Lathered in heavy make-up that’s as thick as her eastern-European accent, Rosa the Russian beautician is bringing her Baltic humour for a whirlwind tour of Western Australia.
With one night in Perth and two other dates in the state, Rosa’s alter ego Marney McQueen told OUTinPerth she couldn’t resist returning to the west.
Like any good comedian at the moment, McQueen’s show tackles the intricacies of political correctness like Tony Abbott at a women’s rights rally.
Unsurprisingly, gay audiences have taken to the ‘waxer to the stars’ with her leopard-print bodysuit and trademark soviet mullet.
She currently hosts her own radio show on Australia’s only LGBT radio station JoyFM, entertaining audiences with her backhanded jibes in broken English.
‘It’s just been so brilliant; it means that every week Rosa comments on current affairs and creates gags about them while in the studio,’ said McQueen.
McQueen attributed Rosa’s growing popularity among the gay community to an exuberant sexual prowess.
‘Well she’s very sexual. She loves big, strong hunky men groomed to perfection. But it’s just that she’s so outrageous and so confident,’ said McQueen.
‘She’s so into herself and into her looks and doesn’t give a shit what anyone thinks. She knows she is the bomb.’
It’s no exaggeration when McQueen speaks of Rosa’s engorged ego, embodied in the line: ‘It’s only natural, many, many men hungry for a slice for the hot Russian tart… just ask Mel Gibson.’
As well as Rosa, McQueen commands a troupe of similar characters who seem just a little bit too real at times for comfort.
Like the beautician, the rest of her characters stamp their own mark on the show through McQueen’s stand-out wit.
‘Karen Barnes is the head of Perth Airport’s Customs department who never cracks a smile and could possibly have a few subtle lesbian undertones,’ McQueen said.
‘One of her lines is “I’m like Edith Piaf, I have no regrets, except when I shot at a family of Sri Lankans I believed to be boat people and turns out they were passengers on the spirit of Tasmania.‒
Raelene Dreggs is the Gold Coast cougar who is fighting to free her incarcerated daughter, Sharna after she was found with an obscene amount of drugs in a foreign country.
Like any good mother, Raelene has been campaigning for her daughter’s release through the most sensible and obvious measure: releasing the single, ‘Song for Shana’ which she boldly performs at the show.
Then there is Damo Greggs.
Damo is the living, breathing stereotype of the Aussie traveller; he personifies every gap-year tale and backpacker’s half-finished travel journal.
With a visit to Thailand and a whirlwind tour of Europe under his belt, this intrepid transient even has a stubby cooler from Gallipoli that reads: ‘lest we forget … if we can remember’.
It’s the little details in McQueen’s characters like Damo’s Southern Cross tattoo emblazoned on one shoulder and a tribute to his dead dog Rusty on the other that truly engages her audiences on a personal level.
Annabel Sarah Victoria Winters-Smythe is her final character and like her name, is a bit of a handful.
McQueen’s style has been heavily influenced by her time at NIDA and experiences in New York with the king of improv, Barry Humphries.
McQueen drew inspiration from Dame Edna when creating Rosa: drawing similarities in their outlandish characters and rapid-fire quips.
Perth audiences shouldn’t be wary of the high level of participation, in fact McQueen encouraged it as she thrives on the interaction.
‘I love Perth, the Perth beaches and the Perth audiences’ McQueen said.
McQueen toured Perth last year with sell-out shows in Northbridge after her friends and family persuaded her to bring the show to the West coast.
Marney McQueen’s Sunburnt Country tour kicks off in Perth on Wednesday June 30 at the Octogon Theatre followed by a show in Karratha on July 4. She’ll also be performing in Toodyay on June 26.
For more information check out marneymcqueen.com
Benn Dorrington
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