A high-camp, chaotic drag cabaret written and performed by iconic Welsh mother and daughter drag-duo Polly Amorous and Esther Parade. Join Polly and Esther as they navigate chosen family, adolescence and villainous low-fat yogurt-based probiotic gut-health brands.
It’s a celebration of self-expression, a joyfully queer blend of drag, musical theatre and cabaret, and a tale of finding family in unlikely places.
Q&A with Polly Amorous & Esther Parade
How does it feel to be heading to Edinburgh Fringe?
POLLY: It’ll be my first time in Scotland! I can’t wait, I love a holiday!
ESTHER: Well…this is my third Fringe in a row bringing a show. So, my outlook is perhaps a bit more wary than Polly’s…only because I know how full on it can be.
POLLY: But in a good way, right?
ESTHER: Most of the time! We just need to remember to sleep and eat.
POLLY: That sounds really boring.
What can you tell us about your show and its inspiration?
POLLY: It’s about us, and what it’s like to find your chosen family as a queer person.
ESTHER: Chosen family is such an important thing for queer people, especially in the drag world. Drag is a bit of an unknown entity when it comes to knowing how to find your feet, so having a support system is a huge benefit, and that’s what Polly was to me when I started drag about three years ago. So technically, she’s my drag mother.
POLLY: However, we don’t really like the mother/daughter terminology. Being a mother ages me something terrible.
ESTHER: Right – so the show kind of unpacks how as queer people we get to unpack and reinvent family and friendship.
POLLY: Whilst also being incredibly silly, with a load of stupid pop culture references.
ESTHER: Yes – plus the soundtrack really is banger after banger!
How do you think audiences will react to the show
POLLY: We’d like to think there’s something for everyone in our silly little show. It’s got a lot of silly comedy, a lot of fun songs, so we’re hoping audiences will react with…joy?
ESTHER: And probably a bit of confusion. The show is a bit like being slapped across the face with a big gay sparkly carton of milk. Right?
POLLY: Right…whatever that means.
How have you been preparing for the festival?
ESTHER: We’re supported by the Edinburgh National Partnership scheme with Pleasance and Sherman theatre, as well as some amazing support from Wales in Edinburgh, via Arts Council of Wales, which has given us loads of time to rehearse, and even preview the show in Work in Progress versions earlier this year.
POLLY: We did Brimingham Pride and Brighton Fringe, as well as our preview run in Cardiff. Lots and lots of fun to get early audience responses.
Will you get a chance to enjoy the rest of the festival?
ESTHER: Our apartment is around the corner from CC Blooms. So you’ll find us there most nights, I imagine. Supporting local queer spaces is important and we intend to do just that!
POLLY: I’m looking forward to seeing some other silly queer shows; Awkward Productions’ ‘Gwyneth Goes Skiing’ ‘Skin Pigeon’ by Lorna Rose Treen and Dylan Mulvaney’s show are at the top of my list.
ESTHER: ‘Wuthering Shites’ by Kate Butch and ‘My Son’s a Queer’ by Rob Madge, I saw back in 2022 so am looking forward to return visits to those.
POLLY: We’re also planning spa days for our days off.
Do you have any Fringe anecdotes you can share with us?
POLLY: Ask me this question this time next year.
ESTHER: Mine are almost definitely not PG.
POLLY: Let’s just leave it there, shall we?
ESTHER: Yes, let’s.
Polly & Esther is at The Green, Pleasance Courtyard from 31 July to 25 August
