Skip to content

‘God is a Scottish Drag Queen’ coming to the South Okanagan

Comedian Mike Delamont’s show opens on March 14 at Venables Theatre in Oliver.
20566831_web1_200219-PWN-God-is-a-Scottish-Drag-Queen-Flare-Poster_2

Have you ever looked to the sky and wondered, what does God look like?

According to Canadian comedian Mike Delamont, God is, in fact, a Scottish drag queen.

And he’s coming to Oliver on March 14.

“It’s going to be so much fun,” said Venables Theatre manager Leah Foreman. “It’s hilarious. He has presented all over the country, and he has just been raved about. Everyone loved him.”

‘God’ didn’t start off Scottish, but English instead, during Delamont’s time at the Atomic Vaudeville show. The character grew out of a secondary role in a sketch on Jesus and Satan having a battle of the bands for supremacy.

“When we first put the character together, I wore a bright, fiery wig, and used a thick English accent,” said Delamont. “People didn’t enjoy it as much as I did. So I said I can fix it, I can fix it. The next show I traded out the red wig for a black bob wig, switched from an English accent to a Scottish accent, and it really let people in on the joke.”

That sketch was created back in 2006, with the first show of God is a Scottish Drag Queen produced in 2011. It has been successful, with multiple sequel shows since, including a Christmas special.

Jokes ranging from why God has a soft spot for monkeys to apologizing for creating redheads, and beyond.

READ MORE: Four hands, 20 fingers and one grand piano at Venables Theatre

“The nice thing about this character in the show that’s coming there, is we talk about very biblical things, like Noah, and Adam and Eve, and then we talk about Star Wars and Patrick Swayze,” said Delamont.

“My wife and I write the shows together. When we wrote the show that’s coming through the Okanagan, I thought the show will be all about the big questions people have wanted to ask God. I’ll talk about evolution, Adam and Eve, those big things. The idea of the character of God is very human, very aware, makes mistakes, is petty sometimes and very happy with other things.”

Delamont’s interpretation of God is also formed around an unconventional view of one of the most iconic images of God, Michelangelo’s painting in the Sistine Chapel.

“A lot of people don’t think about it, but God in that painting is wearing a really gentle pink kind of negligee,” said Delamont. “It’s a very simple, pink frock, and he looks so angry in the painting. We really liked this idea that he was a really angry, aggressive man that had a lot to say but could wear this very gentle, very simple and quaint little outfit. That was the original inspiration for it.”

Since then, Delamont added, it has also become part of a conversation one what dressing effeminately means, bringing up examples of cultures that are considered incredibly masculine and their traditional garb. Two of his examples were Scots and their kilts, and the Roman soldiers wearing, “leather pleated skirts as they conquered half the world” as he described them.

The comedy is open for all audiences, no matter their familiarity with the bible.

One of Delamont’s test runs included a show where his wife’s aunt, a missionary for 30 years, was in the audience.

“I looked down in the middle of the show, and she’s just crying with laughter,” said Delamont. “I realized that if you’ve grown up with these stories, if you’ve grown up with any kind of Sunday school or any kind of church, there’s so much you’ll get out of it. But if you’ve never even read the book before, and all you know are simple stories everyone knows, you’ll still have a great time.”

The one-man show opens at 7:30 p.m. on March 14 at the Venables Theatre.

God is a Scottish Drag Queen is presented by Venables Theatre with the support of the Community Presenters Assistance Program. Tickets are $30. For more information visit www.venablestheatre.ca.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

<>

@PentictonNews
newstips@pentictonwesternnews.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.