The iconic Imperial Hotel in Erskineville has famously been seen on screen, immortalised in the cult classic flick The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. But the old dame has never hosted a proper play – until Back to Birdy. And there couldn't have been a more fitting location than a nightclub basement for the debut of this candid and humorous exploration of friendship, identity politics, and the evolving landscape of queer spaces.

The winners for the inaugural Time Out Arts & Culture Awards in Australia have been announced at awards events in Melbourne and Sydney. Both Critics’ Choice and People’s Choice trophies were awarded to stand-out musicals, plays, performers, art exhibitions, and museum exhibits from the past 12 months.

The nominees in the Best Play category are outstanding theatre productions that have impressed us across a number of key criteria – including originality, pacing, direction, design, the actor's performances, and "wow factor".

How do they shop? Do they have facial hair? What do they eat? And, of course – that age-old question – how do they have sex? Felicity Nicol, a 38-year seasoned Lesbian, will ask these questions and more to help ensure the future of lesbians is stronger than ever!

How do they shop? Do they have facial hair? What do they eat? And of course – that age old question – how do they have sex? Felicity Nicol, seasoned Lesbian of 38 years, will be asking these questions at The Loading Dock Theatre and more to help ensure the future of lesbians is stronger than ever! For a preview taste of this theatre production, we caught up with Felicity with these questions of our own.

With guest features from Basjia Almaan, Maddy Gandhi, Cheryn Frost, Hannah Malarski, Sylvia Kinder, and Sheanna Parker Russon, this satirical talk show will showcase a broad spectrum of the lesbian community, from First Nations voices to sex workers, to genderqueer and trans lesbians, reflecting a wide array of ages.

Founded by Madeleine Gandhi and Sean Landis in 2021, Fruit Box Theatre is an independent LGBTQIA+ theatre company based in Sydney/Gadigal. They’ve been in the building this week for the third development of Felicity Nicol’s new show Sex. Riot. Repeat. We’re proud to support Fruit Box Theatre and to help usher in the new wave of queer Australian storytelling.

Back to Birdy is also a success story for Fruit Box Theatre, a local organisation committed to developing and staging original LGBTQIA+SB theatre, and the company’s inaugural RIPE Development Program. The culmination of 18 months of development, it's evident that this show has been carefully crafted by an all-queer and gender-non-confirming cast and crew. Front and centre, the top-notch performances are a case for why actors with lived experience should be cast to play characters from marginalised groups whenever possible. Bring tissues.

This play is a powerful and realistic depiction of not just growing up gay but of getting older gay. The haunting sadness of having infinitely more knowledge than you once had- and the constant burning wish that you could go back in time and be a better friend, a better partner, a better confidant.

There’s a new immersive experience to be had in the Inner West, just in time for this year’s Mardi Gras Festival. In a festival themed this year as ‘Our Future’, the production of emerging playwright Z Bui’s compelling school-years-plus reunion piece in the transformed basement of the iconic Imperial Hotel totally fits the bill as it kicks us deservingly in the guts. Its wake-up call uses a wash of memory and more to also kick us in the heart across the head then hug our hope. We sit in the same bar as the protagonists-here with their communication staged on the loaded locale of a famous queer Sydney dance floor.

Two friends meet up in a pub and have a good long chat. BACK TO BIRDY is a lot more complicated than that but essentially that is the backbone of this play that delves into some chasms and contradictions within the queer community. Playwright Z Bui uses pathos and humour to explore the aftermath of a falling out between the main characters, Warren and Emily. Warren’s transitioning and Emily’s dealing with that news contributed to their lives drifting apart.

Emily and Warren are having a long overdue catch up. Although besties for almost twenty years, they have in recent months grown apart, largely because of Warren’s gender transition. Even though the two had over time become comfortable with their respective and shared queerness, Warren’s second coming out as trans, has not been easy. Z Bui’s Back to Birdy examines the journey of acceptance within queer communities, when compatriots experience momentary tumult and fracture. Warren is no longer a lesbian, and Emily needs time to come to terms.

It’s no secret that I’m a theatre nut, especially when it comes to something unconventional, with deeply considered storytelling. Hence, I am very on board for this premiere production from Fruit Box Theatre, which is taking place in the basement of The Imperial Hotel in Erskineville, and set at Birdcage (a long-running sapphic club night). Created by and starring an all queer and trans team, Back to Birdy is a candid and humorous exploration of long-standing friendships, identity politics, and the evolving landscape of queer spaces. Find out more over here. (And stay on after the show for Corky’s Club, see below!)

History will be made during this year’s Sydney Mardi Gras Festival, with the Impy hosting the first ever theatre show to take place within its hallowed walls. Presented by Fruit Box Theatre, Back to Birdy is a candid and humorous exploration of long-standing friendships, identity politics, and the evolving landscape of queer spaces.

In this episode, Matika sits down with Angelica Rose Lockyer, a Genderqueer First Nations performer, to explore the depths of identity, the art of First Nations storytelling, and the anticipation surrounding their upcoming theatre show, 'Back to Birdy.' Through their candid conversation, they delve into Angelica's journey of understanding themselves, their identity and their reflections on Blak storytelling as a means of reclaiming and celebrating culture.

Fruit Box Theatre's Back to Birdy is coming to Sydney Mardi Gras from 21 February to 1 March. To find out a bit more of what's in store for us from this Sydney show at The Imperial Hotel, two of the leads sat down to ask each other a few questions.

Developed through Fruit Box Theatre's ‘RIPE Development Program', this thought-provoking production is the culmination of 18 months of development and marks a significant milestone in the collaboration between diverse queer actors and writers. Reflecting Fruit Box Theatre's commitment to inclusive storytelling, the play highlights the importance of trans stories within the broader queer narrative, exploring the nuances and challenges faced by trans individuals for a more inclusive representation of the queer experience.

The intimate Factory Floor of Factory Theatre was packed for this sold out production from Fruit Box Theatre as part of their Sydney WorldPride 2023 season. Three introductions preceding the performance warmed us up for this first iteration of the show, one of which was from Nathan Despott, to represent SOGICE (Survivors of Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Change Efforts), which Nails has been developed in partnership with to care for the themes of conversion efforts that the show addresses and satirises. Netball is a lighter vehicle through which to confront the oppressive ideologies perpetuated primarily by religious institutions, and Nails passes the ball with ease.

With all that being said, everything about the music in this production is brilliant and it can only be a good thing that there is more to come. The show starts with the type of gag that will never fail to make this reviewer cackle: An acappella hymn in Latin, based around netball’s “no contact” rule - and implicitly the fact that lesbianism in predominantly female sports is both rife and still somewhat taboo.

In this week's episode, Tori and Eliza are joined by the Australian actor Hadrian Conyngham! Together they chat about getting back into acting after Covid, the importance of new queer works in Australia, working with the fantastic team at Fruit Box Theatre on 'Comfort, Spin, Travel', diversity in theatre and more.

Comfort, Spin, Travel is a story of trans frustration. Our narrator is spending a late night in a branch of Officeworks—a big box office supply chain—thinking about his past and his family, and trying to come to some kind of peace with the world around him. Is he a good person?

A musical about netballers is the kind of thing that has the potential to garner a cult following of queers. It’s only a bonus that this one is all about a netball team from the Inner West (the gayest region in Sydney) being “promoted” to an elite squad from Northern Sydney (not the straightest… but up there) and the unexpected sparks that fly between the high-ponytailed-and-perfectly-manicured Wing Attack and the bike-shorts-wearing-septum-piercing-having new Goal Shooter.

They are in an Officeworks store. They’re trying out the different office wheely chairs, determining which is the most comfortable, which rotates the best, and which moves around the space most effectively. They’re not looking to purchase. They’re reliving a game they used to play with their much loved little sister.

Comedy is built on the back of tension and ease. This concept is not new: Hannah Gadsby legendarily pulled back the curtain in her 2018 comedy special Nannette, describing the tedious act of compounding her traumas as a queer Australian into bite sized, manageable jokes that soothe the audience.

Playwright and director Lu Bradshaw joins Honi to discuss their upcoming show Comfort, Spin, Travel.

With WorldPride upon us, the Fruit Box Theatre is presenting the culmination of its RIPE Development Program at KXT Kings Cross, in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre.

Miso Bell’s psychological thriller Act Natural shows immense promise as a piece of theatre that speaks to the innate human desire to ‘fit in’, even if it means losing all sense of one’s identity and individuality. The play was reminiscent of surveillance stories like The Truman Show. It also bears resemblance to real-world psychological experiments gone wrong like Philip Zimbardo’s The Lucifer Effect, which highlights how “good people can be induced, seduced, and initiated into behaving in evil ways”. However, Bell approached these timeless and universal concepts through a queer lens, which made for an intriguing, thought-provoking story exploring the “performativity of gender and sexuality”.

Lu Bradshaw, is a playwright and a creative from Wollongong who has lived in various parts of NSW and ACT. In 2021 Lu finished studying Bachelor of Performance (Dean's Scholar) and they are studying Honours. Lu's and upcoming playwright making their mark in Sydney with their various works. Lu started writing short plays which was show cased in University of Wollongong. Lu has came on the podcast to speak to us about heir process in writing and how they were inspired to write the play 'Comfort, Spin, Travel', which was presented during Sydney WorldPride at Meraki Theatre. The show opens tonight. We are proud to support Lu's journey into using theatre to share their experiences. I am sure we will be seeing Lu Bradshaw in the future. Best wishes.

Exploring the spectrum of gender and the interpersonal relationships that come with it, Comfort, Spin, Travel is told in an Officeworks at 11 pm. Danny Chifley spoke with Hadrian Conyngham of Comfort, Spin, Travel!

Fruit Box Theatre is responsible for putting Sydney’s freshest, ripest, juiciest talent on the stage – providing nights of hella fun and educational entertainment. This vitamin-rich non-profit is putting on a bountiful harvest with four weeks of new shows by LGBTQIA+SB creators in what they’re calling the In Season program, from February 10 to March 11.

'Comfort, Spin, Travel', a game designed to test the efficacy of wheely chairs. What follows is a playful exploration of family, community, and gender identity, all through the lens of practical office furniture. Featuring a rousing solo performance by Hadrian Conyngham, Comfort, Spin, Travel questions the responsibility placed on trans people to advocate, educate, and be endlessly patient. How do we measure the usefulness of a person? And what happens when you stop playing the game?

With a face beat for the gawds (and a bright fluoro ensemble that any highlighter would be jealous of) Etcetera Etcetera joins MGG to chat about her one-woman show, ‘Big Screen, Small Queen’, nepo babies, and how she fell into drag.

Episode #2 has dropped cuties!!! ☕️ I chatted with @marty.quinn10 about all things queer joy, being in French Letters and Leather Cleaner and I think we might be starting our own side hustle with a movie podcast!? 👀🎧 Thanks for the chats and vibes. You have one more week to catch this beautiful show at @kxt_bakehouse ❤️‍🔥🌈

On today's episode, I sit down with writer Laurent Auclair, the writer of French Letters and Leather Cleaner which played during Sydney WorldPride 2023 at KXT Theatre in Sydney.

Laurent is a French-Australian writer who has written for tv and film, as well as publishing two plays. We discuss where his love of writing came from, why the topic of identity and safe spaces are important to him, and how other writers can find their voice.

You can book tickets to French Letters and Leather Cleaner which plays at Kings Cross Theatre until Friday 24th February, 2023 in the link here.

Actor Dennis Clements joins Honi to discuss his queer sex-positive show French Letters and Leather Cleaner.

It’s not often you can say that a theatre show: 1. Makes you feel like you’re in a sex store; 2. Makes you excited to be “in” a sex store; and 3. Uses the sex store to discuss important, timely issues impacting the multi-generational queer community whose Oxford Street home has become increasingly gentrified throughout the decades. I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of French Letters and Leather Cleaner, a new production presented by Fruit Box Theatre for World Pride.

Ever since she stomped onto Sydney’s drag scene, the “Glamour Bug” Etcetera Etcetera has been titillating audiences with her hilarious and provocative performances, witty personality, and exuberant fashion sense. After breaking out in season one of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, Etcetera has been booked and busy, performing on national tours, walking runways internationally, and just generally being an icon.

Ana here! On Monday we had the pleasure of viewing the opening night of drag superstar Etcetera Etcetera’s one woman show, Big Screen, Small Queen. The performance exhibited elements of traditional drag, including lip syncing, comedy and plenty of sparkles, in an intimate theatre setting, allowing Etcetera to display a vulnerability and sensitivity seldom seen in bars and nightclubs. Fierce lip sync performances were interspersed with poignant monologues spoken live on stage, many of which were excerpts of Etcetera’s own diary written during their time at film school.

Discovery, learning, sharing and sanctuary are themes which bounce joyously up to us from the Kings Cross Theatre stage during Laurent Auclair’s new play, French Letters and Leather Cleaner.

It was kind of good that KXT’s new building on Broadway wasn’t ready for this play – I mean if you’ve got a play set in an adult store, with enough ultrarealistic props to fill a real shop, then it’s got to be performed in Kings Cross. Plus, where else do you get to see a gorgeous salt ‘n’ pepper-haired leather guy swagger through the play, and wonder if he is an actor or had wandered upstairs from the bar by mistake?

Film school drop-out turned world-touring drag queen, Ru Paul’s Drag Race Down Under alumni and queer activist, the Glamour Bug themselves Etcetera Etcetera came by FBi to speak to Natali Caro for Kings and Queens on Up for It! with Bindi Mutiara last Thursday. They spilled the tea on their upcoming show ‘Big Screen, Small Queen’, a self-effacing one-woman criticism of the Australian film and television industry with a bit of golden-age Hollywood showbiz thrown in for good measure.

This is like a glass of bubbly; fun, light, effervescent – but with a kick.

Robbie runs a queer sex shop on Oxford Street. For many years it has proven a safe haven for the queer community. Kris, who now works there, was given shelter by Robbie, as was Santi, the drag queen.

Etcetera Etcetera may be a young drag queen, having graced our screen in a little reality comp you may or may not have heard of, *Cough cough Ru Paul's Drag Race Down Under*. The then mere 23-year-old had only been performing for around 4 years, when comparing that in drag years, well let's just say that it doesn’t even register on the wig-o-meter. Sashay to a few years later and the woman that stands before us now embodies all the glitz and glamour of a timely Hollywood starlet.

Spectacle and sparkle. A silver screen starlet. Quivering red lips and a bare chest that disappears into a tight-cinched corset. In Big Screen, Small Queen (Everything I Didn’t Learn At Film School), drag performer Etcetera Etcetera waves their twirling baton to transport us into their life and history as a film student and a drag performer. Produced by Fruitbox Theatre Company’s Madeleine Gandhi and Sean Landis, Big Screen, Small Queen is part of Pride Amplified.

Big Screen, Small Queen… sees this queen share a portion of her life, her time at film school that led to her career in drag. It’s a story that many will relate to. Of a young queer person thinking they’ve found a new freedom in an arts education, only to find it just as constricting and role-defining as the world outside. But where one dream ended, another was born as she discovered a new art form.

The whole city is being gentrified – is a staple fare over dinner table yarns in overdeveloping Sydney.

Hear that chat between an ageing shop owner, a savvy twenty-something, a jaded drag queen, and a straight Inner West couple inside the adult store in Oxford St Sydney – and the rest is magic.

With a killer work ethic commensurate with the idols she plays, Etcetera Etcetera dazzled the crowd with energetic choreography, flawless on-stage costume changes, and lots of sly quips about the nature of being a highly creative, non-binary person in a man’s man’s world. I must say, as a woman who often dances in heels, I am so impressed with how she balances so effortlessly in tiny stilettos on top of a tiny podium, stepping up with all the authority of a queen and commanding the crowd’s attention.

Opening on Valentine’s Day Eve, this thought-provoking, heart warming entertainment will thrill any crowd assembled in the KXT space. Any healthy Valentine worth their salt this WorldPride or ever would do well to consider the themes of growth and survival explored with engaging, honest integrity in this show.

Etcetera Etcetera has an extraordinary stage presence. Big Screen, Small Queen is a sharing of how the performer discovered the artform of drag – when they were supposed to be studying film. (Hence the show’s subtitle.) It’s a humorous and heart-warming tale of self-discovery and self-expression.

Already loved in Australia for her glamour and quick wit, non-binary drag and visual artist Etcetera Etcetera leapt onto the international stage thanks to her appearance on the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under. Since then she’s toured the nation and sashayed down fashion week runways, while her activism has seen her become a community ambassador for Australia’s oldest HIV charity, the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation, as well fundraising for LGBTQ+ organizations like Twenty10 and ACON.

It’s been nearly two years since Sean Landis became an Out For Australia 30 Under 30 winner, and since then his passion and talent for showcasing LGBTQIA+ in theatre has only gotten stronger. In fact, after graduating from university, he joined forces with Madeline Gandhi to create Fruit Box Theatre. Created in March just last year, this Sydney-based theatre company is a hub for writers and performers to share their stories—and will showcase its hard work at Sydney WorldPride.

L’auteur et scénariste Laurent Auclair nous parle de sa nouvelle pièce de théâtre, un huis-clos loufoque qui se déroule dans un sexshop, une ode à la communauté queer. Du 10 au 24 février, au théâtre KXT on Broadway, à Sydney.

Rupaul's dragrace: Down Under's very own 'Glamour Bug' Etcetera Etcetera joins Tragic Thespian to discuss their first ever one person show 'Big Screen, Small Queen (Everything I Didn't Learn At Film School), produced by Fruitbox theatre in association with bAKEHOUSE, coming to KXT during Sydney WordPride 2023.

Meraki is new to Oxford Street, but upholds the Sydney queer landmark’s home and heart. The multi-level bar is equipped to host intimate art gigs – perfect for when the street gets a little too rowdy. Sydney-based theatre collective Fruit Box Theatre is taking over Meraki for Sydney WorldPride with an array of shows and events – each best paired with the bars’ signature cocktails. Running from Tuesday, February 28 to Friday, March 10, event highlights include a Zest of the Zest comedy show and a Pip & Pulp poetry night (hosted by a familiar delicious. face). For tickets and more info, head to fruitboxtheatre.com.au.

Few Aussie drag artists are as respected and multi-talented as the self-proclaimed “glamour bug” Etcetera Etcetera. We caught up with her as she gears up for a huge one-woman theatre show as part of Sydney WorldPride 2023, to talk about all the glitz, glamour and gaggery that await us all, and how to survive the theatrics of Mardi Gras.

In this episode Kayla-Rose joins Tragic Thespians where we discusses her upcoming play 'French Letters and Leather Cleaner' and the struggles of playing a straight woman as a queer artist, Queer visibility and Are friendship breakups worse than romantic breakups?

Etcetera Etcetera is one of Australia’s most well known and visually striking drag artists. With a rich background in performance, makeup artistry, screen studies and fashion – Etcetera Etcetera has appeared on stages from Australia to New York.

Fruit Box Theatre has a whole bunch of new shows kicking off with a new play, French Letters and Leather Cleaner, set in a struggling adult store. This farce about community, gentrification, and the commodification of queer spaces should put a cheeky smile on your face.

Meraki Arts Bar will host a venue takeover for all its programming during the two weeks of WorldPride by Fruit Box Theatre, a Sydney-based queer theatre company.

Fruit Box Theatre is a finalist in ACON’s Honour 2022 Awards in recognition of its work to foster, nurture and amplify LGBTQIA+SB artists and stories through an innovative development program and creative collaborations.

Fruit Box Theatre is an exciting new non-profit that stages and develops original works by queer Australian artists. After the success of their recent Mardi Gras launch event, hosted by Etcetera Etcetera from Rupaul’s Drag Race Down Under, Fruit Box Theatre is now recruiting actors and writers for their inaugural script development program.

Queers have just survived another Federal Election. And are hurtling boldly through Pride month. To celebrate, Fruitbox Theatre returned to KXT bAKEHOUSE at the Kings Cross Hotel with a busy cabaret. On constant switch was a range of genres, segment pace and performance structure.

The sharing ranged from song, spoken word, comedy, improvisation, poetry, dance and even an appearance from The Bard themself, in no-nonsense 2023 Drag King style.

LOTL sits down with co-founder Sean and Maddie to discuss the Ripe Development Program, their vision for the theatre and plans for Sydney World Pride 2023.