Temi Wilkie is literally chasing the spotlight, rushing to grab it when it threatens to slip away before her “groundbreaking one-man show” begins.
Fluffy white rugs, velvet banquettes and feather-trimmed pink outfits give the space the feel of a showgirl’s boudoir. Wilkie says the show is a showcase for her talent and impeccable resume, and that she’ll finally get the role she deserves. Wilkie’s real resume is impressive: Her first play, “The High Table,” won an award, she wrote the screenplay for the hit sitcom “Sex Education,” and she’s performed live in a drag-king persona.
Main Characters Energy is set up as a serious drama, but it quickly begins to deconstruct ironic punch lines and stage tropes. We meet 8-year-old Temi, playing the role of her talentless classmate in the school play. Then we meet 12-year-old Temi, who dreams of a role in the black sitcom she watches every afternoon, craves the attention of her doctor parents, and writes down her secrets in a fluffy purple diary. Finally, the adult Temi is a classically trained actor. So why is she always relegated to supporting roles?
Wilkie is a co-founder Pectoral muscle As part of a drag king troupe, she brings the messy, sexy energy of late-night cabaret to Summerhall’s Roundabout: she lip-syncs to Shakespearean monologues, dances to a soundtrack of Anastasia, Amelie and Princess Nokia, and flirts with the audience (a prolonged staring contest is a hilarious highlight) as the show’s facade is expertly torn apart.
Amid the controlled chaos, her inner thoughts get in the way. Why does she crave attention? Why is she always appealing to a predominately white establishment? Why is she still hell-bent on playing Juliet, even after the racist abuse directed at Francesca Ameuda Rivers? But Wilkie calms herself, saying the show must go on. “This isn’t a show about race or oppression, it’s a show about me!”
Main Character Energy is a perfect parody of the hour-long one-man show: playful, intelligent and delightfully over-the-top.
