Review: ENBY-Us: Drag Too Hot for Any Binary

Words by Phoebe Robertson (she/her) 

CW: Homophobia, Transphobia.

After TERF activist Posy Parker's visit to New Zealand, the current political climate has been volatile for queer people. Drag storytimes in Tāmaki Makaurau have been cancelled due to protestors, and both drag performances and non-binary identities are being outlawed in America. I was interested to see how, in Wellington, an exclusively non-binary-casted drag show responded to this. The answer? Sex, and a lot of it. 

Produced by Neon Lux (@the_neonlux on Instagram), the ENBY-Us show at Ivy Bar on Saturday the 29th of April night featured performers Neon Lux, Fetishini (@fetishini_drag), Selina Simone (@the_selina_simone), Amoeba Geeza (@amoebageezer), Hysteria (@hysteriahhhhh), Slay West (@slay_west), Blink Bogan (@blinkbogan), and Allikins Jerome (@allikins_arts). While I will forever describe the venue as a sweaty gay basement, the performers put their best foot forward to deliver the newest edition of Wellington’s long running non-binary drag showcase. 

Performer Fetishini rose to the sexual prompt by appearing to the crowd in a gimp suit. In a high energy, sex packed performance, their persona was fully realised, with the act of appearing in a gimp suit nodding toward kink communities. 

Amoeba Geeza’s best moment was when they revealed that the colours of the non-binary flag were taping their chest flat. This was met with a wide cheer from the audience in a moment of non-binary pride. 

Blink Bogan was notable, as they came to the stage in a look that I can only describe as a ‘fuckable alien’. They performed to a high energy pop song that they, Wellington Drag Performer of the Year, are known for. 

But if I had to say who the show went to, it’d be the ever charming (if not slightly too caffeinated) Neon Lux. They opened the show with a number involving balloons (my biggest fear), situating the audience at a gender reveal party. They also closed out the show with a lip sync to Mariah Carey’s ‘Obsessed’. The number was campy, classy, and a leading encapsulation of what the show was all about. 

In response to the current political climate, performer Slay West’s number directly called out anti-trans figures. It featured them ripping up printed pictures of people such as Posie Parker and JK Rowling. 

After Allikin Jerome’s performance, they addressed the audience and gave a short speech about the #19FiredUpStilettos movement. Their number is worth mentioning too—they were truly the definition of subverting gender stereotypes. They had painted themself a masculine face, and were wearing a silicone chest plate with the appearance of a male gym rat, a latex skirt, hat, and pleasers with red lipstick. The combination of masculine and feminine features left the audience looking at something truly gender non-conforming, and the sexual tone of the performance worked well to complement this. 

The night was truly a showcase of non-binary excellence. It was a welcome contrast to what Western media often portrays drag to be—cis men dressing up as hyper feminine or sexualised women, such as in RuPaul's Drag Race, which features drag queens that exclusive perform glamour and femininity with a majority cis, white, male cast. A discussion I once had with a friend was about how you can tell when a performer respects the gender or subject that they’re portraying. In this respect, love and joy was clear to me at ENBY-Us. 

It seemed the crowd was responding to this difference too. ENBY-Us had an affirming crowd that truly wanted the performers to do their best. And the performers certainly did just that. If you’re interested in keeping up to date on this show, and others like it, follow the show’s producer, Neon Lux, on social media.