REVIEW: Nigel Farage Is My Sugar Daddy - “Not White Enough”: Identity, Irony, and Immigration

Whether you’re looking for a drag show, a talk show, or something more tragic, especially touching on the struggles of Asian immigrants, Nigel Farage Is My Sugar Daddy is the show for you.

Asian drag artist Mild Peril's Nigel Farage Is My Sugar Daddy is less a simple drag show and more a bitterly ironic commentary on immigration, especially Asian immigration. Even as the audience laughs heartily, certain lines are bound to strike a chord with expatriates. Mild illustrates the awkward predicament of an immigrant from a former British colony by sharing stories of their early life in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. From the inability to trace their family history to their father who still holds onto traditional Chinese values, and their mother who strives to integrate into British society, and unusual Hong Kong-style English names to the fact that despite speaking with a British accent and being able to present British humour naturally, he is never considered ‘white’ enough, and few people can pronounce their Chinese name correctly.

How to be a “good” immigrant seems to be an unsolvable question. Is scoring higher than locals on the Life in the UK Test considered ‘good’? Is working hard in a new country considered ‘good’? No, it's never ‘good’ enough, and even then, there's the constant fear of being forced to leave suddenly. These discussions hold real-world significance during the current period of adjustments to UK immigration policy, prompting reflection on the meaning of immigration.

Neither fully a person of one's homeland nor fully a British, carrying this hybrid identity, attempting to live cautiously in a new land. How much effort and what kind of cost must one endure? If it is for a more ‘inclusive’ new world, is all of this worth it?

★★★1/2

For more information, please visit: https://camdenfringe.com/events/nigel-farage-is-my-sugar-daddy/

©️Nigel Farage Is My Sugar Daddy Production

Credits

Writer & Performer: Mild Peril
Tech & Stage Manager: Florian Lim