Submitted photo/Derek Ford Photography

Dale Boyd

Osoyoos Times

Canadian comedian Mike Delamont admits the title of his one-man show, God is a Scottish Drag Queen, “sometimes scares off a few folks.”

“At the same time, it intrigues a few folks,” Delamont said. “If people are upset about the show it is because they have read the title and think that it is a comedy that belittles faith. It has never been somebody who has actually seen the show. The people who take the risk and buy a ticket realize that in this show God is the comedian, not the punchline.”

The character was born out of a cabaret called Atomic Vaudeville in 2006. Delamont played “Jesus’ dad”. He was a secondary character to the sketches but the audiences liked it so Delamont found the character coming back month after month. Loving the idea of an angry God in a “nice gentle frock,” the character grew from there.

He wanted to create his own one-man show and his favourite character? God.

“I thought it would be a fun show to do,” Delamont said.  “I underestimated its popularity.”

He tried an English accent the first night, but it came off too mean, Delamont said, and after trying a Scottish accent it clicked. 

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When creating the first version of the show in 2011, Delamont thought people may need to know a few things before walking into the performance, hence the title.

“The character is God, has a Scottish accent and wears a ladies power suit. God Is A Scottish Drag Queen seemed to cover all of it. I thought one day I would come up with a better title, but I never did,” Delamont said.

The show explores the idea of a very human God character, a “deity who makes mistakes,” whether that is pettiness, anger, kindness, silliness and everything in between.

“I wanted to know what God might actually think about big things like evolution and Adam and Eve, but also trivial things like Star Wars and cats,” Delamont said.

While on the surface the material may seem like it is poking fun at faith, he has found quite the opposite effect on the audience.

“While we have had a few angry letters from folks who have never seen the show, we have also had audiences filled with nuns, preachers, pastors and members of the cloth from a rainbow of faiths. If you grew up in the church, going to Sunday school, or with any kind of religious background you will get even more out of it than the average person,” Delamont said.

Some people have a sense of humour and some people don’t Delamont noted, but if you can’t get past the title “it is probably not for you. And thats okay,” he said.

God is a Scottish Drag Queen comes to the Venables Theatre in Oliver on March 14. Tickets are $30 available at venablestheatre.ca.