Bi-Curious George, Queer Planet review: Celebrating the majesty of the natural world, in all its queer glory
We can’t get enough of nature programmes. Even when it feels like all of them have been done — Blue Planet, 2 Blue 2 Planet, Even Bluer Planet — there’s always some corner of the globe as yet undocumented, or some phenomenon we’re seeing for the first time.
Well, queerness in nature is certainly nothing new; it’s just been pretty deliberately overlooked and misconstrued for yonks. But now drag king and nature expert Bi-Curious George is here, clad in a practical utility vest and rainbow knee-high socks, with a different perspective: to foster an uplifting, overwhelmingly joyful celebration of queerness and sexual fluidity in the natural world. It’s Queer Planet.
From dolphin orgies to seahorse pregnancies to six hour long snail sex, we travel through the animal kingdom at breakneck speed (less so for the snails) to meet a series of creature characters who shatter the heteronormative binaries with which we’ve been taught to view the world. I’m loathe to spoil any of the surprises that emerge from backstage, because not knowing what was coming was part of the fun for me, but it’s an hour of riotous fun where the unexpected keeps happening minute after minute and I now know how to say “come hither” in bonobo language.
George is a glorious host: confident and engaging, knowledgeable to the extreme, pumping out facts (so surprising that they elicit an audible “really?!” from one fascinated audience member) and teaching in a way a lot of educators could learn from.
The audience interaction that runs throughout the show is deftly handled, encouraging participation of varying levels so as never to exceed anyone’s level of comfort. Much like in the animal world, there’s wooing, there’s dancing, there’s flying, there’s even a bit of eating.
An emotional through-line about a pair of gay penguins ties the separate vignettes together, and almost brings a tear to the eye. Only almost though, because we’re quickly whipped into the world of an albatross overcoming his insecurities and leaving loneliness behind, to the sounds of Robyn and Nelly Furtado. Honestly, I can’t emphasise enough just how much fun this is.
You could very easily sit through an hour of these vignettes in the way David Attenborough does it, but there’s more to it than that. Yes, it’s about the animals, but we’re animals too and everything we learn is a reflection of the majesty of the queer community. It’s a balm for our little gay souls, and a recognition of the necessity of the queer oases we inhabit in an environment that grows increasingly hostile.
The endless creativity of this show, from the writing to the costumes, and George’s layering of multiple aspects of performance — drag, comedy, storytelling, burlesque — surely derive from its development in these spaces and the queerness of the show’s whole team, showing just how vital they are.
Queer Planet is so packed with ideas that I fully believe George has plenty more of these characters tucked away in the many pockets of their utility vest. Is that Queer Planet 2 I spot on the horizon? Please?
Bi-Curious George: Queer Planet is on tour until March 22nd, with dates in Nottingham, Guildford, Margate, London, Halifax and Bristol. Tickets here.
