Rumours around a new event channelling the glory days of edgy, ambitious, nineties drag entitled Voix de la Ville (French for ‘voice of the city’) started as whispers, but of late have developed into a full blown sirens’ call . Run by Ash Baroque, this monthly afternoon matinee will be a showcase of talent from a variety of genres, an evening affair firmly entrenched in the notion that drag – like all ribald performance – is just another word for vaudeville.
‘It’s an open platform for new and established performance artists, whether they be burlesque or performance art or drag queens or cabaret singers,’ Baroque explained to OUTinPerth of his new venture. ‘It’s focussed on more alternative performers and not so much mainstream theatre. I think it’s important to take a lot of the performers we see out in the club scene and put them somewhere where it is more focussed and geared toward performance.
‘It’s more like a modern variety show so the aesthetic is very come as you will. It’s not necessarily geared toward an end product or a set of expectations. It’s more a proposal of ideas from a collection of artists who want to express themselves. The aesthetic of the evening is carnival with something quite contemporary. If you were to associate anything with it I’d have to say colour.’
Baroque is known as perhaps one of the more outrageous club kids the Perth scene has created. After all, it was Baroque who spent New Years just gone flitting around Connections dressed as Lady Godiva – big blonde wig and skin tone bodystocking. After realising that his personality was far too big for this fair city, Baroque left for the big lights of London where the club kid phenomenon had just exploded with launch of Boombox and the now legendary Kashpoint – the latter responsible for fashion designer Gareth Pugh, gay musician Patrick Wolf and others like Daniel Lismore.
Here, Baroque worked as a makeup artist and immersed himself in being outrageous, through and through. It paid off, garnering him work at some of the best clubs in London town, plus a spot in the iconic club kid international magazine Gazelland as one of the fashionistas appearing in that city. It was an over the top grandeur that Baroque decided to pack first on his return home to Perth, a sensibility he is firmly channelling into this new night.
So what exactly can people expect… or more to the point, what will Baroque be looking for in a good act? ‘I’m looking for someone who is open minded, liberal, a visionary on some level and essentially provides comedy and tragedy and takes you through a series of emotions. I think drag should be a contradiction and a kind of a walking dichotomy. It’s an expression.’
And Voix de la Ville promises to deliver. Already the likes of singer Ostin Torre, living legend Strykermeyer, the incomparable Glamour Puss and original Perth brat packer Anne Marie Therese – among others – will be on hand to set the standard of performance at a high level. Add tunes from The Amazing Petros Rhythm Machina and you have all the trappings of an evening affair that will take your breath away.
Voix de la Ville opens on Sunday June 28 at The Castle with doors open from 4pm until 9pm and $10 cover charge, with shows happening on the hour.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
