Get ready to laugh your face off in a show filled with glamour and giggles.
Local and international drag queens will come together in the name of humour to present a comedy extravaganza. It's one thing to be a drag queen, but it's another thing to be a comedy queen.
With a gag-worthy line-up including the likes of Alaska Thunderf..., Coco Peru, Willam, and our own Karen From Finance and Trevor Ashley, this is a show worth walking in purse first for, with a cup of tension tamer tea.
Here, Alaska and Coco chat about the show.
How does it feel to be a part of ‘Comedy Queens’, essentially labelling you as drag comedy royalty?
Alaska: It’s an honour. I consider myself a strictly glamour queen so being labelled a comedy queen is deeply outside my comfort zone but I love trying new things.
Coco: As a solo performer for the last 29 years, I love when I have the opportunity to work with other queens. When I started my career, of course, drag wasn’t what it has become today, it wasn’t at all mainstream, so the fact that I have had a career this long is amazing to me, and being labelled as 'royalty', I am aware that I am riding off the backs of those LGBTQ+ pioneers and queens that paved the way for me, and I am honoured that people see that I have continued to be a part of paving that way. Although I would never refer to myself as 'royalty' I see it as people appreciating me and it definitely makes this old queen feel good to still feel appreciated.
What will you be bringing to the shows around Australia?
A: Presence, energy, nuance, integrity, and stunningness.
C: I realise that most people know me from my YouTube videos but my one-person stage shows are what I am most proud of and, although comical, they are much more thoughtful than my videos, so I’m going to bring to Australia a little slice of that part of Coco.
What do you love about Australia?
A: I love the weather and I love the ocean. Also the people are fun and Courtney Act is from there.
C: Years ago when I was very young, before I even created Coco, I travelled around Europe by myself and on my travels I met a lot of Australians and they were always the friendliest and most fun to be around, and so I said to myself that someday day I would travel to Australia, and when I finally did, the Australian people did not disappoint! I’m also a little in love with the fruit bats.
What’s your favourite thing about performing for a live audience?
A: I thrive performing for a live audience! It’s very strange to be on a set with a camera and no reactions or laughter or applause. I am grateful for a live audience whenever I get the chance to perform for one.
C: It makes me feel less alone in my craziness. I love the energy and feeling that an audience trusts me and is going to go along for the ride with me. I trained in the theatre in university so although I have been fortunate to do both TV and film, my first love is the stage. By the way, I also love how you spell 'favourite' with a U, it’s very fancy to this queen from the Bronx.
Have you had any particularly memorable (for a good OR bad reason) live performing experiences recently?
A: I just did Pride in Providence Rhode Island. The crowd was thousands of people and they were fabulous.
C: Both my parents were at my first show ever and they sat up front because they were afraid that because I talked about being openly gay, people might harass me. It was very sweet of them. My father, sadly, passed away early in my career, but mother continued to come see my shows over the years and she would bring her girlfriends because she, in her own way, wanted to change the world. Well, my mom is now 92 and she was at a recent show in April and at the end of it I pointed her out from the stage and the audience of about 600 people gave her a standing ovation. It was beautiful to see my mother acknowledged that way.
How does it feel knowing people buy tickets and spend time to come and see you perform?
A: It’s never lost on me how lucky and grateful I am to be able to do drag for a living. It’s a dream come true.
C: I always tell younger queens who ask me for advice that they should always respect their fans and treat them well, because your fans will bless you with a long career… Or not! Besides, it’s just the correct way to be and I credit my parents for raising me right.
And what is something really important that you have learned being in the world of drag?
A: I think it’s important to remember that drag is the celebration of divine feminine energy. I’m constantly inspired by women and our world could not exist without womankind.
C: Drag taught me that I get to create myself and that is what I try to tell everyone, that we get to write our own stories, you get to create you. Before Coco I was so consumed with trying to be what I thought I was supposed to be, but as I began to create Coco I realised that I also had the power to create my life and that that has a ripple effect out into the world. People respond to the power one has when they are being authentic and courageous, and I think that is why drag is so mainstream now. As I say in one of my shows, “When you have the balls to change yourself, you have the power to change the world.”
What’s next for you?
A: I love directing and writing and creating. So there are lots of things to do. Such as the made for TV movie, the book, and the movie.
C: A river cruise down the Rhine River in Germany finishing in Amsterdam just in time for their Gay Pride! Not bad for an old queen with a Bronx accent! And, after all, I am royalty!
Click here for more info/tickets.
'Comedy Queens' Tour Dates
22 August – Norwood Concert Hall (Adelaide)23 August – 170 Russell (Melbourne)
24 August – The Roundhouse (Sydney)
25 August – Family (Brisbane)
