SameSame.com.au ~ Inside Out Australia

As if Christmas wasn’t over the top enough already! In December Drag! Camp As Christmas will sashay onto the Sydney Opera House Studio stage, under the expert guidance of the DIVA award winning Amelia Airhead.

Drag legend and hostess for the evening Mitzi Macintosh will be joined by the hottest eye-candy male dancers in town and a huge drag cast including Minnie Cooper, Joyce Maynge, Amelia Airhead, Dallas Dellaforce, Monique Kelly, Trudi Valentine, Portia Turbo, Keren St James, Decoda Secret, Charisma Belle, Carmen Geddit and returning to Sydney especially for this season the one and only, Miss Maude Boate.

There will also be plenty of fabulous costumes by renowned designer Matthew Aberline. We chatted to Amelia about what she has in store for us.

So, I see Jimmy Barnes has endorsed the show, saying “This is Sydney entertainment at its best, wild, wicked, funny and out of control. The way we like it!! Who says they don’t make girls the way they used to!” Is this a first for Jimmy?
I’m not sure if it’s Jimmy’s first endorsement but he is a true gentleman and dear friend, and definitely the world’s most drag friendly rock legend. In fact, back in 1998 the lovely Tess Tickle and myself were part of Cold Chisel’s national tour, which involved us and a gaggle of female strippers dancing with the band to end the concert. Let’s just say by the close of the show there were some very confused faces in the audience!

It’s a great line up. I see you’ve even included a drag king too!
Yes, our lineup is a ‘ho’s ho’ of Sydney drag, from fierce embryonic baby drags to the more mature lady legends. And at the very other end of the drag continuum are the drag kings and who is a better example of this genre than Rocco D’Amore? When I first saw him I thought, “What a spunk!” I can’t wait to see the faces of the drag virgins in the audience. Overall, it’s a bit like a drag version of Noah’s Ark.

How did you coax Maude Boate back to Sydney from the gorgeous Northern Rivers?
Maude and I are old mates, but I’m sure it was also about the opportunity to perform at the Opera House. Just like the building, she is an icon, and has helped define drag in this country. So look out ladies, she will be showing us how it’s really done.

Trevor Ashley has been setting Sydney on fire with his appearance in Priscilla and his recent shows on the strip. What will he be doing?
Trevor will be reprising a piece from his fabulous Liza On An E show. He is so deliciously naughty.

With DIVA changing hands this year, and the dwindling number of gay venues in our fair city, what are your thoughts about the current state and future of Sydney’s drag scene?
Some people proclaim that drag is dying, but you only have to do a quick roll call of our performers to see that is crap. Many derive an income entirely from drag, and some have ventured out into the wider community to spread the joy. Courtney, Cleo, Penny and Monique are fine examples that we can survive, thrive and entertain away from Oxford Street.

It’s a real shame most of our gay venues, with a few exceptions have progressively cut back on production shows. This is why I can’t wait for The Imperial to re-open, it will be the shot in the arm our scene needs. Places like The Imperial and The Albury Hotel made our industry famous and desirable to visitors from all over Australia and overseas.

What we’ve shown with the Opera House is that drag can be commercially viable and can appeal to a wider audience. It’s such a pleasure to now have the kickarse production values that drag really deserves, rather that performing on three boxes taped together and having a cupboard or toilet as a dressing room.

Reviews of past Drag shows at the Sydney Opera House in the past have been great. What can punters expect from this special Christmas edition?
We are reprising a couple of Drag! faves, but returning punters should look forward to at least 69% new and different content with Camp as Christmas!

The festive factor will increase as the night progresses, climaxing in our exclusive Christmas finale, especially commissioned by Sydney Opera House, and costumed by the heavenly Matthew Aberline.

As a bit of background, this all started with a bit of an experiment when the The Famous Speigeltent was installed on the Forecourt last year. The lovely folk at the Opera House asked me to present a showcase of the big shows I had produced over the years. While this was an amazing break for me personally, I decided we should use this unique opportunity to showcase the depth of our drag artists. Many phone calls later, we had a cast spanning 30 years and venues past and present. The moment the music started we knew it was going to be drag magic.

We were invited back to perform two more nights in July this year, this time in The Studio. They were a sellout and not suprisingly the bar takings on both nights almost broke the Opera House record!

You mention that there’s a post-show party? Can you tell us more about this?
We have several superstar DJs, including Dan Murphy and Alex Taylor, playing after the show to facilitate yuletide dancing and romancing, but to keep in the spirit of the evening, they will be performing in drag!

Drag – Camp as Christmas is also opening on December 1, World AIDS Day and will be raising funds for this important cause. The season runs from Dec 1 – 6. For a full rundown of the program click here.

Photos: 1. Dallas Dellaforce (James Morgan), 2. Joyce Maynge (PetezImagez), 3. Maude Boate, 4. Rocco D’Amore (Alysha Cantwell), 5. Trudi Valentine (PetezImagez), 6. Monique Kelly (PetezImagez).