The STAGES Podcast - World Pride Series - Drag Divas, Legends and Icons; Oh My! - STRYKERMEYER

It’s World Pride 2023 and the queer globe is converging on Sydney Australia to celebrate diversity, inclusion, community and fabulousness! To mark this momentous event the STAGES podcast is saluting the cast of captivating drag divas and personalities who have been featured on the podcast during the past 5 seasons. They are artists who have appeared on national and global stages; thrilling audiences, making a difference, healing community and expressing unique and wondrous talents. We spotlight these episodes so you can savour a second listen - or so you can sample the delights of these entertainers for the very first time. A Diva a day for each day of World Pride! Strykermeyer is a drag performer of unique powers and enormous skill. His work has enamoured audiences around the world. His ability to conjure a crowd is harnessed with immense theatricality; drawn from the combination of idiosyncratic invention in performance; and the greasepaints that contribute to the creation of an arresting and hypnotic aesthetic. Migrating to Australia as a boy from the UK, his family found residence in the Goldfields town of Kambalda in Western Australia. The contrast of geography and climate built a resilience in the young Stryker and forced avenues to escape - in imagination and by train! Landing in Perth in the 70s he entered his first nightclub - Matches on William street. The lure of the stage called and his place in the world was found. This was the time of a different drag scene. Experimental and exciting, it drew a queer community together and launched the careers of a bounty of burgeoning artists. Established performer Audrey Woodstock-Rose guided Stryker in the early days providing lessons in stagecraft and an appreciation of Asian theatre styles such as Kabuki, Noh, and Butoh; influences that resonate in Stryker’s performance repertoire. Early song choices that supported his developing style included Gary Numan’s Are Friends Electric? and Iggy Pop’s I’m Bored, which he performed in ‘boy drag’. Considered one of the best make-up artists in Australia, Stryker contributed to the drag aesthetic on the film Priscilla - Queen of the Desert; ultimately being awarded the British Academy of Film and Television Award for Best Make-up and Hair Design in 1994. Today he continues to contribute a vivid artistic and considered temperament to queer and art spaces around W.A. Collaborations with fellow performer Ash Baroque inspire his creativity and ensure we continue to be enthralled by his vast talents. Stryker the man, is a modest gentleman who possesses years of experience and knowledge; eternally maintaining a passion for his art and craft. He is a treasured and gifted artist who has been an avant-garde presence on the queer scene for several decades. What a treat that he shares all of that in this riveting episode of the STAGES podcast! The STAGES podcast is available from Apple podcasts, Spotify and from where you find your favourite podcasts. Tune in daily for a history of drag in Sydney. Tell your friends, share the podcast, relish the stories and embrace your own sense of Pride.