Combining Indian classical dancing with the camp theatrics of Bollywood through a queer lens, Bent Bollywood was a definite must-see show during Midsumma Festival this year. Created and Performed by queer performance artists Raina Peterson and Govind Pillai, the show explored how different sexualities, genders and cultures can co-exist and complement each other.
Bent Bollywood began with a nod to traditional dancing and gradually grew in its exploration of queerness within these heavily steeped traditions. "Raina
particularly was using lots of gendered mudras (hand gestures) in their spiritual solo opening piece, doing the gesture for
female and male repeatedly. They were working
with those traditional gestures and dissolving them into
dust to almost disestablish the notion of binary genders," Pillai tells me.
The Cocoa Butter Club has been showcasing the talents of Indigenous and/or Performers of Colour (IaoPoc) in London since its inception in 2016. In 2017, theatre maker and live artist Krishna Istha and drag king and community artist Dani Weber launched the Australian based group and for Midsumma Festival the duo have returned with a new curated evening of burlesque and performance at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Istha and Weber have brought together an accomplished list of performers that are not only thoroughly entertaining but who also use their art to leave an impact or mark on their audience and to raise awareness of the issues they're facing. Singer/songwriter Garret Lyon's three song performance was a highlight of the evening and I'm confused as to why a voice like that is not as well known as it should be. Similarly, Melbourne musician Mojo Juju had the Fairfax Theatre erupting in applause with her appearance.
