The Christmas special comedy solo act coming to the Hult Center
“God is a Scottish Drag Queen,” comes to the Hult Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 14. Mike Delamont discussed his solo theatrical comedy performance in an interview with The Torch.
In the show, Delamont, in a floral suit and Scottish brogue, takes good-spirited aim at society, pop culture and more.
Delamont opened up about his favorite parts of playing God in Scottish drag, keeping his material fresh and relevant over the years, and the fine art of crafting jokes that land well with a diverse audience.
For the past 18 years, Delamont has been fine-tuning his character and performances, which are “a theatrical show and not just a stand up comedy show,” he said, and while “people aren’t entirely sure what they are getting into when they walk in the door” he thinks “when they leave they’ve had a really lovely experience.”
Delamont continued, “When we go to a town for the first time, audiences are a little ‘I don’t know what this is’ and ‘What is this gonna be?’ and when we go back we have quite a supportive audience when we return, because everybody kind of gets it.”
Delamont said some of his favorite aspects of bringing his theatrical comedy to audiences are “I really like the whole, a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down — you know, being able to deal with very silly topics but also very current and very big topics in a comedy setting is always a really nice way to broach it with a lot of people,” he said. “So that’s been an exciting way to have a show, and to be able to send a bit of a message of hope.”
He added, “You can do a lot of things with comedy, so I think that’s become my favorite thing.”
Although Delamont is a solo act on stage, he does have behind-the-scenes help. “Every year, my wife and I write a new hour of material and that gets folded in for jokes that just by the simple world we live in have expired,” he said.
“Hopefully the audience is never aware of the amount of work that goes into a show that feels very off the cuff, but there is a lot of work that goes into making it seem very accidental.”
Though Delamont admitted that “the title does scare some people,” he also said that “It’s certainly very biblically sound, so for a lot of people if they grew up going to Sunday school or attending church at all, it kind of feels like there is another layer of the show that they can appreciate.” However, “if you have no experience with religion at all, all the stories are broad enough that you can access it,” he said.
As for the type of crowds “God is a Scottish Drag Queen” typically draws, “the audience that the show has, has become quite diverse,” Delamont said. “So you see a bunch of very traditional, slightly older theater folks, you see a lot of couples where the husband has been dragged to an evening of theater because he’s been told it’s a comedy, and then you have a wonderful, young queer community that is seeing something I think in the hopes that it will be supportive and a safe space because you don’t see a lot of comedy shows that can be accessible to a young queer audience and an older very straight audience.”
Delamont said the show gives “a place where everyone can just come and have a laugh, there’s no punching down, there’s no belittling…”
He said he thinks that for some people in “different communities, in the devout community and all these different communities, having, you know, a deity of whatever you believe in, in front of a crowd of people say, ‘You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be in life and you’re, you’re OK. Everything will be OK. You’re loved and you’re safe.’”
After all, Delamont said he doesn’t care one way or another whether you are showing up more for the God or the drag queen parts of the show title.
He said, “I think in this day where there is so much anger and hatred and vitriol that to just have anyone say, you know, it’s OK. You’re safe and we’ll make it out the end of the tunnel.”
He said in a comedy show, that kind of support is not really expected. “So I hope that folks take a risk and come for an evening of comedy and then leave with something a little more. That’s my hope,” he said.
Mike Delamont’s God is a Scottish Drag Queen Christmas Special will be at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts Soreng Theater on 7:30 pm Dec 14
Tickets start at $39 and can be purchased in advance at https://hultcenter.org/events/god-is-a-scottish-drag-queen/
