Jordan Gray: Is it a Bird? At London Palladium Review

Reviewed by Beth Cowan 

This was the first performance I had seen at the palladium but I know this is definitely not the usual type of show to see at this venue. Jordan Gray is a transgender comedian who has appeared in many tv and fringe productions including Friday night dinner and the Voice! Her comedy style is silly, outrageous and raunchy accompanied by her marvellously witty musical talent. The set was very bare when I sat down with my popcorn (I’ve never seen popcorn in a theatre before??) so I was intrigued to see how Jordan would use the space- there was a huge telephone box in the middle. 4 black crate boxes on the floor and a keyboard in the corner. The crates were never used in the show so I was a little confused at why they were there, perhaps it was a venue thing? But anyway, you’re not here to hear about crates. JORDAN! She was full of life and just a huge bundle of energy who really knew how to use her body, she was unafraid to contort and bounce around in an awkwardly endearing kind of way and she found many creative ways to use the space. She would Stand up on her seat to play keyboard and she was spiralling all over as well as sitting and crouching, so even though it was the palladium stage, it didn’t feel huge.

There were moments that I felt she was overly humble- GIRL YOU ARE ON THE LONDON PALLADIUM STAGE, OWN IT! But perhaps it was just nerves, there was a lot of indirect apologising if a joke didn’t get a large reaction or if something was a little unexpected- this occasionally worked with her sort of fresh of the fringe vibe but I think that it sometimes made the audience feel like they needed to support her more than we felt compelled to, saying this she was utterly hilarious so there was no bomb/fall flat moments, it was simply a fluctuating energy- The show is called “Jordan Gray: is it a bird?”- now this is a clever title, because the set is pretty much all about superheroes… so utilising the famous ‘is a bird is it a plane?’ phrase, paired with the more colloquial use of the word bird, Jordan plays on the idea that people ask if she is a bird, aka woman. This got a huge laugh when she explained this title as many people, including myself, hadn’t clocked onto that double entendre. The jokes themselves were funny and well thought out, with excellent callbacks and Jordan clearly has a remarkable talent for storytelling, although the structure of the show felt wrong- the first act was over in the blink of an eye, I hadn’t even really begun to fall in love with her or the performance before it was time for intermission. This was disappointing but luckily this made me want to come back for act 2, so maybe it’s a clever tactic :))

The second half was much longer with much more going on, more music, more technical creativity and (SPOILER!!!!!) a real live animal! So it was definitely more filled out. The music in the show was my favourite, I loved the song “Jesus was a zombie”, that was my favourite- now I did enjoy the finale song however I felt it was a bit misplaced as it’s ends in quite a sad and serious way, it almost felt like it needed to be somewhere in the middle of act 2 so that the audience had time to get excited again for a big fabulous finish! It worked out in the end because Jordan did a lot of crowd work after the show, taking a big photo with the crowd and bringing friends onto the stage- but it would be interesting to see if there is a better way to structure the show as a whole so that the emotional journey flows smoother. There is full nudity in the show, which worked wonderfully it was the perfect grand reveal at the end and helped her call back to the superhero theme as this was her super-suit, so witty and on brand, I loved it. Overall I had a great experience and would definitely see Jordan Gray again!

Rating: 4/5

This was a one night only performance so there is no ticket price or link available but check out Jordan Gray @talldarkfriend for upcoming shows as well as LWtheatres.co.uk for more info on the palladium’s upcoming performances!