Picture: Harry Elletson
Jonny Woo: Suburbia continues at Main Hall at Summerhall until 25 August 2025.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
A screen. Dance music plays. Taped broadcasts of Thatcher define the era.
Enter Jonny Woo, redolent in a stunning dress, who mimes to a couple of numbers. Is this it? A miming show?
No. That’s just the preamble. In Suburbia, he shares pivotal moments in a life which has made him the gay icon he is: from beginnings in grey Kentish suburbia and his first sexual experience at school to drugged-filled adventures in 1990s New York. All punctuated by rousing self-penned songs. And a myriad dresses (there’s a story to them too).
He’s disarmingly frank. Funny, catty, poignant, at times shocking, but through it all shines an honesty. His momentary comments on HIV strip all flamboyance away. His prose writing is exquisite, almost poetic, and his singing voice powerfully Shirley Bassey-esque.
He’s a commanding presence. It’s an open-hearted show, not for the faint-hearted, in which he bares all – in more ways than one. And the ending is… well… outrageous. But ultimately life-affirming.
James Bryce
SHARE THIS POST:
Comments are closed.