Divine Trash | GALORE! Presents

Images: Finnian Mullen

GALORE! Presents: DIVINE TRASH! is an outrageous, gleefully anarchic celebration of underground cabaret at its most fearless. Conceptualised by Jay Radford and Maddy Grant, this Brisbane-based collective champion experimental and alternative performance through their quarterly GALORE! cabaret nights, with DIVINE TRASH! as their latest riotous testament to their unique artistic vision. As MC Rebel Star aptly declared, “We make weird art.” Weird it certainly is—but also brilliant, brave, and blisteringly funny.

The evening, split into two sets, is a fever dream of drag, burlesque, clowning, stand-up, improvisation, physical theatre, and absurdist comedy. Framed with the irreverent spirit of filmmaker John Waters—famed for celebrating outsider culture and disrupting mainstream society—the show deliberately smashes conventional norms around gender, sexuality, performance, and taste.

MC Rebel Star is a standout presence throughout, opening the night in a skin-tight pink Lycra outfit and anchoring the chaos with wit, charm, and a touch of camp madness. Their transitions between acts are as much performance as the acts themselves, whether belting Streisand with homicidal flair or morphing into an Afro-wigged “Farilyn Funroe” to serenade us with scatological showtunes. Rebel’s persona effortlessly straddles glamour, sass and sincerity—and sets the tone for a night that refuses to take itself too seriously, while still delivering serious creative impact.

Each act is framed with a mock-Waters tagline—“If John Waters directed the Little Mermaid,” “Beauty Pageant,” “Bee Movie”—setting up deliciously deranged scenarios. Miss Ta’s lip-syncing love scene with a fake snake, and subsequent lingerie lobster attack, whereas Bin Chick’s “My Trash QLD” pageant act combines high camp, clever costume design, and flawless lip sync perfectly blended.

Sasha Barclay’s performance reimagines bee mating rituals through a sensual, comic tragedy mixing documentary-style narration with burlesque and ribbon work. It’s clever, moving, subversive genius —a great example of the layered subtext found in many of the night’s performances.

These moments are not about shock for shock’s sake—they parody the absurdity of both prudish and pornographic culture in equal measure.

Images: Finnian Mullen

Act Two dives deeper into chaos and cabaret. “Shit Stirrers” sees two dancers escalate toilet humour into romantic tension, climaxing in a soapy, farcical pash to Unchained Melody. Gabby Carbon’s tartan strip-tease evolves into a sex shop, hula-hoop spectacle, just hysterical.

Zen Zen Zo offer a haunting and highly stylised contrast as one of the closing performances of the night. Their Butoh-inspired movement pieces and Japanese Siren fusion bring an eerie beauty to the show’s final notes—balancing visceral choreography with surreal vocal work. It’s proof of GALORE!’s curatorial skill: even amid the filth and frenzy, there’s room for breathtaking elegance and emotional depth.

The night ends on a defiant high with Duckie Darling’s empowering, rage-fuelled performance—a clarion call for female power and queer liberation. “Stay angry, Duckie!” indeed—her act encapsulates the riot grrrl energy surging throughout the show.

What makes DIVINE TRASH! exceptional within the underground cabaret scene is its curatorial confidence, commitment to inclusivity, and deep understanding of cabaret’s subversive roots. The GALORE! team and the EC Venue offer a safe, inclusive space that allows both artists and audiences to take bold creative risks. It’s not just a collection of outrageous acts—it’s a carefully crafted night of communal rebellion, laughter, and catharsis.

Ultimately, DIVINE TRASH! shows the power of performance to disrupt, challenge, and connect. It’s messy, wild, strange, and frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious. For those looking to experience the cutting edge of queer cabaret, GALORE! continues to prove they are not just presenting shows—they’re creating underground art history.

Rating: 5 stars—Filthy, fearless, and unforgettable.

Galore! presents their quarterly underground cabaret nights, each with a different theme, every March, June, September and December.  Their ode to John Waters, ‘Divine Trash’ was held at the EC Venue, Fortitude Valley on 28 June 2025. Follow them on Instagram for details of their next cabaret.

Harmonie Downes

Harmonie is a creative consultant working in the Creative Industries and community and disability sectors. Harmonie specialises in inclusive and accessible arts practice, events and business strategy for artists.

She has worked as a ceramic artist in her own practise, as an artworker, as a touring musician and ensemble facilitator, booking agent, mentor and marketer for creatives, festival director, producer and stage manager for large scale complex festivals, small to medium events and major performing arts venues across the country, a grant assessor for organisations and is on a couple of boards and steering committees.

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