Salon Mika and Black Faggot are turning heads as part of a massive New Zealand line-up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Scotsman’s reviewer Kelly Apter says “I must have been living under a Fringe rock for the past seven years, because Salon Mika was my first encounter with the Maori singing sensation. Dressed in killer heels and an array of dazzling consumes (worth the ticket price on their own), he belts out an eclectic range of songs, interspersed by truly hilarious banter, tender love stories and the occasional splits." EdinburghGuide.com says “Mika was last here more than 10 years ago but he returned again today like an extinction event meteorite hitting Edinburgh,” and “It's brazen, brassy and ballsy.” The Scotsman says Black Faggot is “alternately touching and hilarious” and “The energy is relentless, and under Roy Ward’s deft direction each vignette flows into the next with physical dexterity and cracking comic timing.” British Theatre Guide says “This is a powerful play that through humour challenges our perceptions of what it must be like being gay. It is performed with energy and total conviction and delivers a persuasive and compelling message.” The lauded Victor Rodger penned play is a series of comedy monologues exploring the gay Samoan male experience. It first appeared as part of the 2013 Auckland Pride Festival and Auckland Fringe Festival. The show enjoyed three weeks of sold-out houses and rave reviews in Brisbane, Wellington and Auckland.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 6th August 2014 - 10:57am