The Simple Life and Death, Pleasance London Review
Written by Becky K for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Serving laughs, style and a whole lot of sass, drag queens ShayShay Konno and Fizz Sinclair slayed all evening at The Pleasance Theatre in The Simple Life & Death. Packed with jokes, physical comedy and iconic pop-culture references, this camp murder mystery is a delightfully silly evening.
Paris Hilton (ShayShay Konno) and Nicole Richie (Fizz Sinclair) make their comeback to The Simple Life, but this time there’s a murder. Paris must gather up her detective skills, interrogate her celebrity suspects, and find the killer while making sure her vibes stay chic. Driving the narrative, Konno hilariously captured Paris Hilton and did a great job at working the crowd. Similarly, Sinclair had the multi-rolling task of performing different drag personas, with each one being a worthy winner of a RuPaul’s Drag Race Snatch Game. A highlight for me was her Cheryl persona, paying homage to all of her most-loved memes throughout the years (it was on point Pet!).
It was clear from Konno’s writing that they understood their audience. Every joke proved popular with the crowd, with consistent cheers and hand clicking throughout the performance. While there was a risk of too many references being crammed into a show, they did a brilliant job at making sure each joke had the comedic timing and space to land, with each gag moving effortlessly to the next. The clever structuring of the show helped make sure no references were lost, and all worked well with the narrative.
I particularly enjoyed the physical sequences of the show. From Paris’ ‘Nepotism by Paris’ fragrance ad to Cheryl’s diva dance about Greggs, the physical material delivered. It was also nice to see both of them enjoying the performance, not being shy to giggle at themselves and laugh with the audience.
The Simple Life & Death will be at The Pleasance Theatre until 7th December. If you enjoy all things campy, get yourself a ticket to the most glamorous murder mystery of the year. Plus, It’s heavily encouraged to get dressed up in your favourite Y2K gear, so make sure you’re in your double denim, rhinestones and cargo pants to add to the magic.
★★★★
