Fa'afafines at the Sydney Opera House 2009 (2023)

Probably the pinnacle of my drag performance career was performing in a line up with Sydney's best drag performers at a Christmas show at the Sydney Opera House. Produced by Amelia Airhead (Anthony Carthew), Buckwheat, Tess Tickle and Bertha were invited to perform as the only NZ queens in an all-Australian line up.

By this point, I had all but retired from drag. My last regular gig was 2002-2004 at the Imperial Hotel hosting Monday Night Trivia with my offsider, Jamaica Hormone (RIP), who was often the brunt of my wicked tongue and humour (now an angel, but not due to my lethal wit).

In 2005 I joined the Valonz Group, a renowned company with a group of hair salons as well as editorial styling, runway styling and red carpet events. Even as a child, I had been embarrassingly addicted to playing with dolls and restyling their hair. Not the typical sort of activity for your traditional Sāmoan boy. I even used to blow-dry my young sisters' hair with the vacuum on reverse to create some over-the-top 80s hairstyles (sorry Lina and Sera). Two of my most beloved flatmates, Arthur Tauhore in Wellington and Sean McDonagh in Auckland, were both hairdressers. So it seemed like karmic comeuppance that I now managed hair salons, albeit darned amazing salons, and hairdressers.

Out of the blue, Bucky and Tess contacted me to join them at the Sydney Opera House show. The dress is a brown-beaded, sequined sleeveless style coupled with a massive purple afro worn for the number 'Count On Me' by Whitney Houston and Cece Wynans, a beautiful number that expresses my feelings of sisterhood toward my sister, Buckwheat (Edward Cowley). I do not consider him my brother, but more accurately, I consider him my sister.

I cannot understate the importance of the sisterhood amongst drag performers and Fa'afafine. From my own sisters Buckwheat, Tess Tickle, BustOp, Shanaenae, Lindah LePou, Ramon Te Wake and Raphael Thomson, to other luminary sisters with whom I have been associated through the years: Ymania Brown-Gabriel, Phylesha Acton-Brown, Phineas Hartson, Ricca Paris, Lewis Taula, Ken Moala, Cindy of Sāmoa and so many others.

'Fa'afafines at the Sydney Opera House 2009' (2023) by Yuki Kihara.
Plastic doll, fabric and mixed media. 450mm (H) x 170mm (W).
Dolls created for BERTHA (2023) in Paradise Camp an exhibition by Yuki Kihara, curated by Natalie King. Commissioned by Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Courtesy of Yuki Kihara and Milford Galleries, Aotearoa New Zealand. Photos: Gui Taccetti.