Glamrou: Drag Mother
Soho Theatre from 20th to 25th January
Glamrou – aka Amrou Al-Kadhi – returns to the Soho Theatre from 20th to 25th January for the first time in five years with their most autobiographical show to date; the key character of their award-winning memoir, LIFE AS A UNICORN (Harper Collins), this show finally explores the relationship with their Muslim mother on stage.
This tale of two mothers sees renowned Iraqi drag queen Glamrou face renowned Iraqi queen, Glamrou’s mother, after years of separation and savagery, fighting for the spotlight with their competing narratives of “WHAT REALLY HAPPENED,” and who suffered the most.
Amrou’s mother is the inspiration behind their drag persona, Glamrou – a way to honour the inherently camp femininity of their mother, preserving the bits of their mother they held so dear as a queer child. Raised with conservative beliefs, she often rejected Amrou for their queerness later in life; Glamrou became a way to liberate their mother from the shackles of conservative expectations.
This show sees Amrou finally become their mother, oscillating between Glamrou and mother – both in identical drag. Mirroring Amrou’s experiences, they confront each other onstage with Glamrou initially thinking that their mother’s severe reaction to their queerness was hatred, and then discovering that really, it was due to deep seated internal issues stemming from her strict religious upbringing. As Amrou wrote about in their book, when Amrou confronted their mother about why she hated them being a drag queen so much, she said: “it’s awful being a woman. I am so jealous that you were born a man…and you’ve wasted it dressing like a woman. I would kill to have the freedom that you have.” This show explores the pressures of Muslim womanhood and how it interacts with the freedom, femininity and complexities of a Muslim drag queen,
A comedy show that features live music, fresh trauma and live delusion, DRAG MOTHER will explore Glamrou and Glamrou‘s mother’s resentment of one another, discover if a reconciliation between them is really possible and find out whether they can finally realise that they are the same queen in many ways! All whilst pointing fun at the long-seated cultural relationship between the gay community and cruel, camp woman. This show will make Glamrou’s mother the Disney villain / hero she was always destined to be.
Amrou Al-Kadhi is a British-Iraqi writer, filmmaker, and performer, whose work primarily focuses on queer identity, cultural representation, and racial politics. Their directorial debut feature film LAYLA premiered in competition at Sundance and was released in UK through Curzon on 22nd November, alongside a string of international sales in the US and throughout Europe. It received a 4-star review in The Observer, and rave reviews at Sundance.
Amrou has several other feature films and original TV series in development in both the UK and US with companies including Fifth Season, Pulse Films, South of the River Pictures, and The Forge.
They are an internationally renowned drag performer by the name of Glamrou, having sold out The Soho Theatre in London for many years, and performing Glastonbury with Florence and the Machine the year that she headlined; they toured their critically acclaimed solo show GLAMROU: FROM QURAN to QUEEN around America in 2022. Their new solo drag show, GLAMROU: DRAG MOTHER, is playing in the main space of Soho Theatre on January 20th-25th 2025, before embarking on an American tour in March 2025. This new show focuses on the relationship between Arab Drag Queen Glamrou and their conservative Muslim mother (who is also in a way a drag queen); exploring generational trauma, womanhood, femininity and parental resentment, it will encompass live music, love comedy, and live rage.
They’ve written a number of episodes of Hollyoaks, as well as the finale for the BAFTA-nominated Little America for Apple TV+ with Stephen Dunn, which The Hollywood Reporter described as one of the best 10 episodes of television in 2020. Amrou also wrote an episode for The Watch for BBC America, based on the Discworld Novels of Sir Terry Pratchett.
Amrou has written/directed four short films, which have screened at Oscar and BAFTA qualifying festivals around the world, and have been distributed by Peccadillo Pictures, PBS, BBC4, NOWNESS, BFI Player and Revry. They are represented by Independent Talent and CAA.
Listings Information
Show: Glamrou: Drag Mother
Dates: 20th to 25th January 2025
Time: 9.15pm
Venue: Soho Theatre: Main Room
Address: 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE
Price: £10 – £19