Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales as The Vaudevillians, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre - review

The Vaudevillians centres around two eccentric vaudeville performers - Dr Dan Von Dandy and Kitty Witless, who were frozen in time following an avalanche during their Antarctic tour.

The pair were thawed out due to global warming nearly 100 years later, and to their horror, they have discovered that a plethora of contemporary artists have stolen their songs and made huge hits out of them.

The duo aim to take them back - giving them their 1920s style back alongside raucous comedy and a dazzling stage show.

Jinkx Monsoon is still evidently blessed with heaps of charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent that saw her crowned the winner in season five of RuPaul's Drag Race - as she took to the stage in a cinched, hot pink number.

The Seattle star proceeded to dance effortlessly across the stage, throwing herself onto a red velvet chaise lounge and jumping down into the splits at a moment's notice.

Her character Kitty Witless is a drug-fuelled flirt who voices The Vaudevillians; a role Jinkx took to like a duck to water as she straddled unwitting audience members, even dragging one young man on stage to take part in a terrifying chair dance ending with her performing a headstand from his crotch.

All of this entertainment on stage did not detract away from the queen's voice - Jinkx blazed through rousing covers of Madonna's Hey Mr DJ and Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, showcasing a jaw-dropping vocal range alongside her onstage antics.

These songs were played on the keys by composer Major Scales - who every bit embodied the 1920s vaudeville host as he jumped from one exaggerated pose and stage movement to the next, all with a wide grin plastered across his face.

Major's piano playing brought the songs to life - and amazed the audience as he made this impressive feat seem so easy as he interacted with the crowd and his co-star Jinkx all while playing complex melodies.

See a trailer for the show, coming to Birmingham Hippodrome on November 19, here:

Major notably had the audience in the palm of his hand throughout a heavily crowd-interactive version of DJ Kool's Let Me Clear My Throat - with Major dancing across the stage and through the crowd bathed in rainbow lights.

The Vaudevillians weaved comedy throughout their musical set - dedicating Britney Spears' Toxic to their late friend Marie Curie, telling tales of writing the sequel to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House with the theme song Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive, and regularly addressed the audience directly like stand-up comedians selecting their prey.

"How wonderful is it to be back Major, all those years ago I never would have thought I would be right here...In Stafford" Jinkx said with a straight face, to roaring laughter from the crowd.

"It's amazing to be here in England, especially Stafford, I'd never even heard of Stafford! Did you all know you had an accent? Its not just us Americans" Jinkx said, before showing off her best impression to a cheering crowd.

The pair only had to look at each other in a certain way, or pull the slightest facial expression before the audience were whooping and wailing for more.

After a quick costume change into a tuxedo and black, glittering gown respectively - The Vaudevillians performed 4 Non Blonde's What's Up as their finale, before receiving a unanimous standing ovation from the entire crowd within the theatre.

Jinkx Monsoon and Major Scales put on an utterly breathtaking show from start to finish - packed full of witty comedy, camp onstage theatrics and beautifully crafted songs that had the whole crowd hooked from start to finish.

I for one, am most pleased that The Vaudevillians are back from the past - ready to steal the show once more!