hello roxee

FROM TUPPERWARE PARTIES IN THE SUBURBS TO THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF TV HOSTING AND CABARET SHOWS, ADAM LARKHAM AND HIS ALTER-EGO ROXEE HORROR REIGN AS WOLLONGONG’S MOST-LOVED DRAG QUEEN

Images Mark Schodde

With a background in the performing arts and teaching drama, embracing a drag persona hasn't been too big a leap for Adam Larkham, or Roxee Horror as he is also known.

In 2016, he adopted a drag persona for the first time while hosting suburban Tupperware parties – then as Crystal Clearmate, a name inspired by a well-loved Tupperware product – and proved to be a natural at balancing hosting duties while providing some cheeky laughs. “When I was doing Tupperware, an old friend invited me to audition for a theatre production in the Blue Mountains. I’d never done drag on stage before, but thought ‘let's give that a go’ and I loved it. We did a run of seven shows,” says Adam.

Adam then entered – and won – a competition to become the face of MTV Pride 2017, going on to co-host a MTV segment with legendary Australian drag queen Courtney Act for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

“I actually auditioned as myself. I put a little snippet in of my drag persona, but I didn't think they would want to use it. I won the competition as myself, but then halfway through filming they transitioned to my drag character. I changed my stage name to Crystal Queer – that was my first real drag name and it’s all grown from there,” Adam says.

Although the drag name and styling has since changed, the high-profile hosting gig kicked off a new career, including hosting regular bingo and trivia nights, hen’s nights and corporate events. After filming the MTV segment,Adam decided to approach local businesses that might be interested in utilising drag for their events, with Unity, a not-for-profit organisation, the first to take on the newly-named Roxee Horror in April 2017. “Unity held monthly events for the queer community at the Tennis Club in Wollongong – drinks, dancing and drag shows. Another Queen was working there and had noticed the MTV gig and they asked me to work at their events. The events started growing bit by bit and I then started hosting Backdoor Bingo at local RSL clubs.”

The popularity of drag in Wollongong has helped Adam to grow from a once-a-month hobby to a full-time business. “It started as a fun hobby. At the beginning, I was only doing it month to month and I had my full-time job. I had one costume to organise, one song to prepare, one wig to style.” And as interest boomed, the opportunities for Roxee to perform came with it – DragTime Storytime (in conjunction with Wollongong City Library), host of Speigeltent Wollongong, judge for the SoYou ThinkYou Can Drag? talent show, and a return invitation from MTV to host her very own ‘12 Days of Christmas’ segment.

In 2018, Merrigong Theatre approached Adam to develop a series of ‘one night only’ cabaret shows – Roxee Horror's Spring Fling and Roxee Horror's Drag Extravaganza – with both shows selling out at the Music Lounge. Given its success, Roxee and her eclectic bunch of local Queens have gone on to create and perform another two highly successful shows in the larger Wollongong Town Hall space, with other shows planned for 2021 at IPAC.

“It’s a collaboration, the whole cast work with each other. I'll have the general idea of the songs I want to use and who might play a certain character, but then I ask, ‘Who knows this song? Who loves this song?’” says Adam.“From there, they help me form a story around the songs. I'm very mindful to try and, as much as I can be, be politically correct. You see a drag show to be shocked, but there's a right way to shock people and there's a wrong way to shock people.”

The events started growing bit by bit and I then started hosting Backdoor Bingo at local RSL clubs

But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. As was the case for many local creatives, lockdown and venue restrictions meant that many pre-booked gigs were no longer. “I went from being fully booked to absolutely nothing. I had all this time and wanted to stay connected with my audience and keep myself out there,” says Adam.And so Roxee’s latest venture was born – a successful weekly YouTube series ‘Word Vomit’, with fellow drag queen Ellawarra.

“It’s generally Ella and myself. We do challenges, although when we first started we didn't know what we were doing!”Adam laughs.“We sat down, did our make-up and just talked to the camera. Now we have guests come on who have something to do with drag, or we do a challenge like the Milk Challenge. That wasn’t easy – trying to drink four litres of milk without vomiting!” Adam and Roxee have come a long way and counts the support of the local drag community as a key to his success. “Technically, it's all selftaught. I haven't done any classes but the Queens that I have met since I started have helped me phenomenally – where to put the make-up or how to block an eyebrow. I've learned something from everybody,” explains Adam.

“I never thought drag was going to be my calling, but once I started I thought, ‘How was I so blinded my whole life to not realise I should be doing this?’” Adam laughs.“I still can't do beauty make-up but I can totally do drag make-up – there's such a big difference. I often get asked to do women’s make-up. If you want to look like a man dressed as a woman, I can do it!” ¡

See Roxee Horror’s latest show Musical Mayhem at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre on Saturday 24 April. Tickets at www.merrigong.com.au