Stand up is hard. Character stand up is harder still. Drag character stand up is an additional layer of difficulty on top of this. Holly Stars (Death Drop) is therefore to be commended for having the bravery to bring this show to the Fringe.
Holly Stars: Justice for Holly, is an hour long narrative character comedy performance piece, telling the story of Holly’s recent past. She has been detained in a back room at Superdrug for attempting to shoplift lipsticks. How did she get here? Why is it absolutely not her fault?
Taking its title from a slogan used in a mid-90s newspaper campaign that arose from a Coronation Street storyline, this is a Northern story through and through.
Through the course of the hour, Holly regales us with an overblown narrative.
Simultaneously, she’s channelling Lily Savage, and Les Dawson and Roy Barraclough’s Ada & Cissie. The latter of these is a reference from popular culture that was, now, so long ago, only a very slim number of audience members are likely to be familiar with them.
The pop culture references are more overt too. Mentioning everything from “Chicken Tonight” to social media, the references span decades. Again, some of these reference points might well be unfamiliar to younger audience members.
The show is perhaps strongest in Holly’s deconstruction of the other characters in her world.
Whilst the labels Holly gives to some of these people are occasionally cruel, that is reflective of Holly’s character. Indeed, as the hour continues, it becomes increasingly apparent that it is almost certainly Holly who is herself the problem.
Despite being completely lacking in self-awareness, Holly manages to deliver her story with immense humour. There are a number of genuine laugh out loud moments. The narrative threads are well-woven, with early foreshadowing paying off in the closing minutes.
Holly Stars is a true old-school Northern drag act, and that northern-ness saturates the entire show. This material is well delivered, and it would be easy to overlook how clever the character work is.
Holly is the spirit of Ena Sharples reincarnated – just with language that is more familiar to a 2020s audience than one from the classic early years of Coronation Street.
Sharp, acidic, biting, but underlaid with warmth and humour, Holly Stars: Justice for Holly is a solid hour of stand up comedy.
Find out more about Holly and future shows here
Featured Image Credit: Matty Parks
