★★★
You’re invited to a party, because as Tomás says, when you’re Columbian, every minor occurrence means you have to have one, and you’re getting authentic Columbian lollies too! And with that Bepalo invites us into their world, showing us the most private and vulnerable parts of themselves. Everything is delivered with this enthusiastic masc energy; whether talking about their autism diagnosis, starting testosterone or dating mishaps.
Bepalo is less stand-up more performance art. There are sections of the show which felt more suited to experimental theatre, the blow-up balloon breasts spring to mind especially!
It was important to hear how Bepalo moved to the UK, in part, because of the poor LGBT+ rights record in Columbia, only now years later, to see the the same thing happen here!
It’s a sophisticated show, and it’s certainly not for everyone. It doesn’t have the machine-gun one-liner effect easy stand-up has. It’s a slow-burn, but it’s from a voice we desperately need to have amplified at the fringe.
The show plays out to a specially written song by the London Trans Choir, which ties together a vital piece of performance from an act with a lot of potential.
