Walpole’s home coming queen — BarbieQ’s career no drag after dazzling crowds for more than 20-years

From Walpole to the nation’s biggest stages, WA drag icon BarbieQ has captivated audiences with her quick wit, self-described foul mouth and diva dance moves for more than two decades. But beneath the glitz, glamour and grit it takes to be a star of the Perth drag scene, the award-winning Mt Barker-born and Walpole-raised queen is just a country kid at heart — known by day as Matt McPharlin. McPharlin said his love for performing started on the dance floor of Denmark’s blue light discos as a child, something he remembers fondly of his “beautiful” hometown. Being a drag queen wasn’t always the dream for McPharlin, whose career began in Perth just after graduating high school. Unemployed and desperate to pay rent, the young dancer stumbled on a poster for a talent quest at his local nightclub. Enlisting friends to do his make-up and strap on his heels, he went on to win the entire competition. And BarbieQ was born. For more than 22 years, McPharlin has performed to sell-out crowds on some of Australia’s biggest stages, only taking a brief hiatus in the early 2000s to perform as a dancer on Princess cruises. Having not taken a dance class since he was 17, he took a risk and auditioned for the cruise ship role at the age of 25. Six weeks later he was flown across the world to Los Angeles, spending the next five years on the high seas. “I had been dancing as a girl for so many years that I didn’t think I could go back,” he said. “It was great, because I had unfortunately led a bit of life of partying, drugs and rock and roll which is easy to fall into when you are young and easily influenced. “But I don’t regret it, I think it shaped the person that I am and has definitely made me strive to reach my goals even more.” McPharlin has made a name for himself at the Fringe World Festival, bringing BarbieQ’s signature flavour to circus, cabaret and live music acts. For the past decade he has been the entertainment director at Perth’s leading drag venue, Connections Nightclub, helping young queens find their feet and seasoned performers shine by producing, choreographing, auditioning and costume designing for weekly shows. McPharlin said it took more than a wig, make-up, duct tape and some sequins to make a star. “It is so hard to get in the door. You’ve just got to keep working and showing people that you are keen and you have what it takes,” he said. “That’s kind of happened with me, I just kind of slowly started to climb through the ranks and ended up getting quite a good name for myself and got in with some of the bigger girls that helped me out along the way. “Every drag queen has their own story and every drag queen has their own struggles, I don’t believe in my mind that anyone has had an easy ride. “Just practise, practise, practise and listen to advice and people’s stories, then shape who you are and your own story.” For aspiring country queens, his advice was to reach out to those who had gone before and avoid getting caught up in the drama of reality TV and social media. “Don’t pigeon-hole yourself, try everything and then you can mould your own style, that is what I do,” he said. McPharlin said LGBTQIA+ people looking for a community in the regions should lean on their local Pride groups or reach out to someone with common ground, because help was always there. Albany Pride is in the midst of its biggest Pride Festival yet, with events running from February 12 to 27. Last weekend, BarbieQ took to the stage for a sassy serving of Drag Bingo. She is set to return to the Albany Entertainment Centre on Saturday with a posse of five queens to close out this year’s festivities with the sold-out Drag Diva Spectacular. “I am pretty foul-mouthed, I am always tongue-in-cheek, my job always is to make people laugh, have a good time and forget about their worries for an hour,” McPharlin said. “That has always been my mantra in life — if I can’t make everyone smile I haven’t done my job properly.”