From Timaru to Melbourne, to appearing in the hit television show Rupaul’s Drag Race: Down Under to Rent the musical, Bailey Dunnage is returning to his home town with a cabaret show featuring his drag persona Aubrey Haive.
People may remember Mr Dunnage from when he busked on Stafford St, but he has since moved to Melbourne, where his drag persona Aubrey Haive was born from the Covid-19 lockdowns.
The name for his drag persona comes from the family favourite film Austin Powers and is a play on the classic catchphrase from the film ‘‘Oh behave’’.
From there he went on to compete on the reality drag queen television show Rupaul’s Drag Race: Down Under.
The 26-year-old returned to New Zealand in October where he has been playing the character Angel in Rent in Christchurch.
‘‘It has been nice to be back in New Zealand seeing friends and family. I love New Zealand, there has always been something special about it.’’
Now he is bringing his cabaret show, Cabar-Aive with Aubrey Haive to the Playhouse.
‘‘It is a bit surreal with the cabaret show, with this show I feel like there is a new pressure to be even better than before because of the exposure I have had from the television show.
‘‘I feel the pressure to perform better since I didn’t get to show a lot [of what I could do] on the show, so this is my opportunity to show people that I have more to offer.’’
He said he has had fun preparing for the show and he wants to be his best, with pieces within the show giving a cheeky nod to Timaru. The show will be Aubrey Haive’s Timaru debut; she was due to perform at the Caroline Bay Carnival, but Mr Dunnage had to cancel as he caught Covid-19.
‘‘Aubrey helps audiences see how joyous and creative drag is, a lot of people have never seen a drag queen in person, some have only ever seen one on the television.
‘‘It is fun and silly, I want to expose audiences to drag and show them how it is an escape from reality, and hopefully how inspiring it is.’’
Mr Dunnage said he was very pleased that about half of the tickets had been sold for the show already but he was also a little worried coming back after such a long time.
‘‘I wasn’t sure if people remembered who I was but I am not too worried about the show.’’
Mr Dunnage said it was important as a performer, especially in drag, to take in the crowd and see where they were at.
‘‘I have tweaked things for the Timaru crowd. I am not doing anything too risque, I’m not pushing them too far.’’
He said that people who want to see the show would buy a ticket and those who do not want to see it will not buy a ticket.
‘‘In Melbourne there are still protests of people who want to boycott things like this. If these people would come to the show, they would see it is not what they think it is, what they believe it is has been blown out of proportion.
‘‘It is a character — just because I look amazing doesn’t mean people have to be offended by it.’’
This summer was also the first time Mr Dunnage’s family got to meet Aubrey in person.
‘‘They watched the (TV) show but they said it was incredible and amazing to see the transformation in person.’’
He said he has had support from everyone for the cabaret show, and said it was nice knowing they were still supporting, watching and proud of what he was doing.
Mr Dunnage said he had an incredible experience while on the television show and he learned a lot that helped him unlock new passions.
‘‘Drag for me comes back to the creativity as well as the performance, preparing outfits and designing on the show unlocked a new passion for fashion.’’
He said he was happy to be there, even if he was a bit nervous, but found meeting the other queens very surreal and he learned a lot from them.
‘‘So many doors were opened from it, as my drag persona was so small that even people in Melbourne didn’t know who I was. Now most of Australasia knows who I am.’’
Mr Dunnage said he would love to be more of an advocate for queer and drag scenes in small towns and found coming back to Timaru an eye-opener for him.
‘‘I came out as queer when I left Timaru and haven’t been back for a prolonged amount of time since then.
‘‘To see where everyone is at, it is still quite conservative, which is scary for people who are trying to discover and figure themselves out.’’
He said there were people out there, even if they were not in your town, who were there for you and would support you.
‘‘You just have to hang in there and it is really hard at times but you need to find your people, don’t lose hope.
‘‘Everyone is so connected these days that you can find safe online communities, and know that you are not alone because it can be isolating.’’
Cabar-Aive with Aubrey Haive will be held at The Playhouse on January 27 and tickets are available from aubreyhaive.com/events.
