Polly is the very embodiment of female fantasy, and draws inspiration from sexy pop divas of today, while Esther calls upon a time of golden age glamour and wears gender fluidity on her sleeve (or above her upper lip!)
So how come this unlikely double act works so well together? How does their chaotic cabaret show keep bringing audiences back for more? Well, opposites do attract, but in the LGBTQ+ community, it’s important to celebrate our differences, and be a united front of diversity in these trying times for anyone who’s a little different.
But Polly and Esther aren’t all that different. Both raised in small rural Welsh communities, both from a stage school background, they even did amateur dramatics as teenagers at the same local theatre (shout out to the Dolman Theatre, Newport!) But what drew them together initially was one thing that has been uniting queer folks far and wide for as long as we’ve had ears to hear. . . Music. One of the USPs of their show is that it truly possesses a playlist of absolute bangers, carefully and painstakingly curated by the pair, the show’s soundtrack is a smorgasbord of eclectic songs that embody both performers, the differences between the two of them, and the spaces where they meet in the middle. But there’s always more where that came from.
So, before the pair's high camp, chaotic drag cabaret at Adelaide Fringe, here are five of Polly and Esther’s personal essential queer anthems, that embody them and celebrate the joyous diversity of what it means to be queer, and how to soundtrack it. From the 1940s right through to the future: “Us and our anthems have always been here and we aren’t going anywhere!”
One
'Heather' by Conan Gray (2020) (Polly). Anthems don’t always have to be toe tappers. I’m a sucker for a sad song! Esther had to talk me down from throwing power ballad after power ballad into our show. A song about an unrequited love for a female friend’s straight boyfriend – this is the kind of music I wish I’d been able to listen to as a 15-year-old gay boy freshly out of the closet wondering how on earth I was to navigate this world, not really realising how truly special it was going to get.
Two
'The Man That Got Away' by Judy Garland (1954) (Esther). The High Priestess herself. The one and only. My saving grace. Judy Garland. She had to make the list! And this song embodies everything that makes her instantly relatable to generation after generation of LGBTQ+ people. If there is a single queer person on this planet who hasn’t had an unrequited love at some point in their life, I haven’t met them. A swansong for those who’ve loved and lost, but just like Judy, will never stop fighting.
Three
'Her Body Is Bible' by Fletcher (2022) (Polly). Fletcher is an unapologetically visible queer woman in music who unabashedly writes about her lesbian relationships. She owns her sexuality, both physically and regarding her identity, and continues to release pop banger after pop banger where she celebrates who she is, who she finds sexy and how proud she is to be a sex positive woman in a rampantly misogynistic world.
Four
'Filthy / Gorgeous' by Scissor Sisters (2004) (Esther). Picture it. It’s 2004, I’ve just bought a mysterious new CD from Woolworths with my own pocket money, and I’m listening to it on my portable under the covers at the dead of night trying to decipher what that high pitched beat spitting male voice (I think?!) is actually saying. Something about a Daddy Bastard?! I don’t really know what it means, but I know it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever and probably will ever hear. Did somebody say gay awakening? God bless Scissor Sisters; the funkiest f*gg**s on whichever planet they burst in from!
Five
'Pink Pony Club' by Chappell Roan (2020) (Polly and Esther). When something becomes an instant classic, you know it’s a special song. And what makes this one so special, is that it really feels like a first. A song that thanks, honours and pays tribute to something that we all hold so dear in our community, yet is becoming so fragile: queer safe spaces. This song is a jubilant beacon of hope for anyone who is from a small town and felt that they would never find that perfect place where all the other weirdos hang out, and it’s also a reminder that we should never take safe space for granted. We have to keep on dancing at all of the Pink Pony Clubs, or before we know it, they might all disappear from our local scenes for good, and we need them now more than ever.
Check out the Polly & Esther Spotify playlist for the full list of songs from the show, and a few more inspirational songs that didn’t quite make the cut.
'Polly & Esther' plays The Lark at Gluttony - Rymill Park (Adelaide Fringe) 11-23 March.
