The magnetic and mercurial Miss Coco Peru unleashes her hilarious and incisive confession of bittersweet personal baggage, deliciously laced with sassy songs, on Soho audiences for the first time this August.
 
A New York and Hollywood drag legend, Coco (otherwise known as performer Clinton Leupp) has been wowing audiences on stage and screen for over a decade. Best known for her award-winning solo shows and her roles in the films Trick and Girls Will Be Girls (for which she won both a best actor and best actress award!).

Richard Bevan managed to pin the irrepressible Coco down during a hectic European tour.

Coco looks like a cross between a Desperate Housewife and Wilma from The Flintstones. Did you base her character on anyone in particular?
I love the Wilma comparison! That's a first and I am a huge fan of Wilma - always such a sensible prehistoric woman - much like myself. However, I didn’t base my character on anyone. And Bree stole my look - bitch!

One reviewer said that you show a ‘brutal honesty behind the comic facade’. Is there a darker side to Coco’s life that you think reflects many housewives’ lives?
Well, if there are housewives out there that grew up as tortured gay boys in the Bronx and became drag queens, then I guess so.

Coco has become legendary. How did she get her first showbiz break?
I was lucky enough to be doing something different when there was a drag queen explosion in NYC in the early nineties and I rode the wave - all the way to London! But I think the film Trick really introduced me to a bigger audience and that created a lot of interest in my shows.

Miss Coco has been with you (Clinton Leupp) for over a decade. Do you find it difficult not to be her offstage or think as she would?
Not really because as Coco I am not pretending to be a woman, I am a man in a dress. But she does slip out every now and then and I send her marching right back into the dark, sick and twisted corners of my mind where she belongs.

"I think Middle America would embrace Coco. Sadly, it’s the homos in Hollywood that have too many of their own fears to take a chance on Coco."

Your film credits include To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar and voicing a hippo in Disney’s The Wild! Is Middle America ready for someone like Miss Coco?
In a weird way I think Middle America would embrace Coco. Sadly, it’s the homos in Hollywood that have too many of their own fears to take a chance on Coco. But like you said, Coco will keep going on, trying to do what I do best - change lives, or in the very least make a little cash.

Are there any performers in the UK that you like and have influenced you in any way?
I never tire of Shirley Bassey and although I can’t sing like her one can pretend in the privacy of their own living room. I have given some incredible concerts as Shirley in my home!

How would you describe your act – compared to say someone like RuPaul?
Well, RuPaul is a singer and I am a storyteller. In my first show I told the audience, ‘Pretend this is a group therapy session and it’s my turn to talk,’ and in a funny way that’s sort of what I’m trying to do.

I tell autobiographical stories and I hope that the audience forgets that I am a man in a dress and begins to relate to the story. Telling your story reminds you of how unique you are, but at the same time reminds you that your uniqueness is the one thing we all have in common.

Oh dear, I think I’m getting a little schmaltzy! Anyway, RuPaul and I are different kinds of performers but we’re on the same mission.

Do you think Americans love seeing men dress up as women as much as the British?
No, the British are very kinky. In fact, I’ve just spent three months in southern Spain and often went to a nude beach where there were so many British middle aged men and women with piercings - down there! Picture your mom and dad, naked,  with piercings below the belly. I have no idea what that has to do with your question, but in my mind there is a connection.

"I’ve just spent three months in southern Spain and often went to a nude beach where there were so many British middle aged men and women with piercings - down there!"

What do you think of our pantomime culture - have you seen any?
I have seen a bit and I think it’s fantastic - especially that children are exposed to this. In Spain I went to a drag show at a small place on a beach and the front table was filled with children. The drag queens even pulled one boy up onstage! It was really beautiful to see these kids enjoying drag at such a young age. In a weird way it gave me a little hope for the future of our planet.

If you could appear in a British TV comedy – as Coco or some other character – who would you love to star with?
I love Little Britain and if there is any way to go back in time and inject me into a few episodes of Keeping Up Appearances I would love that! Hyacinth and Coco, together at last!

Find out more at www.misscoco.com.

Miss Coco Peru, written and performed by Clinton Leupp
Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street
London, W1D 3NE
0870 429 6883 / www.sohotheatre.com

13-18, 20-25 August 2007 at 9.30pm

Can't make the show but want to catch Miss Coco Peru in action? Then buy the DVD of Trick, To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar and Girls Will Be Girls.