More than a decade ago—on the stage of the Lazy Butterfly in Launceston—Pussay Poppins was born. In the years since, Pussay has become a member of Tasmanian drag royalty, bringing the artform to some of the state’s most isolated (and intolerant) areas, and fostering a flourishing queer community at her own Hobart venue, Judy’s.
“To explain how I got into drag, you kind of have to take another journey,” Pussay Poppins tells Not Safe For Queers.
“I grew up in a family of immigrant Lebanese Catholics in a small town in the middle of New South Wales,” Pussay begins. “And that really stifled a lot of my feelings about my gender identity, my queer expression, and my queer self. So, I pushed it all down inside of me.”
Then came along Lady Gaga, one of Pussay’s earliest obsessions. The self-proclaimed Little Monster says it was Gaga’s ability to blend fashion, technology and performance art which inspired her to first dabble in costuming—and eventually drag.
“Through dressing up, I was able to filter a lot of that urge to be feminine and queer. I was like, if I can put all the things that I hate about myself in one place, then the rest of my life can be fine. Andrew can be fine,” Pussay admits.
“Over time, the two characters just melted together, and I realised that Pussay was a part of myself.”
But the performer’s first ‘official’ appearance as a drag queen wouldn’t happen until she moved to Launceston a few years later. “I saw a couple of drag shows at the local gay bar, and me—being a bit drunk—was like, ‘I could do a better job than this,’ and then someone else told me to either put up or show up,” she laughs.
In the years to come, Pussay would compete in the national drag competition, Dragnation, receive a contract at Hobart’s Flamingos, and even perform at events organised by MONA and DarkMOFO.
But when COVID hit, things came to a screeching halt for Pussay. Not only was it an isolating and emotionally challenging time, but the aforementioned Flamingos (Hobart’s only permanent LGBTQIA+ venue) was forced to close its doors.
“During the pandemic, I was working in health, and I was quite isolated. For like 18 months, I was living by myself, going to work, seeing COVID patients, going home and not knowing what’s happening. And I didn’t do drag for such a long time,” Pussay says. “So then after we came out of it, I was like, ‘you know what? We need to reconnect community, to build it back up.’”
Soon after lockdowns had lifted, Ulverstone—once known as ‘Australia’s most homophobic town’—hosted its inaugural Pride In The Park, and Pussay saw this as the perfect opportunity to do some of that rebuilding.
Contacting the event organiser, Pussay asked if she could donate her time, and the pair agreed on a story time. “It ended up being 300 or 400 people. It was massive. It was wild. People were crying. Lots of young queer people were like, ‘this is incredible, I can never make it down to Hobart, so I never thought I’d ever see a drag queen in real life,’ and that kind of shifted my brain to be like, ‘I need to change things down here for people,’” Pussay says.
A few months later, in early 2022, Pussay and her business partner launched Judy’s, an LGBTQIA+ club night at Altar. In the beginning, they ran Judy’s whenever they could, which often meant that the timing was irregular. But as the need for the event continued to grow, Pussay gave it some consistency.
“I’m like, let’s make it more: let’s make it the last Saturday of every month, and let’s do it in this venue. Let’s focus on getting the name out there and having consistency so that people know on the last Saturday of every month there’s a place they can go and watch a drag show, have a dance, be in a safe environment and feel included,” she says.
“I realised, hey it’s my business. I can take it where I really want to go with it. I can make it as accessible for the community as possible, and give opportunities to queer people, DJs, artists, and performers. I can really prioritise and support queer artists and give people space and support.”
More recently, Pussay has used Judy’s as a vehicle through which she can organise events, competitions, and festivals, like Judy’s Drag Ball, and Junior Judy’s, an alcohol- and drug-free event for those under 21.
“As much as I love yelling and roasting people and making d*ck jokes, drag—for me—is also about providing education and visibility in the scene, and just kind of like pushing myself from that perspective. Not just in Hobart, but in Launceston and Ulverstone and Burnie.”
You can catch Pussay Poppins monthly at her own venue, Judy’s, and at various other venues and events around Tasmania. For specific dates and locations, head to her website (which she regularly updates).