Messy Friends is a dynamic and innovative drag collective that fuses lip-sync, burlesque, dance, and documentary-style videos to create a unique “Drag-u-mentary” experience.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to watch this show but I’m so glad I did. It was so relatable and confronting, that I felt that at times, it was me speaking on that screen.

This show makes you ‘experience’ Queer culture in all its many colours and facets. The costumes are loud, unique and cutting edge with the attitude and moves to match!

Led by Ginava, the creative mind behind the award winning show, audiences were taken on a heartfelt, personal journey with stories often avoided in normal conversation. Ginava and the ‘messy friends’, explain how they turned their hardships into art and expression.

Messy Friends explores the complexities of the queer experience. It addresses themes of identity, resilience, and self-acceptance, with stories that leave a lasting impact offstage, through revealing pre-recorded interviews and eclectic live performances to reveal the artist within. Such artists included 22 year old Alfie, a ‘kinky princess of chaos’, professional dancer and burlesque performer. There’s also Flynn Vincent, another ‘party prince of Perth’ and burlesque performer who ignites the stage with flames and a lot of heat.

It would be an understatement to call Messy Friends inspiring. It has just the right measure of vulnerability and humour that the world needs, with a blend of vibrant performances and striking costumes! I’m confident that it’s one of those shows that everyone will take something different from.

Messy Friends is playing this weekend at Fringe World – don’t miss it!

Trigger warning: there artists talk about loss and self-harming behaviours in this performance. Please take care when watching this show.