Julian Clary: Fully Dilated ★★★★☆

Julian Clary: Fully Dilated – Queer Royalty, Fully Dilated and Still Fabulous ★★★★☆

Julian Clary is a powerhouse of queer comedy and, for me, an important part of my own queer awakening. Growing up watching Julian on television through childhood and into my teenage years, there was something powerful about seeing someone so unapologetically camp, queer and completely themselves taking up space on British television.

Seeing Julian Clary: Fully Dilated at the Edinburgh Fringe was therefore always going to be special and it became one of the personal highlights of my Fringe.

Julian seemingly hasn’t aged when it comes to storytelling, razor-sharp timing and the ability to hold an audience completely in the palm of their hand. Yet they cleverly acknowledge the passing of time, getting older and their periods away from the comedy spotlight, turning all of it into wonderfully self-aware material.

Not a beat is skipped and the laughs are aplenty.

There is an effortless quality to Julian’s comedy. A perfectly timed pause, raised eyebrow or filthy little observation can send the room into hysterics. It’s the confidence of a performer who knows exactly who they are and has absolutely nothing left to prove.

For longtime fans, there’s also a beautiful sense of nostalgia. Julian helped bring unapologetically queer comedy into British living rooms at a time when that visibility genuinely meant something. Decades later, the wit, wickedness and delicious innuendo remain firmly intact.

If you don’t leave feeling nostalgic, you’ll certainly leave with a huge smile on your face.

Fully Dilated proves that this British queer comedy icon can still command a room, deliver the laughs and make being gloriously inappropriate look effortless.

Julian Clary is fully dilated and thankfully showing absolutely no signs of closing up.

★★★★☆ 4 stars