Mardi Gras

Editorial

When: 19 February - 6 March 2011
Where: Various
Tickets: http://www.mardigras.org.au/ enquiries 02 9383 0900

In recent years, the Sydney Mardi Gras has been publicly charged with selling out, shelling out, bad taste and, worst of all, good taste. Say what you will about the city's glitziest event; everybody does, anyhow. So, the New Mardi Gras, as custodians of the festival are now known, demand that you speak. This year on the cover of the printed guide to this colourful festival, you'll find the entreaty, “Say Something!”

This year, there's a little more room for speech; community engagement becomes possible as the Queer Thinking discussion event returns to the Seymour Centre on February 19. Fabulous nuisance Peter Tatchell returns to the country of his birth to lead the talk. And, an ambivalent treat is delivered by USC thinker Judith “Jack” Halberstam. Jack has no truck with fixed gender identity and a working knowledge of the songs of Lady GaGa and I, for one, absolutely expect never to hear the song “Poker Face” in the same way again following Jack/Judith's treatise.

All the other stuff proceeds as per, this year. Fair Day affords us the chance to show off our buffed and polished dogs; the Parade and sundry parties affords us the chance to show off our buffed and polished abs. The Film Festival features more interminable films about Coming Out and Queer Emeriti are tempted back into the spotlight for our pleasure. These include the once fabulous Lily Tomlin and the still fabulous Armistead Maupin.

And, as ever, on party night, we all await that hour when Cher finally consents to surprise us.

Helen Razer, Citysearch

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