Celebrating 47 years in 2025, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras continues to stand strong as a pillar of strength and unity and a monument for creativity and self-expression within LGBTQIA+ communities in Sydney and across the globe.
The 2025 Festival promises to bring unforgettable moments, radiant performances, and vibrant events that honour the past, celebrate the present and inspire a future of inclusivity and acceptance. With so much on, the Australian Pride Network takes a look at some events worth checking out!
CRUISE
KXT on Broadway: continues to 22 February 2025
Backlit by the clubs of London’s Soho, Michael Spencer faces the music of his last night on Earth. Diagnosed with HIV in 1984, he’s told by doctors that he has just four years to live. Determined, he decides his doomsday will be his biggest party yet. Sweat mixes with tears, and final dances turn into farewells. There’s a midnight countdown to his death but Michael … survives. With the gift of life, how can he go on living? Directed by Sean Landis (Back to Birdy, Leather Cleaner) and featuring Fraser Morrison, Cruise is an intergenerational monologue spanning four decades and over 20 characters, celebrating queer nightlife and paying tribute to a generation lost to the AIDS crisis.
Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen
Playhouse – Sydney Opera House: continues to 23 February
“I’m 36, I’m a comedian, and I’m about to kill my boyfriend… ” A permanently single, professionally neurotic stand-up finally meets his Mr Right and then does everything wrong. But is Mr Right quite what he seems? And how far will the comedian go to get a laugh? A dark new comedy about vulnerability, intimacy, ego and truth from the Olivier Award-winning Producers of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer. Written by Marcelo Dos Santos (Lionboy, Complicite) and directed by Matthew Xia (Blue/Orange, Young Vic), Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen stars Tony and Olivier-nominated actor Samuel Barnett (The History Boys, Beautiful People).
Panti Bliss: If These Wigs Could Talk
The Factory Theatre: 25 & 26 February
The ‘Queen of Ireland’ Panti Bliss is packing her frocks and tottering her way to Sydney this February with her record-breaking, smash-hit comedy, If These Wigs Could Talk. Following a lifetime of accidental activism, far-fetched shenanigans and making a full time show of herself, notorious drag queen Panti Bliss is now taking a moment to question her purpose and place in this changing world. Expect salacious stories, impassioned polemics and some seriously funny soul searching. Panti will take us from rural Mayo to London’s glittering West End to the Irish Ambassador’s residence in Vienna, where the answer to her existential question presents itself where she least expects it. Following record-breaking runs at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin and Soho Theatre in London, Panti invites you to learn from her ridiculous mistakes, laugh at her glittering failures, and share in her triumphs, in this big, beautiful and brilliant night out.
Queerstories 2025
Lennox Theatre – Riverside Theatre, Parramatta: Saturday 22 February 2025
Vulnerable and fierce, hilarious and heartbreaking… Queerstories celebrates the culture and creativity of the LGBTQI+ community one true story at a time, each guest is invited to share the story they want to tell, but are never asked to; unexpected tales of pride, prejudice, resilience and resistance. An institution around the country, Queerstories has played to crowds big and small, from Mudgee to Murwillumbah, Albury to Adelaide, Brisbane and beyond, with an award-winning podcast featuring an archive of nearly 400 queer tales. Hosted by Maeve Marsden, the 2025 line-up includes Winnie Dunn, Dylin Hardcastle, Nancy Denis, Andrew Wiltshire, Joanna Lamb and Nico Bruni.
Sauna Boy
The Substation – Qtopia Sydney: continues to 28 February 2025
Dan works at the south-coasts most successful and infamous gay sauna. A place where men from all walks of life come to relax, socialise and most importantly… f**k. Join Dan as he navigates a hidden world of lust, friendship and unorthodox working relationships. From multi-award winning writer/performer, Dan Ireland-Reeves, comes a semi-autobiographical look behind the curtain of one of the worlds most secretive and seductive industries. Pulsing with frenetic energy and laced with sexual tension; Sauna Boy is guaranteed to touch you in more ways than one.
She Slayed: A Drag Murder Mystery
The Loading Dock Theatre – Qtopia Sydney: 20 – 22 February 2025
Tensions mount during a diva-themed drag show, culminating in a fierce murder! While waiting for the police, the night is swiftly transformed into a whodunnit! Can you figure out who slayed? After a sold out season at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, this acclaimed murder mystery cabaret takes Sydney Mardi Gras! Starring theatre and cabaret drag legends Dolly Diamond, Rose Garden, Jens Radda and POUSSAY! Created by Nicholas Reynolds.
Sydney Theatre Company Queer Backstage Tours
Sydney Theatre Company, Dawes Point: 27 & 28 February 2025
Sydney Theatre Company has a rich history of LGBTQIA+ storytelling on our stages, as well as behind the scenes. This tour will provide exclusive access to Queer theatrical memories from ground-breaking productions from the 80s to now. Take a peek behind the curtain to meet the departments that bring plays to life. You will see iconic set designs, kooky props, fabulous costumes and maybe even try on a hat or two! Then enjoy an Archie Rose cocktail and iconic harbour views at Theatre bar at the End of The Wharf.
The Children’s Hour
The Old Fitz Theatre: continues to 1 March 2025
Based on a true story, The Children’s Hour follows the story of Martha and Karen who run a boarding school for young girls. Mary, a troubled and particularly difficult student, overhears a conversation she isn’t meant to be privy to. When Mary is caught running away from school, she tells a lie to her unsuspecting Grandmother that has devastating and lasting consequences. Released in 1934, the work’s themes of injustice, intolerance, homophobia, homosexuality, suicide and exploration of the way in which lies spread, continue to be topics that are highly relevant 90 years on. Referred to as ‘ahead of its time’ Lillian Hellman’s first play was performed 691 times to eager audiences, despite the ongoing debate that surrounded it.
The Flea
New Theatre: continues to 8 March 205
London, 1889. Charlie Swinscow, a young post boy, gets busted with 14 shillings in his pocket. But the twist? He didn’t steal it. That cash was payment for his body. Sold to a wealthy aristocrat at a secret gay brothel with ties to the Royal Family. What starts as a petty arrest spirals into something much bigger. Charlie and his mother get caught in the middle of a national scandal that shakes the very foundations of the British Empire. Writer James Fritz will take you on a wild, unfiltered, unpredictable trip through power, deception and disgrace. Raw, funny and sexy, nothing is what it seems and everything feels like a fever dream. Australian premiere!
The Kaye Hole with Reuben Kaye
The Factory Theatre: Friday 21 February 2025
Late Night, Done Right. The Kaye Hole is the hottest, queerest, and loosest late night variety show hitting the Festival circuit right now. And in 2025, The Kaye Hole will make its highly anticipated return to Mardi Gras at The Factory Theatre. Queer, messy, fast, loose and f*cking hilarious. Simply the hottest late-night ticket in town where the riskiest & most diverse acts of let loose dripping in sweat and backed by a live 4-piece band. Hosted by cabaret icon ‘The Evil Love Child Of Liza Minnelli And Jim Carrey’ BTG Reuben Kaye. Bring yourself and come correct. The Kaye Hole stage is a safe space of love, queer joy, queer protest and freedom of expression. It is incredibly and unashamedly camp and features a carefully curated line-up by Reuben featuring circus, comedy, cabaret, burlesque, aerial, singers, dancers. With sold-out runs across the UK and Australia, this is not a night to be missed!
Your Silence Will Not Protect You
The Substation – Qtopia Sydney: 20 – 22 February 2025
Do you remember the panic attack you had the first, and only, time you fisted someone? Gavin does. And it was hilarious. Having tackled bullying and body image, language and love, acclaimed queer artist Gavin Roach has caved into demand and is finally offering up a more “happy” and “fun” show. This surely will not end well. Performed by Roach, with direction by Lauren Hopley, the third and final instalment of The Anxiety Trilogy – Your Silence Will Not Protect You is a joyous and illuminating adventure about coming to terms with mental illness, navigating alcohol abuse and trying to figure out why the hell you didn’t say something sooner.
The 2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras continues to to Sunday 2 March. For more information and full program, visit: www.mardigras.org.au for details.
Images: Fraser Morrison stars in Cruise – photo by Abraham de Souza | Samuel Barnett in Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen – photo by Mark Gambino | Panti Bliss in If These Wigs Could Talk – photo by Mark Gambino | Queerstories (supplied) | Dan Ireland-Reeves stars in Sauna Boy (supplied) | She Slayed: A Drag Murder Mystery (supplied) | STC Queer Backstage Tours (supplied) | The Children’s Hour – image by Melinda Jensen | The Flea – photo by Chris Lundie | Reuben Kaye stars in The Kaye Hole (supplied) | Gavin Roach presents Your Silence Will Not Protect You – photo by Ali Choudhry