Temi Wilkey is chasing the spotlight – literally. She scurries to bask in its beam as it threatens to elude her before her “groundbreaking one-woman show” has even begun.
A fluffy white rug, velvet banquette and a feather-edged pink costume bring a boudoir, showgirl energy to the space. The show will be a vehicle for Wilkey’s talents and impeccable CV, she tells us, so she’ll finally get the acting parts she deserves. And Wilkey’s real CV is impressive, her first play The High Table won awards, she’s written on hit sitcom Sex Education, and performed live in her drag king persona.
Main Character Energy sets itself up as a serious drama, but the arch punchlines and deconstruction of stage tropes start rolling in immediately. We meet eight-year-old Temi, carrying her talentless classmates in the school play, then 12-year-old Temi, dreaming of a role in the Black sitcoms she watches every afternoon, craving attention from her doctor parents, scribbling her secrets in a fluffy purple diary. Finally, adult Temi is a classically trained actor – so why is she always sidelined into supporting roles?
Wilkey is co-founder of Pecs drag king collective and brings the messy, sexy energy of a late-night cabaret to Summerhall’s Roundabout. She lipsyncs to Shakespearean monologues, cavorts to a soundtrack of Anastacia, Amerie and Princess Nokia, and plays with the audience (a protracted staring competition is a hilarious highlight) as the facade of the show artfully crumbles.
In the controlled chaos, her inner thoughts interrupt: why does she crave attention? Is she always appealing to white institutions? Why is she still desperate to play Juliet even after the racist abuse aimed at Francesca Amewudah-Rivers ? But Wilkey catches herself; the show must go on: “This isn’t a show about race or oppression, it’s a show about me!”
Main Character Energy is the perfect send-up of the one-woman show – a playful, knowing and delightfully overdramatic hour.
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