In a cackle of drag queens, Jimbo stands out.
First introduced on reality show Canada's Drag Race in 2020, Jimbo immediately became a fan favourite for her off-kilter collision of clowning and drag, resulting in wonderfully wacky, hyper-feminine and divisive characters.
Wowing the world, Jimbo (James Isnell) has since returned twice to the gladiator ring of RuPaul's Drag Race, representing Canada on UK vs the World before last year winning All Stars season eight.
Highlights include throwing baloney at RuPaul while dressed in latex as a pregnant ghost named Casper, her equally filthy impressions of Joan Rivers and Shirley Temple, and outfits that can only be described as physics-defying.
Now in Australia touring her Drag Circus — an adults-only "variety-adventure" that incorporates Casper, Shirley, Joan and more — Jimbo sat down with ABC Entertainment to talk about her tour, TikTok habits and the only person odder than her: Nicolas Cage.
What was the last thing that made you laugh online?
It was probably this clip of JoJo Siwa's newest dance that she did, where someone turned down the music and added a lot of stomping, breathing and clapping to make it even more ridiculous.
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What do you make of JoJo's movements? To me, it feels like she's kind of approaching a new art form.
Oh my God. You know, I love seeing people out there doing their thing. I think she is just trying really hard.
You can sense when an artist or a performer is coming from an authentic place and point of view. [With JoJo] it all feels a bit staged, it doesn't necessarily feel 100 per cent authentic.
But also, I'm a little obsessed with child stars and people that were raised in stardom. They always end up a bit weird or different because of their circ*mstance.
She's a product of her whole life being a performer. At the same time, I feel kind of bad for her. I also think she's awesome for being herself and being out there. It's a weird one, like a car crash.
What was the last photo you took with your phone, and can we see it?
This is us [Jimbo and husband Brady Taylor] last night up at the Sydney Eye Tower overlooking Sydney — and before that, this is all of our luggage to come on tour. Twenty-five bags.
Wow. When you're travelling with that much stuff, surely something goes missing occasionally?
Luckily, it hasn't. We only have one of everything, and everything is important because we had to pare down the show to that. Twenty-five bags is just the essentials. We can't lose anything.
It's pretty crazy. If that happens, you're kind of screwed. But luckily, I'm a clown. I can deal with anything, and I'd make it work, if I had to.
I did a show recently over at Fire Island, and halfway through all my make-up just melted off. It was so incredibly hot — it was the hottest I've ever been performing. And I just said, "Well, that concludes the make-up portion of the evening." You know, the show has to go on.
At that point, do you wipe it all off, or do you keep it in its weird, melted form?
I just kept it on. The show was rapid-fire. And I hadn't really done a show like that without support acts. They said we just want you for 45 minutes, and there was no-one else to take over.
I had to just go from one act to the next to the next, and slowly the make-up just degraded, but that became part of it.
The people love seeing realness, especially in a performance. Anything that feels for you, specific to that performance in that night, makes it even more magical. They love that I perform through that, that I'm not like "Stop the show! I don't look proper!"
At the end of the day, I just want to perform and make people laugh. That's what people want as well, so looking funny is part of it.
What was the last screenshot that you took?
This hot dog dress! Because I liked it. I'd like to show up as a hot dog sometime.
What's the last Wikipedia rabbit hole you went down?
It was … [looks through phone] "LGBT culture in Sydney".
Did you learn anything?
I don't even remember reading it! [Laughs]
Was there a horror movie that you watched too young that scarred you forever?
I loved horror movies when I was really young, so I don't think anything scarred me. I'm more scarred by boredom than fear.
I had a little black-and-white TV in my room, and I would stay up late and watch Nightmare on Elm Street, Elvira, Jason. Whenever we watch movies, I tend to want to watch scary movies.
What horror have you seen recently?
We just saw Longlegs. It was really funny, I loved it.
Nicolas Cage makes these really bizarre, funny acting choices. Everyone in the theatre was laughing — I don't know if that was what they were hoping for or what they were expecting, but it's made people quote it on TikTok.
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In your own words, what is this tour?
I've been told it's the best drag show people have ever seen!
I come from a theatre and production designer background — I used to make the sets and costumes for all the shows that I produced. I took the background that I have in visual presentation and production design, and I turned it onto my own storytelling.
The element of the circus I love is you really never know what you're gonna get. It's a variety adventure where you [only] know that you're gonna be entertained. It's a theatre show that incorporates drag. You can expect a lot of comedy, I do a lot of improv and stand-up.
People really gravitate towards my [Snatch Game characters] Joan Rivers and Shirley Temple, where you have something that's familiar, but then you add a twist.
Like, Shirley Temple goes from being a tap star to a rap star. And so I have this hip-hop number where my dollies come to life — it's really surreal.
It's Monty Python and Pee-wee's Playhouse on acid. It's [about making] people laugh and go, "What the f*** did I just watch??"
Jimbo's Drag Circus tours Australia this August, with stops in Sydney, Wollongong, Hobart, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Perth.
Quotes lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
