Eight eye-opening events to check out at Midsumma
Subscribe
X

Get the latest from Beat

17.01.2020

Eight eye-opening events to check out at Midsumma

Words by Marnie Vinall

Midsumma, Australia’s premier queer arts and culture festival, has truly exceeded expectations with this year’s lineup of events.

With world-class art and performance, hilarious comedians and dance parties with plenty of glitter, whatever your cup of queer tea, there’ll be plenty for you to enjoy. To give you a head start, here’s our list of the most eye-opening events set to go down.

How Gay Am I?

Gay female comedian, Sunanda Sachatrakul in her debut solo show asks, How Gay Am I? Running between Monday February 3 and Saturday February 8, the one-hour performance combines storytelling with comedy in an exploration of ‘all the gays her life could’ve gone’. The audience will be taken from her humble beginnings of Sachatrakul coming out to conservative Indian parents to all the queerdos she could have been. Think a poon-jabbing Punjabi, a lesbian who presents a TED Talk and a serenading Mustachio – just to name a few.

.CHURCH.

Put on your Sunday best and head down to .CHURCH. to feel born again in this variety performance of circus, burlesque, sideshow and cabaret. With all performances backed by a live choir, and the stage treated as holy ground, here you’ll discover a new form of worship in queer culture and all the glitter that comes with it. The lineup also features Miss Burlesque Australia 2019, Bettie Bombshell, and is on between Thursday January 23 and Sunday January 26.

ADAM & EVEryone

If you’ve ever wanted to go to a massive all-gender inclusive queer naked dance party, now is your chance this Friday January 17. ADAM & EVEryone is back for another year to celebrate body positivity and diversity in a huge festive dance setting. Shake your tail feather on the huge techno dancefloor and boogie down to pop, disco and funk as the likes of Chiara Kickdrum, Estée Louder and Female Wizard jump behind the decks. Doors open at 10pm, and as they put it, you can ‘expect a very late night’.

Confessions of a Mormon Boy

Steven Fales has lived an emotional rollercoaster of a life to date and is here to tell you about it in his Off-Broadway solo hit, Confessions of a Mormon Boy. In the true storytelling, Fales takes the audience on his journey from being a sixth-generation devoted Mormon and former missionary with two kids to coming out as gay after going through conversion therapy and being excommunicated from his former church. Catch the performance from Friday February 7 to Sunday February 9 at Chapel Off Chapel.

BLOW

BLOW is a performance, party and celebration of Indigenous femmes and Pacific women of colour. A cast of local performers, assembled by Samoan performance artist Jaycee Tanuvasa, take up space and join in solidarity to share their stories through vogue dance, cultural drag and ballroom culture – all to a backdrop of live electronic and vogue music. Plus, there’s an element of audience participation with the guidance of MC and ballroom chanter, Gardinier. Join the party on Saturday February 8 at Abbotsford Convent.

Man Up!

Based off numerous interviews with everyday people, Man Up! explores societal perceptions of what it means to be a man, norms about male behaviour and questions on where masculinity is headed in the future. Through this, the show gives insight into issues of domestic violence, aggression and homophobia, while also shining a light on the nurturing, vulnerability and sensitivity side of men that’s not frequently shown. Catch the touching performance from Wednesday January 22 to Saturday January 25.

Faguette

In Faguette, French comedian Julien Furnace puts on a one-hour stand-up show for all. If you can relate to being discriminated for being queer, a vegetarian or a foreigner, or just privy to an awkward one-night-stand, this show’s for you. At the heart of the show, Furnace addresses the homophobia he experienced during high school and then tells his (very funny) coming out story. Catch the performance either Tuesday February 4 or Wednesday February 5 at Hares & Hyenas.

Midsumma After Party

Get into the Midsumma spirit by getting camp at New Guernica on Sunday January 19 with the CAMP Midsumma Carnival After Party. Get into the groove on the two dancefloors with beats playing from resident DJs Mattylonglegs and Jack Hardmën. There’ll also be sets from Tory Allen and Casey Leaver while the kitchen dancefloor will see Luke Tatterson, Teknofag and Marsh Long perform. Doors open at 9pm and the bar will be flowing with free shots every hour on the hour, $10 cocktails and free champagne for all drag queens.

Midsumma takes over Melbourne from Sunday January 19 to Sunday February 9. Tickets and more details for all the mentioned shows can be found at midsumma.org.au.