A fantastical celebration of scraps and discards across costume, performance, film, illustration and music. Borne of the broken, discarded detritus that litters the floor when the party’s over, BEASTIES is a celebration of queer performance fabulousness – and what it means to exist as creatives in this fractured world.
BEASTIES
Curated By
Alli Sebastian Wolf
Featuring
Deep Sea Astronauts/Alli Sebastian Wolf
Limax Maximus
Maisie Cohen
Sam Chen
Natural magpies, artists rarely throw things away, and for the Deep Sea Astronauts, tangled wigs, sequin off-cuts and crumpled remains of broken corsets are treasured trinkets for another day. This is that day. Part performance party, part exhibition, these magnificent creations – each with a rich and beautiful story to tell, are set to emerge chrysalis-like at Redfern’s iconic The Bearded Tit, between January 14th- March 28th 2025. Captured as illustrations, on film and stills in their (new) natural environments, and in person, the BEASTIES will come to life on special nights when some of Sydney’s most beloved dance/ drag/ pole/ theatre/ burlesque performers inhabit their glittering skins.
BEASTIES explores twin strands of the discarded: rubbish and queerness. With a strong environmental ethos to value/ repurpose the garbage we create, Deep Sea Astronauts transform trash into objects of fun and camp glamour, of art and play, and the show is a response to the way queers have been vilified and discarded throughout history. Tragically, queer people are again increasingly othered, dehumanised and subject to attack: BEASTIES speaks to, and is part of, the powerfully creative and performative reaction that has grown from this demonisation. Each creature tells a different story as the BEASTIES were inspired by, and created for, the performer who inhabits their skin, incorporating the personal, cultural and thematic offerings
offered up through the development process. Picture Betty Grumble bedecked in bits of the Glittoris that was on The Opera House mainstage, a riot of hoods and sparkles, gold, glitter, a hair bikini and a healthy dose of Sheela Na Gig...
“These Beasties are made from the literal history of queer performance and parties, with each costume repurposed from the scraps of countless shows before it (including many performed at The Bearded Tit). Through them we channel the celebratory resistance of queer culture and an innate need to protect the world from further glittery landfill; transforming trash into creatures of exceptional beauty, curious beasts that invite intrigue and wonder.”
Curator, performer and maker, Alli Sebastian Wolf
