Dizney in Drag’s villainous return

Perth’s own Hairy Godmothers are back at Fringe World this summer with Villains, a sinister sequel to their hit show, Dizney in Drag. Featuring a cast of new and returning performers, the new production brings to life some of the hottest and darkest miscreants, scoundrels, and reprobates this side of the elephant graveyard, and is showing at the Main Hall at Perth Town Hall from Friday, January 17, until Sunday, February 2—with tickets on sale now. BRAYDEN EDWARDS caught up with the Hairy Godmothers’ Ben Kay to discuss the art of villainy. 

So Dizney in Drag has taken a sinister turn! Why did you want to make villains the focus of this new show?

Many fans were asking to see villainous-type characters on the stage. Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody had done so well, and it was time to create a new show, so it seemed silly not to make a villainous version!

There have been some iconic Disney villains over the years. Who was the most memorable villain from when you were young?

No one slaps like Gaston, let’s be honest! But I think Ursula has to take the cake. She’s absolutely divine!

And what about a more recent example of a true Disney villain?

Recent? As in those starring in animations after the turn of the century? Us millennials couldn’t tell ya. Old school classics in this house only!

Who will be the key performers bringing these characters to life on stage? How has the cast changed since your last Fringe season?

Villains: A Dizney in Drag Parody’ is yet to be witnessed in Perth, but punters familiar with our original show will recognise the beloved ‘Hairy Godmother’ played by Owen Merriman. This majestic AF character will be surrounded by the most despicable villains, all inspired by favourite fairytale characters, portrayed by Emma MacMillan, Jae West, Mita Hill, Alex Nissen, and Caden Miller, who wowed Perth crowds last year as Miss White.

Brand new to our cast this Fringe season is Perth local Charlie Darlington, who we’re all very excited to have on board. We’ve been fortunate to collaborate with awesome additions to our OG cast in many of our show seasons, and this particular combo is rather exciting indeed!

And were certain performers drawn to take on the role of any particular villains? 

Oh yeah, the team fought, backstabbed, and plotted revenge over who would claim which role. Nothing like some method acting for villainous motivation! No, just kidding! We were all pretty excited to embody all sorts of characteristics when portraying any of these parodied personalities, spiced up with our own quirky flavour, of course.

And what about the costumes? It must have been fun getting some of those together.

Alex Nissen is our costume wrangler, and their skill at bringing it all together for a whole new show has been fantastic. There are two new evil outfits for this Perth season too!

Some might argue that villains aren’t all bad and are just misunderstood. Who is a villain that you believe has good in them, and another that is simply irredeemably villainous?

I couldn’t be sure of a completely irredeemable villain, although a few well-known political figures, media moguls, and cashed-up megalomaniacs have to come close! But I do think that Hook has to be the most misunderstood and misrepresented villain on the planet. Think about it! An obnoxious brat child cuts off his hand, feeds it to a crocodile, and flies around endlessly teasing, taunting, and ganging up on him in a Neverland limbo of perpetually hypervigilant doom!

Yeah, that ‘aren’t all bad and just misunderstood’ idea is something we’ve played with in the show’s content. It’s really fun to dig down into what makes a character ‘evil’ or ‘villainous’ when reflecting upon all sorts of juicy contexts!

You’ll also be bringing two other shows to Fringe 2025! Can you tell us more about those?

The Hairy Godmothers are performing our flagship show, Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody, for four nights only! Tell all your friends who still haven’t seen this hilarious favourite to get along! Plus, our super, deliciously arousing cabaret WET returns for a short season at Planet Royale, so come one, come all, especially those who’ve not yet witnessed this masterpiece!

Most importantly, get out there and see all you can at Fringe World. It really does encourage great art. We’ve taken our shows across the globe the last two years and received so much support from other artists and enjoyed their shows too. They, like us, really do work hard to create and share some very special art with the world.

Villains: A Dizney in Drag Parody is showing at Main Hall at Perth Town Hall from Friday, January 17, until Sunday, February 2, 2025. Tickets are on sale now from fringeworld.com.au