★★★★1/2
Adelaide Fringe. The Yurt at Migration Museum. 28 Feb 2023
When Fringe Festival artistic director Heather Croall realised Fenton Bailey was on his way to New Zealand to produce the next series of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, she realised this was too good an opportunity to miss. So, she invited him to the Fringe to launch his book ScreenAge: How TV shaped our reality from Tammy Faye to RuPaul’s Drag Race and assured him that the detour wouldn’t take him out of his way – after all, Adelaide is the way to new Zealand! (Heather, rest assured that some fibs are totally excusable, and this was one of them!)
For one whole intriguing hour, which seemed like five minutes , Croall engaged with Bailey in a TV chat show format and talked about the book itself and his life’s work in “giving a voice to marginalised communities and society's oddballs”. Initially tentative, Croall quickly settled into a routine of carefully listening to what he was saying and offered just enough comment or asked a probing question that kept Bailey on a roll that demonstrated to the spellbound capacity audience that he was a man of substance, a force for good in a troubled world, and a man with a rich life experience.
Along the way we were treated to gloriously funny gossip, insights into the lives of celebrities such as the iconic RuPaul, and implied hints at how to achieve one’s ambitions in business by never not believing in oneself.
It could have all been froth and bubble, but it wasn’t, as evidenced by the quality of the searching questions and the incisive answers given during the Q&A at the end of the event, which traversed all manner of topics from Trumpism, social justice, and human dignity. Of course there was a book signing, with the obligatory selfie, and the available copies were quickly snapped up! (Screenage hasn’t yet been released officially in Australia!)
An enlightening and attention-grabbing event. A gem of the Fringe!
Kym Clayton
When: 28 Feb
Where: The Yurt at Migration Museum
Bookings: Closed
