The transvestite alter-ego of artist Adrian Howells, Adrienne will offer each visitor a shampoo and head massage as well as asking questions far more profound than where you plan to go on your holidays. Because whilst many drag acts use their costumes and make-up as a means of disguising their true identity, for Howells it is a means of exposing the truth about both himself and those he interacts with – creating a character whose honesty encourages us to share our innermost secrets with her and in doing so revealing how intimate confessions can happen between complete strangers as much as lifelong friends.
A former associate of Leigh Bowery, ‘Salon Adrienne’ is the sixth piece Howells has performed in this role – following on from such shows as ‘Adrienne’s Dirty Laundry Experience’ during which he occupied an old launderette and examined the audience’s stains both literally and metaphorically.
