George and the Drag Queen

In a time when tensions around immigration run high in rural communities, Pipeline Theatre grasps the issue in its own inimitable way - finding the funny, the weird and the wonderful.Maddy has a story to tell: a former St.

John Ambulance volunteer, she recollects the strange encounter she once witnessed between George, a fellow volunteer, and Usman, a refugee, at a village summer fete.George and Maddy are a frequent double-act at such events.

George - bluff, ex military, a fount of old-school, wise-cracking banter (and St.

John Ambulance trivia), now close to retirement, and a self-appointed mentor to Maddy - asthmatic, unlucky in love, but with more than enough wit to outsmart George.

They make a sweet, if nerdy, team.The fete is what youd expect: outsized veg, primary school art display, scruffiest dog competition, rosettes, cream teas, bunting.

An out-of-time vision of England; a safe harbour, where the roiling seas of division and desperation shouldnt intrude.Bar the odd wasp sting, George and Maddy are expecting a quiet day.Except - half an hour before kick-off, a stranger appears in their gazebo.

This is Usman - cheerful, gentle, quiet-spoken.

Apparently, the tent has been allocated to him as a makeshift dressing room.

For his Special Performance.So far, so unexpected.

But then it gets weirder: it turns out Usman and George know each other from a former, almost unrecognisable life.

A twist of fete, as George might say.

But when the penny drops, the fallout will turn this into a fete like no other...Pipeline Theatre uses comedy, heartbreak, music, a transmogrifying set, pin-sharp dialogue and indelible characters, to show that when caught in the riptide of history, you never know who might just save your life...