Bianca Del Rio, Symphony Hall, Birmingham - review

Roy Haylock, better known by his stage name Bianca Del Rio the winner of Ru Paul's Drag Race Season 6, brought her brand new show Not Today, Satan! To Birmingham's Symphony Hall after sell out performances in Australia and America.

A quick PSA from Ru Paul herself introduced the show, telling all queens to "turn their damn phones off and get outta here with your audio and visual recordings" everyone sitting comfortably? It was time to be shocked.

Taking to the stage to a rolling drum beat and off-key music straight from hell Bianca Del Rio looking hellishly glamorous in a skin-tight, glittering black gown with sequin flame embellishments, larger-than-life make up and auburn hair higher than my hopes and dreams.

"First things first: Everything said here is a joke and you will be offended. If you're a fat girl, you're going to cry. If you're gay, you're going to cry. If you're a skinny white b**ch, f*** you!" shouted Del Rio boldly - doing my job and reviewing her show in seconds.

That is pretty much the only quote from the night that I feel is suitable to write - if you want to be shocked to your core and spend your night coupling belly laughs with gasps then Bianca Del Rio is the woman you need to see.

This humour is not shocking for the sake of shocking, Del Rio expertly weaves tales with intricate detail and charm to execute her punchlines.

"I don't spend time writing my shows, each day I get a post-it note and write something hateful on it and that is how my comedy is born" she tells the audience - that, I can believe.

No one is safe from Del Rio's bile - not Ru Paul, not Michelle Visage, not Lady Bunny and not her fellow queens as she reads them for filth, after all, they couldn't afford a ticket for her show so they can't hear.

"These are my sisters, and I love them" she says with a smirk crossing her face, surreptitiously sipping a glass of wine.

She has the audience so drawn in by this point that every movement from a flick of the eyes to throwing a bottle of water away has the audience giggling in their seats.

You don't need to know Drag Race inside out to enjoy Del Rio's live show however, she is more than her Drag Race win and is a stand-up comedian in her own right - bringing funny tales from her own life and interests following Drag Race into her routine.

From airport mishaps dressed in high drag, trashy TV and why it's ridiculous to hijinks promoting this very tour - Del Rio is hysterical whether insulting the innocent or not.

Before the show, the audience were encouraged to write questions cards to Bianca for her to answer - in the second half of the show she raised the lights and addressed the audience directly, and I was quaking for them.

Would she like to bite a chickens head off or have a chicken bite her finger off? What music does she get ready to? And will she sleep with various members of the audience? That's just some of the weird and wonderful messages Del Rio was faced with, and she answered the high pile in typical wicked humour.

She has a soft side however, one audience member asked if she could send a video message to her ill sister and she did in a heartbeat - then telling the audience she had met this lady before, when she served her at Coast to Coast and she invited her and her co-workers to her show after their wonderful service.

With my sides hurting and my jaw still on the flaw - Hurricane Bianca had hit me hard and I still wanted more. Bianca Del Rio's two hour show went by in the blink of an eye and had me rolling with laughter from start to finish.

By Becci Stanley