If you were expecting a drag act, you are * some what* wrong. KINDER, while all the posters would tell you so, seems as if we are embarking on a drag act, we are in fact embarking on something a lot more.

KINDER is a deep and emotional production based on a drag artist at a time when their plans completely change. Instead of their debut on stage as their drag performance, they are in fact booked for a reading hour at the local library with children. What this triggers is a monologued production, with elements of high quality lip syncing performance, reflecting on a personal childhood and the state of children and families going forward.

The storytelling is deep and personal. We feel privileged to be part of something so sensitive and in a clearly vulnerable place. While the story is told, Stewart is slowly changing into a new outfit, looking through newly moved boxes, finding things that trigger a memory or an opinion. We learn a lot about them and how they came to be, while they also talk out loud their personal opinions and wants for the future. We feel close to Stewart, and they do speak to every one of us in that room. There are occasional moments of comedy, in the way that you find in a conversation, but this isn’t really meant to be that production, or so it would seem.

The lip-syncing moments are fierce and very professional – these injections liven and break up the monologue, much in a way that Shakespeare would use a light relief in one of his serious plays. Stewart easily commands the stage and takes up the space, not allowing your eyes to wander elsewhere. So, when we return to the one sided discussion, they suddenly seem a little lost in the space, and the tidying or searching becomes a little monotonous an action.

KINDER is a bit of a mismatch of a production – it has really strong moments, such as the lip syncing parts or the beginning of the artists vulnerability, but this sadly becomes a bit of the same, losing our attention and wanting something a bit more.