Death Drop: Back In The Habit Review (Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield, Personal)

 🌟 Death Drop: Back In The Habit 🌟

14 January 2023 at 8:00pm at Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

Death Drop: Back In The Habit is certainly a force to be reckoned with! The Queens are back, and they are raunchier and riskier than we have ever seen them! The first instalment of the Death Drop saga is set within the walls of a grand, illustrious manor, whereas this indirect sequel transforms the typical murder mystery into a quirky horror show that parodies some of our most loved horror films, from It to Scary Movie. Some pop culture references (such as Mr Blobby and Byker Grove) went slightly over my head, due to my age, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment any less, all ages have plenty to love (advised probably 16+ though!). Set in the dingy confides of St Babs’ convent, the nuns are enslaved by the spirits that haunt their grounds. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of horror, very easily scared! But apart from the occasional scene that sets your heart racing, there aren’t many jump scares, for those of the faint of heart.

For fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, myself included, this is an absolutely stellar line-up of performers, with the edition of LoUis CYfer, a drag king act, to really contradict the superiority of the feminine roles. The show also serves as a wonderful tribute to some of the most iconic LGBTQ+ moments of the past century. Transitions featured instrumental songs from the artists that have helped to define the queer community through the decades. Even as we waited in the auditorium, a cleverly crafted playlist featuring religion-themed songs created a wonderful atmosphere, the subtle details that just really impress as soon as I entered the Lyceum’s main space.

The content was HILARIOUSLY funny, almost constant humour where you could cry from laughing, my only complaint about the show is that it made my face hurt from laughing too much! Though the moments of suspense allowed the structure to be broken, and relieve before an over extensive use of comedy. These laugh out loud moments would occasionally feature the actors bursting into unscripted and uncontained moments of laughter, because of jokes with the audience, or with one another onstage. I found this really humanising, and there was something so charming about them stepping out of their roles and showing even more hilarity behind the script, their professionalism trying to get back into character very humorous in itself.

The standout performance of the night for me was from the ever engaging Victoria Scone, or Mother Superior, as we knew her for the night. Her role as Mother didn’t go amiss, with a very authoritarian presence that you seriously wouldn’t want to mess with. Additionally, after the show I had the pleasure of meeting the fabulous Cheryl Hole and Kitty Scott Claus (Sister Mary Berry and Sis Titis respectively) after the show, their warmth and appreciativeness of us enjoying the play was just delightful, quite literally starstruck!

There aren’t many shows like Death Drop: Back In The Habit. A horror-comedy about a convent of drag nuns fighting evil forces while celebrating what it is to be yourself. Tell me another show that gives you that!

You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @jackdavxy