If ever a piece of theatre was ahead of its time, it is Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Originally premiering in 1998, this transgender tale of a beautiful German boy who undertakes a botched gender reassignment operation in order to marry an American soldier and escape communist East Berlin, is a cautionary one.
Defining the show is difficult. Is it theatre? Is it a rock concert? Is it a stream of consciousness outpouring? Well it is all of these things but more than that, it is a dream showcase for the right performer. Thank goodness someone had the good sense to marry Hedwig with Divina De Campo. The role fits the Drag Race UK star like a glove. With her amazing three octave voice, De Campo inhabits Hedwig Robinson as the embittered performer plays the Rusholme Community Centre with her band The Angry Inch. Whilst her former songwriting partner, now turned megstar, Tommy Gnosis plays Old Trafford just a stones throw away. Gnosis is recovering from an accident which saw him crash his car whilst high and being given a blow job by Hedwig.
The story emerges that Hansel (Hedwig) suffered an abusive relationship with his mother, but inherited a love of Western rock music from her which made the young boy dream of escaping to the West and becoming a singer. On meeting the aforementioned soldier (and being conivnced to have the unfortunate surgery) a new life beckoned in Kansas. It was not to last, and now Hedwig tours with her band and her husband Yitzhak (a charismatic and mostly silent stooge, Elijah Ferreira). Her tortured existence constantly searching for 'the other one', a way of completing the person she needs to be.
Director Jamie Fletcher has pitched this show perfectly. He gives it a local flavour but never lets us forget this is a story of international borders, and repression. It is quite a dark journey but this is tempered with some bawdy humour (and endless blow job references) which keep us from descending into the depths of Hedwig's soul for too long. I have to confess that I have never watched Drag Race so I knew nothing of Divina De Campo. But this is a true star performance, De Campo commands the stage for one hour and forty minutes solid, delivering all the characters in Hedwig's life with aplomb. At times scary, vulnerable, fearsome and despondant - every beat is picked up on and expanded in De Campo's amazing performance.
The punk / glam score by Stephen Trask offers the intense rock soundscape the character demands. The on stage band (Alex Beetschen, Frances Bolley, Isis Dunthorne, Jess Williams) play with virtuosity and whip the audience to a frenzy as Hedwig veers out of control before emerging sans wig and outrageous outfits, as she finally finds peace and acceptance within herself.
Hedwig is in many ways not an easy piece, it demands some intelligence of the audience, but when it is so convincingly portrayed as it is here, the show becomes a mission statement for anyone who differs from the norm. I would hope this co-production between Leeds Playhouse and Manchester's HOME has a life outside the current engagement. If only that the stellar blaze of Divina De Campo's Hedwig can be experienced by a wider audience. Whilst Hedwig may have hit her rock bottom in Rusholme, De Campo has award winner written all over her for this blistering portrayal.
Rob Cope
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