Express & Star

Courtney Act, Pizza Express Live, Birmingham - review

Seated in the unassuming upstairs lounge of Brindley Place's Pizza Express - my best friends and I were ready to be transported on a magical journey to Oz.

Published
Courtney Act

There'll be no wicked witches on this journey - Drag Race alumni Courtney Act brought her magical musical show to Birmingham to take the audience on a journey through the musical offerings her homeland of Australia has to offer.

"How are you doing tonight Birmingham! Let me just grab these shoes - it looks like a house has fell on Bianca Del Rio!" This queen isn't relying on her body-ody-ody anymore, she's packed full of quick wit and a charming charisma that endeared her to the crowd instantly.

Courtney knows how to control a room and entertain thoroughly. With various glamorous costume changes, entering the stage on Ruby red roller skates, dancing across tables and more - Courtney never lost the audience's attention once.

"I'm being held together by various different adhesives Birmingham! One that's like paper and one that's from like a hardware store - what's one in England? - B&Q that's it! Yeah and it glues tiles to buildings" Courtney laughed.

What commanded the most authority was Courtney's voice. With and range of suave lows and glass-shattering highs, Courtney raised the hairs on every audience member's arms and enjoyed rousing applause after every single song.

Starting on lifting cover Xanadu through to her heartbreak song melt featuring Gotye, Natalie Imbruglia and a melancholy cover of Staying Alive - Courtney took the audience not only on a journey of Australia but also an emotional one.

At 9.59pm Courtney joined venues across the UK in a minute silence to honour those in the Manchester attacks - followed by a a minute of noise to fight the silence terror tries to bring. A spine-tingling ovation followed, Courtney brought with her a message and that message was to spread love and power to all.

Following her exit, she rushed back into the stage

"You didn't think I'd leave without doing a Kylie medley did you?!"

And a new journey ensued, with Locomotion and Can't Get You Out of my Head blended in perfect harmony, with Courtney dancing through the stage.

Courtney is no longer just the singing queen from Ru Paul's Drag Race season six - Courtney is now a powerhouse of talent and variety wrapped in a beautiful package, that rocked Birmingham to its core.