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Delamont plays god for laughs in Nanaimo show

‘God is a Scottish Drag Queen’ coming to VIU’s Malaspina Theatre
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Victoria comedian Mike Delamont’s one-man show, God is a Scottish Drag Queen , comes to VIU’s Malaspina Theatre on Jan. 26 and 27. (Photo courtesy Derek Ford)

Mike Delamont loves to play God.

For more than a decade the Victoria-based comedian has been donning a dress and a wig on stage to portray the deity in the form of a Scottish cross-dresser.

What started as a recurring character at Victoria’s Atomic Vaudeville cabaret in 2006 has transformed into a globetrotting one-man show that sells about 50,000 tickets a year, God is a Scottish Drag Queen.

“I thought, ‘Well, I’ve done enough sketches with this one character, I think I have some material there,’ so it just seemed the most logical to me,” Delamont said of developing his character into a full-length stage show.

“I didn’t think that people would like it as much as they do, so I certainly didn’t think 10 years ago that I’d still be playing the character, but I like it now. It’s let me see the world.”

This past September Delamont debuted the sequel, God is a Scottish Drag Queen: The Second Coming, in Victoria and has since toured through Western Canada and parts of the United States. He returns to Vancouver Island for a pair of shows at VIU’s Malaspina Theatre on Jan. 26 and 27.

Delamont describes the show as “an evening with God” commenting on creation.

“We realized when I wrote the first one that I just kind of scratched the surface,” Delamont said of the original run.

“I thought, ‘This’ll be it, nobody’ll want [any] more.’ So when people did and I started writing I realized there’s so much more to cover… It runs the gamut from Mormons to platypuses.”

Delamont didn’t grow up in a religious household, so his primary exposure to the church came from British satire. He said it helps that his co-writer, who happens to be his wife, does have a religious background.

“All of the religious figures that I saw were in comedy, like people playing vicars like Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie and Monty Python. I thought that people in the church were very funny growing up. I didn’t know that it was a serious thing,” he said.

He said the title of the show is the most blasphemous part and he’s had positive feedback from men and women of the cloth.

And for those unable to attend a show in person, Delamont is launching a God is a Scottish Drag Queen podcast starting on Easter Sunday in which he flips through the Bible and sets the record straight.

“The character’s going to comment on things and edit and explain what was happening at the time,” he said.

“I thought it would be for those that don’t want to go to church. They can enjoy a little bit of the Bible from their home.”

WHAT’S ON … God is a Scottish Drag Queen: The Second Coming come to VIU’s Malaspina Theatre on Friday, Jan. 26 and Saturday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $29, $15 for students at theatreone.org or 250-754-7587.



arts@nanaimobulletin.com

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