Panti Bliss in Panti: High Heels in Low Places. Image via Midsumma Festival.
Early in this 90-minute one-woman show, Irish drag queen Panti Bliss described herself as a modern-day court jester, speaking out from the fringes, pointing out truths that society shies away from. She rose to international fame (or notoriety, depending on one’s views) doing just that a few years ago, when publicly describing several individuals as homophobic. These people, whom she described as having actively campaigned for gays and lesbians to be treated differently to others, threatened legal action, but support for Panti’s stand came from far and wide, including the Irish Parliament and Madonna.
This furore, which became known as Pantigate, was a key tale in Panti: High Heels in Low Places, in which the ironically self-described Queen of Ireland and National (expletive!) Treasure reflected on the highs and lows of her life on the fringes. In a glittering, figure-hugging red dress, luxuriant blonde curls and heels that added several centimetres to her already imposing height, Panti was glamorous, witty and bawdy. This was the very entertaining packaging for a whole lot of thought-provoking observations about gender identity, sexuality, free speech and acceptance.
Strutting about the stage, she told of encounters with ‘tranny chasers’ (men who are attracted to trans women); her subversion of society’s classification of women as peacocks and men as dull and stoic; her frustration with expectations that all men must like field sports (Panti Bliss’s non-stage self is gay man Rory O’Neill). This prompted a hilarious and wonderfully illustrative substitution of ‘crochet’ for ‘football’, resulting in obsessive discussions about the ‘stitch of the day’ and the wives and girlfriends of great crochet exponents. Arguably the highlight of the evening was Panti’s tale from about 20 years ago when she was invited onto an American chat show for a ‘back to boy’ transformation. She and the friend posing as her sister had outrageous fun subverting the show’s questionable gender politics.
A few clips from this TV program are the only visual support in High Heels in Low Places. Otherwise it was all Panti, who kept the audience enthralled with a funny, intelligent and well-honed performance, and an effortless stage presence that she frequently carried into the audience. Striding up the aisles, she chatted with several people about their relationships and asked the audience to raise their hands according to sexual orientation. In another context this could easily seem intrusive and an unnecessary act of labelling, but as part of this show about accepting yourself and others for who they are, Panti’s gentle audience exposé added to the sense that we were here to think differently.
Emphatically demonstrating that there’s a lot more to this drag queen than false eyelashes and a talent for lip-synching (which Panti revealed in a heartfelt finale), High Heels in Low Places is an inspiring and inspired tour de force.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Panti: High Heels in Low Places
Written and performed by Panti Bliss
Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne, 2-4 February 2017
Midsumma Festival 2017
