Local drag queens in Perth, Australia, performed a number inspired by Lady Gaga’s Chromatica and it deserves to win every single Tony award. (Screen capture via TikTok)
Over in Australia, where the coronavirus has been almost stamped out, a scene which is all but a dream to most of the world – a crowded drag performance to Lady Gaga at an LGBT+ bar.
Earlier this month, the Proud Awards 2020, which celebrates the local LGBT+ community, took over Connections Nightclub in the Northbridge neighbourhood and saw drag queens transport us, lowly citizens of Earth, to the planet Chromatica.
The group performed an entire production based on Lady Gaga’s album – seriously, where is Chromatica: The Musical already? – and footage of the night has gone viral on Twitter.
Here’s us doing Replay too, if ya’ll wanted to see aha 💗 pic.twitter.com/4q0Lb9vhlS
— Flynn Vincent (@FlynnVincent) October 26, 2020
As the queens and leather pups swivel their hips and sashay, the video has come to be seen by viewers as a dreamy getaway to a not-so-distant past of ordering shots at a nightclub and watching drag queens do their thing.
Australian drag queens shimmy and sway to Lady Gaga as rest of the world refuses to even wear a mask.
Indeed, the clip prompted a grab bag of emotions online, especially from people and queer businesses based in countries suffering severe second or even third waves of the virus, yawning the gap even further between people and normality.
Even professional twunk and YouTube star Tyler Oakley echoed the sense of growing frustration and fatigue towards the ongoing pandemic ignited, in part, by what they see as fumbled leaderships that did not respond to the coronavirs with the starkness or alacrity that Australia did.
omg…………. this is what a country gets to enjoy when they can control the spread of covid………… 😩 https://t.co/nawBL8EUuJ
— tyler oakley (@tyleroakley) October 26, 2020
This could be us…
But 😑 https://t.co/uUkreBRHE7
— Vauxhall Tavern (@thervt) October 26, 2020
Imagine if the UK government got their shit together so clubs could be clubs agains https://t.co/Rk5RFWhKFH
— wear a mask #BLM (@cnrymtchll) October 26, 2020
I would literally donate an organ to witness this live. https://t.co/DaGcp6NWxC
— bloop (@imcummingalive) October 26, 2020
This could be us, but some of y’all can’t be bothered to wear a g-d mask. https://t.co/MiyDpSSshr
— AARON SIMON (@AarSim) October 26, 2020
If the US had some form of leadership we could have this too 😭😭😭😭 https://t.co/ANjxda4aKE
— Jimmy (@jlong324) October 26, 2020
i’m mad about President 45’s mismanagement of COVID in America for MANY reasons, ONE of which is that WE AS A COUNTRY cannot COME TOGETHER to celebrate this ARTISTIC MASTERPIECE 😤😤😤 https://t.co/xUbYAbn6iZ
— Claire “DBFH” Cheramie (@clairecheramie) October 26, 2020
The world is envious of us right now ❤️ https://t.co/7iZvN2Q3WT
— Jeremy (@ThreeMoreDots) October 26, 2020
Flynn Vincent, one of the performers, took to Twitter to thank users for sharing the video.
“This show was so much fun to be a part of,” he said. “We performed the ENTIRE album for an annual awards night that celebrates our community and its queer performers/venues.
“This is what happens when you take covid seriously from day one.”
With its almost throwback democracy approach and fortified borders, Australian lawmakers and public health officials have managed to dramatically shave off the digits of the country’s coronavirus caseloads.
The model of recovery peddled by Australia – consistent information, strict and stretched-out state lockdowns and stonewalling its borders – helped soothe what could have been a swelling level of infections for 25 million-strong nation.
Australia was on track for 153,000 cases by April after doubling every three days, according to state health departments – at the time of writing, it sports around 27,000 total cases.