Apocalypse HOW? – Dublin Fringe Festival – Review
by Brian Merriman

Presented by Doomslayers: Annie Queeries, Donna Fella and Laylah Beattie
Dublin Castle Royal Chapel until September 14th at 20.30 hours

Duration 80 minutes

So the end is nigh, and it doesn’t really bother our all-singing/dancing cabaret drag trio that much. Their accomplices make a good effort to set the scene outside with the queue to drum up an end-is-nigh atmosphere. Passports were issued to all for the bottom bunker, exclusively for the LGBT+ community, as the straights were herded into Aras an Uachtarain with a task to procreate again… if they survived?

Billed as a comedy cabaret, it is more Panto with a point. The point comes out of the blue when a pew and spotlight are used to bring us behind the drag personas, two being drag, one being a trans performer. The message shared is that even when you are facing a personal apocalypse by being ostracised for being LGBT+, you can still prevail.

There is no natural flow to the dialogue, and a lot of sighing in the delivery slows the pace from an advertised 60 minutes to around 80.  The beautiful Royal Chapel is referred to as a dry venue. It needs to be a wet one for this show. The audience is set too far back from the raised area (altar), and the three queens use a lot of drag energy, show tunes and glamour to draw in and involve the audience throughout. They sing live and belt out a few familiar show tunes, some with new lyrics. I felt the venue gave them almost an impossible task. It jarred with the narrative, and the physical limitations made them have to work all the harder. They did.

The plot is as thin as a tissue that was stretched between cabaret and testimonial. There are three insights into trans, depression, and not fitting in, sincerely delivered. But it didn’t relate to the irreverent mayhem of the more upbeat, energetic scenes. The script needs work, and the presentation needs to flow tightly to achieve its theatrical ambitions.

There was a lot of warmth coming from the stage and the audience, and if you show your ticket at Doom (Pizza) Slice on the show day, you’ll qualify for a special meal deal and cocktail. A tighter script and a strong director would add a lot to this comic cabaret concept. Nevertheless, the enthusiastic audience mixed with the onstage exuberant drag energy will appeal to many.

Apocalypse HOW? – Presented by Doomslayers: Annie Queeries, Donna Fella and Laylah Beattie

Originated in The Doomsday Podcast
Sound by Alan Porter
Lighting by Hannah Bevan
Dublin Castle Royal Chapel until September 14th at 20.30 hours