4 boundary-breaking shows at the Transform Cabaret Festival, September 24 to October 3
Avant-garde drag performance, body-positive Indigenous burlesque, and unsolicited fashion advice
The Darlings have been redefining virtual performance since COVID hit, and now they’re ready to show their stuff.
THE PANDEMIC IS a drag, but it hasn’t managed to shut down this party: the Transform Cabaret Festival is hosting its celebration online. Only in its second year, the fest is truly unlike anything else in North America—or the world. What is it exactly? Think of Indigenous performers joining forces with non-Indigenous artists, and using cabaret as a platform to push mainstream boundaries.
Here are some picks from the all-virtual lineup curated by the Cultch’s Heather Redfern and Urban Ink’s Corey Payette, and presented under the watchful eye of protocol keeper Quelemia Sparrow.
The Darlings III
September 25 at 7 p.m., online via thecultch.com
This nonbinary troupe with the high-concept makeup has not just been smashing the norms of drag performance. They’ve been at the leading edge of online performance pretty much out of the gates since COVID-19 hit. In the spring, they created two quarantine-specific, genre-mashing digital shows that drew more than 10,000 views; you can find those works via Facebook and Vimeo. Dance, poetry, performance art, visual art: Continental Breakfast (Chris Reed), PM (Desi Rekrut), Rose Butch (Rae Takei), and Maiden China (Kendell Yan) mash it all up to create wildly visual worlds and explore the genderqueer experience. Prepare to be wowed, moved, tantalized, and everything in between.
Peach Cobblah.
Family Drag Brunch
September 27 at 11 a.m., online via thecultch.com
Who says playing dressup is just for kids? Drag-queen dads Isolde N. Barron and Peach Cobblah (Dave Deveau and husband Cameron Mackenzie) host a virtual party that brings the cabaret to kids and their parents. Grab your orange juice and boa to join the fun as the Zee Zee Theatre artists, fathers to a one-year-old, get silly and offer “unsolicited fashion, makeup, and cooking advice”. Special guests include Thanks Jem, Karmella Barr, Celestial Seasons, and Jaylene Tyme.
Candy Palmater.
The Candy Show with Candy Palmater & Friends
October 3 at 7p.m. online via thecultch.com
The Indigenous comedian and broadcaster gets raucous with a mindblowing list of big First Nations stars—among them art star Ken Monkman, Second City alumna Elvira Kurt, ballet dancer Cameron Fraser-Monroe, and tenor Jeremy Dutcher.
Virago Nation
Deadleh Indigenous: Virago Nation.
October 2 at 7p.m. online via thecultch.com
Pop culture, politics, and plenty of body positivity: they all find a way into the multifaceted Indigenous burlesque of Vancouver’s Virago Nation. Formed four years ago, the troupe has been on a mission to decolonize Indigenous sexuality and tear down stereotypes. Past efforts have seen them peel away racist Halloween headdress costumes and, at the recent all-digital Queer Arts Festival, shake it up around a kitchen.
Related Articles
