Interview with vivid gender-messing artist, Ginava

By creammagazine, January 29, 2025

The single-monikered Ginava is no ordinary drag artist. Preferring to go by the plural pronouns of they/them, they stand as an important performer on the Perth queer scene, taking gender assumptions and throwing them out the proverbial window while maintaining that variety and entertainment remain key. It’s no surprise Ginava has been a huge hit at fringe festivals over east, and in New Zealand, and beyond.

Running their own production company, Gendermess Productions, Ginava is all business at the front, and party at the back, on the sides, and also at the front.

They and their ‘art disruptors’ often dress like vivid Muppet-style characters on stage – breaking all traditional rules in drag artistry. But don’t let the frumpy costumes fool you, for nothing stops this troupe from delivering serious dance moves, all the while lip-synching (if you can spot it!) to a variety of music genres, from disco to electro to hip-hop.

Ginava’s signature show at Fringe, Messy Friends, is a most eclectic production featuring a music selection that goes beyond the usual drag repertoire, all synced up to fun-bordering-on-mental visual skits. Much of the music selections are recycled year after year, with a couple of brand new performances rounding out the set nicely. But the shows are so good, I’m always happy to see the classics again.

There’s not a slick finger point, not a fierce glare, not a robotic dance gesture out of place, with every move adding to a potent lyric or general sentiment of any given song. Flamboyant artist Bobby Knox delivers her best robot gestures to Bjork’s Human Behaviour, her wardrobe of shiny alien bodysuit eventually removed to reveal a ‘meatier’ internal human guise. If Gaga had taken an acid trip, her meat antics still wouldn’t look as fabulous as this.

Then there’s Flynn V and his sexy sacrilegious moves to the soundtrack of KLP’s insistent Heater, and Mary Lamb O God all trussed up as a pageant queen on her way to a blind date – literally blindfolded and staggering her way in a striptease all across the stage. This icon beat Sabrina Carpenter on the dumb-bitch aesthetic by several years and is probably ten times as talented.

In a smart move, and as the show’s director, Ginava plays pre-recorded interviews with all co-stars on-screen, helping to keep audiences engaged while the artists are changing costumes for their next numbers.

If you think drag is all about ballgowns and up-dos, think again. Ginava and her Messy Friends are here to show you a new slant on dressing up and getting down. And it’s not all just about dress-ups and drag; these shows are filled to the brim with alternative performance art, comedy, postmodern burlesque and much, much more.

Interview by Antonino Tati

 

Hi Ginava. I trust Fringe is going well for you this year. How are you coping with the heat, and what tips do you have for all Fringe performers to cope with the high temperatures?

I try and make every single room feel like Antarctica before I enter. These costumes can be very consuming and hot, so I try and not stay in them for too long. I always have a very, very large bottle of water on hand, and if it gets really hot, I’ll have something with electrolytes too.

 

Why the name Ginava? It sounds like an exotic European city to us!

The drag name I started out with was Ava Gin, but it sounded too feminine to the ear when I would get called that. When my drag progressed and became more androgynous and masculine, I thought of rearranging the name and calling myself Ginava – which had more of an androgynous sound to it. What I like about my name is that it’s an anagram. And just like it suggests, I’m a ‘scrambled’ idea of a woman.

 

Lovely. How long have you been performing as Ginava and how do you feel you have changed since your early days?

I’ve been doing drag since 2011, and started by trying to do the very commercial feminine version of drag. I found it didn’t fulfil me creatively, and that it was limiting in how I could express myself. It has changed so much over the years that I sometimes don’t even look male, female, or even human. That’s what I love about my art form. There are no rules.

 

Indeed, would you call your art drag? We certainly feel it goes beyond that…

To me, the definition of drag is “an expression of an exaggerated masculine or feminine energy”. And by that definition, I think anyone can do drag, however they want to. I still think there needs to be an exaggeration of something in your expression, or a viewpoint that is uniquely yours, about how you express gender through performance.

 

“When audiences come to our shows and see these outrageous over-the-top costumes and choreography that’s not typically seen at a drag show, that’s the biggest point of difference we are the most proud of.”

 

You tend to break away from the norm when it comes to music and song selections to perform to; even a little hip-hop sneaks into your routines. Do you find it refreshing to change the music up from traditional diva ballads, for example?

I liked to be inspired by the music first. It’s like I create my own music video in my head and bring it to life on stage. I don’t think you should be restricted to one music genre or style. I just love finding and using songs that make me feel good or help me express what I need to express creatively.

 

 

Do you find new audiences are generally surprised by the variety in your shows, and what are some of the highlights they’ve mentioned again and again?

It’s usually the choreography and costumes that audiences mention the most. Audiences tend to have their own preconceived ideas on what a drag artist is. So, when they come to our shows and see these outrageous over-the-top costumes and choreography that’s not typically seen at a drag show, that’s the biggest point of difference we are the most proud of.

 

“When I came out 20 years ago, it was very scary [but] it was the most liberating thing I’ve done in my life. Seeing how much queer visibility there is in the world [now], the everyday fear and bigotry has dissipated quite a bit.”

 

Would you say your success with the Messy Friends show has led to more work – outside of Fringe World?

I would say it’s had a new reach that my work has never experienced before. It feels like, even though we have been presenting work at fringe festivals for the past ten years, we are only just getting discovered for the first time [by some people]. With this upcoming tour, it will be interesting to see what opportunities can manifest and what new audiences we will meet. I’m open to anything and everythingd; it is a very exciting time for my cast and I!

 

On a rather serious note regarding the LGBTQI communities, how should we deal with discrimination and how should we combat it?

It is knowing that when society is telling you that you are wrong for being who you are, or for loving who you love, that is out of fear and ignorance, and it’s a tactic to make you feel like you are alone, and when you are alone, you feel powerless. There is power in numbers, and there are others out there who love you for you. There’s the family that you are born into, and the family you get to choose. My Messy Friends are a part of my extended family that make me feel loved and supported.

 

Nice. How did your experience in coming out affect the way you see the world? Was it a harsher reality compared to now?

When I came out 20 years ago, it was very scary. But, in the end, it was the most liberating thing I’ve done in my life. In retrospect, the biggest difference is that there was so little visibility of queer people in media, so it wasn’t considered to the ‘normal’. Now, seeing how much queer visibility there is in the world, the everyday fear and bigotry has dissipated quite a bit.

 

 

What is one more piece of advice that you’d like to give to younger people, particularly trans or drag artists?

Empathy is key!

 

Finally, when you’re travelling, what are three things that you never leave home without?

Spare change of clothes, laptop, and ADHD medication!

 

Ginava’s ‘Messy Friends’ is on at The Rechabite Hall as part of Fringe World from January 30 to February 2, 2025. Tickets are available from fringeworld.com.au. There is also a fab production by name of ‘Messy Friends: Party Favours’ from February 12-16 De Parel Spiegeltent at The Pleasure Garden, Northbridge. Tickets available here. Oh, and Ginava also features in the Fringe show, Freak Out: The Afterparty on January 25 & February 1 at The Rechabite. Now that’s one busy artiste!