Jens Radda takes his drag cabaret Skank Sinatra back to the Edinburgh Fringe this year.
“Two-time winner of Best Cabaret at Adelaide Fringe and fresh from a smash-hit Edinburgh debut in 2024, Skank Sinatra is back – bigger, brassier, and in higher heels.
Expect powerhouse live vocals, razor-sharp comedy, and cabaret with a cheeky, international twist.”
Where: Assembly George Square
When: 31 Jul-24 Aug
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/skank-sinatra
Jens tells it his way below.
Why Sinatra? What do you think he would have made of the show?
His music transcends time and generations because it taps into something universal – love, hope, and a well-timed key change.
What I’m doing is reinventing that legacy through a deliciously saucy lens, keeping the roots and the richness of the music, but serving it with a twist: live vocals, glamour, and just the right amount of mischief.
What would Frank have made of my show? I suspect he would’ve needed to loosen his tie and pour himself another bourbon.
I think he’d be intrigued, possibly aroused… but ultimately impressed by a dame who can hold a note, hold a crowd, and hold her own martini all at the same time.
Comedy, cabaret, musical, drag – what should audiences expect from your show?
Expect elegance with an edge. Skank Sinatra is where glamorous drag cabaret meets sharp-witted comedy and live, luscious vocals in a night of jazz, jokes, and just the right amount of cheek.
Think dazzling costumes, powerhouse vocals, and razor-sharp humour, all wrapped in camp elegance.
Whether you’re a jazz lover, a drag fan, or just someone who enjoys a bit of spice with your sparkle, this show is for you. It’s high-brow with a wink.
Like Sinatra… if he’d slipped into stilettos.
How did you get your start in theatre? Do you find Fringe festivals inspiring?
I got my start in theatre the old-fashioned way: trauma, jazz hands, and student debt. I trained in musical theatre, then untrained myself by going to clown school in France.
I spent years trying to be cast in other people’s shows before realising I could wear a gown, sing my own songs, and keep the spotlight and the bar tab.
Fringe festivals are a beautiful kind of madness – where artists from around the world congregate, inspire each other, and end up deep in conversation at 2am in the artist bar, wrapped in a kimono, eating hot chips out of a shoe.
It’s chaotic, joyful, deeply human. And beyond the glamour and glitter, there’s real opportunity: the chance to share your work, be seen by international presenters and producers, and open doors you didn’t even know existed.
What are you looking forward to the most at Edinburgh?
The chaos. The rain. The daily walk through the Meadows. The thrill of flyering next to someone in a gimp suit doing Hamlet.
Where can we see your work after Fringe?
After Fringe, I’ll be back in Australia touring Skank Sinatra alongside my second show, Madame Martha’s Parisian Cabaret – a Vogue-posing, Fosse-popping, French-lace-drenched production I’ve co-created with my partner Iva Rosebud and friend Meg Hickey.
Then in 2026, I’ll be heading back to Europe for a tour through Scandinavia and the UK.
Follow me on Instagram at @skanksinatraofficial for updates, antics, and ballgown-fuelled nonsense!