Ru Paul’s Drag Race Season Ten and made the final 5. She came back for RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season Five and was placed in the top 3. Since then, she has been deservedly busy; podcasts, academic seminars, YouTube channel, one-woman comedy TV specials and a cookery show. Cracker has charm, chops and a rebellious intelligence, which are de rigeur in the drag milieu. 

Cracker is the creation of Matthew Lombardo, who also wrote the script of Who’s Holiday! Originally playing off Broadway in 2017 to rave reviews, the show is a queer homage to How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss. Like many of the pantomimes filling our pubs and theatres, this is an adult spin on a children’s favourite. 

Fairytales are ripe for revision as they are deeply archetypal, often spanning centuries and cultures. In comparison, the Dr. Seuss book is a bit more niche, even if the word ‘grinch’ has entered the lexicon as an informal noun describing a ‘killjoy’. So, the question is, does the show work if you don’t know the drill? Perhaps.

Lombardo has written the solo show in the same rhyming verse as the book, which is loyal and clever, but at times one-dimensional and wearing. There’s joyful transgression in that Miz Cracker is a grown-up Cindy Lou-Who, and the little girl from the book is now smoking bongs, necking martinis and living in a trailer park. While the rhyming is cute, it lends a sing-song cheeriness to some pretty dark themes. Shadows get lost in the saccharine cage of rhyme.

Miz Cracker is a compulsive watch, but really shone when veering off script and engaging with the audience. The quick wit, sharp tongue and hilarious timing dazzled in those moments and left me yearning for more ad lib and chaos, ‘cause Cracker rules in that corner.

Despite the drink, drugs and drag, this show felt strangely safe. Maybe it’s the rhymes, or there’s only so many liberties one can take with a well-loved kids’ character, but are there? To avoid mining the comedy, horror and wrongness of having sex and then a child with the Grinch seems a missed opportunity. 

However, ‘tis the season to be jolly and admittedly, graphic Grinch penis chat is a box office gamble. Proving a winner, Miz Cracker got a standing ovation on the night we attended. The Drag Race fan base were in the house and they were very giddy with glee. If you love Dr. Seuss and fancy an American twist on the panto tradition, swish your dish to this show in a flash. 

Who’s Holiday is at The Southwark Playhouse until 7th January, https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/whos-holiday/

Reviewer: Stewart Who?

Reviewed: 10th December 2022

North West End UK Rating: ★★★