God Prefers Vanilla Lattes
The Second Coming of God is a Scottish Drag Queen Hits Montreal
Mike Delamont hates scary movies and recently conquered his fear of roller coasters. He likes cookies, Louis C.K. and the movie Love Actually.
He also spends much of his spare time posing as God.
The Victoria, B.C., native said that after performances, he’s often asked if his accent is authentic.
“Scottish people are never fooled, though,” Delamont said.
Delamont is back at the MainLine Theatre after the successful run of God Is A Scottish Drag Queen, which made its Montreal debut during the Fringe Festival in June.
This time around, he’s performing three different shows: the original, the sequel, God Is A Scottish Drag Queen: The Second Coming, and his own stand-up, Mike Delamont: Husky Panda. He will put on an ambitious eight performances between Wednesday and Saturday.
During our interview, Delamont settled for a regular latte after the barista told him they don’t serve vanilla lattes. The 28-year-old stand-up comedian is six foot six and towers over everyone in a tiny Montreal café.
Delamont dubbed the café “hipster” and observed that his mug’s handle was far too small. “Or my fingers are gigantic. I’m a giant human being.”
“Every once in awhile I’ll see a guy across the room and be like ‘Oh my god that guy looks like a freak, he’s so tall.’ And then I’ll get over there and he’s so much shorter than I am and I’m like, ‘I’m a monster!’”
The origin of Delamont’s standup routine title Husky Panda, which he filmed for TV and DVD over the weekend, dates back to his youth.
“I was six feet tall when I was 12. I would wear husky kids clothing,” Delamont said. “When you’re that tall and a kid you don’t want to buy the adult clothes. I was like, ‘Who wants to wear pleated trousers? Is that a thing?’”
And then, on a trip to Science World in Vancouver a couple of years ago, Delamont discovered that he weighed as much as a full-grown panda.
In Husky Panda, Delamont is able to cover a wider range of topics including childhood, lactose intolerance and personal trainers.
“I also talk about being morbidly obese,” Delamont said. “That’s what my current weight status is, according to the body mass index.”
Delamont is a big guy, but he’s far from the people who use the electric scooter carts at Walmart.
And unlike the God shows, Delamont does not wear a floral dress in Husky Panda.
In the first God show he discusses the origins of the dress, which he traces back to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
“That’s how I explain it. The choice is that [the dress] is not effeminate—it’s masculine to be that comfortable,” he said.
Unfortunately, Delamont’s dress is not as comfortable as it seems. He said he gets ridiculously sweaty underneath.
“I added a joke in a show on my tour last year that I could teach a fish to breathe, but apparently not polyester,” Delamont said.
In God is a Scottish Drag Queen: The Second Coming, Delamont takes a shot at more biblical material. Some highlights include the stories of Cain and Abel, the Tower of Babel, Noah’s Ark and the notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church.
According to Delamont, the original show is more about life than religion. He said there are plenty of topics he’d like to cover as God, but that the material has to fit the character.
“Otherwise it’s not funny. The character is meant to be funny, it’s not preachy.”
Delamont said it’s hard to choose which of the God shows he likes best. He views The Second Coming as his second child. But will he have a third?
With a humble laugh, Delamont said, “Maybe. I might get my tubes tied. Depending on how this one grows up, we’ll see.”
Husky Panda, God is a Scottish Drag Queen, God is a Scottish Drag Queen: The Second Coming at the MainLine Theatre (3997 Boul. St-Laurent) / Nov. 16 to 17 / Various times / Tickets $17 More info
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