Anna Burnside reviews a set from 'a likeable performer'.
Lee, draped in a pastel plaid pashmina, welcomes us into his show. It’s the Princess Diana tartan, cynically created to part Asian and gay tourists from those sweet strong pink currencies. So of course he has bought it.
This is a highly personal show, tracing Lee’s childhood as an Asian American whose mother worked for Entertainment Weekly. His fairy tales were full of lurid tabloid details about the beautiful English princess growing up in a cruel cold family in their multiple castles.
Disney is his other love, and there are spoofs of various songs from films that went whizzing straight over my head.
Other material, about his brutal father, his chaotic dating life and side hustle as a D&D Dungeon Master do not need so much googling. He’s a high-energy performer, sweet and self-deprecating about his toxic trait of dating white men with his dad’s personality.
Although his sexual partners don’t almost drown him at baby swimming class.
Lee is a likeable performer who manages to make his material relatable but also extremely specific. And educational, for those not fully conversant with the Disney canon and gay sex positions. At the fringe, every day is a school day.
Otter Lee: Princess Syndrome performs at Just the Tonic at Cabaret Voltaire from 1530-1630 until August 25, 2024.
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