God Save The Kings: ‘They Will Be Kings’ Takes The Crown at Mardi Gras in 2025

This Mardi Gras at Qtopia, audiences are invited to step into a world where everyone can be a king. They Will Be Kings is more than just a show — it’s a manifesto.

Talking to the creatives behind the production, Danica Lani and Kaz Therese, it’s obvious that they’ve poured a lot of love into the project.  

Described as a fusion of contemporary performance art and drag culture, They Will Be Kings celebrates the politics and joy of drag kings in a way that we rarely get to see.

Lani was ushered into the world of drag by her hairdresser in Melbourne in 2011. She got a text, days before a drag competition, asking if she wanted to be a part of it, and just like that, Dario di Bello was born.

Although drag is now more mainstream than ever, kings are still fighting to get as much time in the spotlight as the queens do, but Lani is making sure everyone gets a chance to shine.

She’s been running Kings of Joy for years now, a program designed for emerging drag kings to explore gender, sexuality, and performance. Through her role as the King Coach, Lani has fostered 129 kings in the creation of their drag persona, including that of Therese — better known as Brad Armpit.

“Brad is this awesome dude who’s going through this transformational journey as a Gen Xer recovering from toxic masculinity,” Lani explains. A peek at his Instagram reveals a shaggy-haired blonde with a handlebar moustache and a fur coat. One of Brad’s last posts is his Spotify wrapped: his top song for 2024 was I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred.

Therese, already a performer before meeting Lani, pitched the idea of a Kings of Joy theatre show in collaboration with their arts company Werewolf, and They Will Be Kings was conceived.

Community shines through in our conversation, with both Lani and Therese emphasising the importance of fostering connection and support between performers. The lack of mainstream visibility for kings makes what they’ve created even more precious.

“What is it about drag kings that people don’t feel safe enough, or don’t feel supported enough, to explore?” asks Therese. “Part of the show is looking at this “why”, and what impact this has had on AFAB women, lesbians, the gender-diverse and trans community.”

“There’s a lot of work to do, but it’s exciting,” says Lani. “We see this version as a first stage, pilot, kind of presentation of this work. And we really want this work to continue, to tour, and grow.”

“Qtopia has been a great place for us to premiere this work, because of the values and activism and advocacy and real, lived, historical struggles of the queer community,” says Therese. “Lived experience is real, and it’s been really catastrophic for many of us, the violence and shaming, so many reasons for our voices to feel like they don’t belong.”

Mainstream Australia is traditionally very protective around its ideas of masculinity, but Lani believes that masculinity is for everyone.

“I coach people in creating a persona versus a character,” she says. “It allows people to lean into their masculinity and explore it in this really safe way. 

“We get permission to explore gender, where it’s not something that you have to be afraid of. It’s something you can play with, with other like-minded people.”

They Will Be Kings gives audiences a chance to step into a king’s world, to open up those doors and ask yourself questions you might not have asked before.

“I want people to witness the joy and power and artistry of queer performers taking centre stage,” says Lani. “This is your opportunity to get insight into what it’s like to be a drag king and some of the behind-the-scenes process of being a drag king as well.”

“There’s a bigger community of queer drag expression, and much broader perspectives in drag than just one side,” says Therese. “And I hope that people in the queer community can come together and build advocacy and frameworks from the themes in the show.”

They Will Be Kings is on from 25–28 February at Qtopia Sydney. Learn more at mardigras.org.au/event/they-will-be-kings.