Paid in Puke S10E8: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

On this episode of Paid in Puke, we’re having a gay old time in the Australian outback with Stephan Elliott‘s 1994 debut feature, “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”, starring Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp. It tells the story of two drag queens and one trans woman who bring their cabaret act across the country to places both receptive and dangerous. The movie has some Hot Probs (including an inexcusable Asian stereotype character), but it also served as a pioneering film queer cinema, despite the cis maleness of the three lead actors. 

We’re joined by special guest Lynn Harris: writer, producer, standup comedian and founder and CEO of Gold Comedy. We discuss the origin of pride parades, the proverbial desert that is trans representation, how far drag has come since the 90s, and some of our favorite modern queens. 

Listen to the episode!

SIFF Review: The Queen of Ireland

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Director Conor Horgan is a longtime friend of Ireland’s most famous drag queen, Panti Bliss, so he couldn’t be more qualified to bring her story to the big screen. Panti is more than just an entertainer. She is the accidental leader of a civil rights movement in Ireland, kick starting the national conversation about gay rights and marriage equality. It’s very possible that without her advocacy, Ireland wouldn’t have become the first country to approve marriage equality by popular vote. Horgan’s engaging and concisely comprehensive film tells the story of Panti’s origins and how she came to be The Queen of Ireland.

Panti Bliss isn’t exactly a household name in America, but in Ireland, she’s basically RuPaul. Panti’s male counterpart is Rory O’Neill, a man from a small, idyllic town in County Mayo called Ballinrobe. He grew up “painfully middle class” but always with the awareness that he was different from other boys. Horgan, began filming Rory/Panti in 2010 when he was still just a moderately successful club owner and drag persona. It’s their personal connection that gives TheQueen of Ireland a boost of intimacy. Rory is extremely comfortable revealing himself to the camera because his dear friend is behind it…

Read the rest on Hammer to Nail!