Bowled Over: A Dragumentary

Nine years ago, the North Ipswich Bowls Club – which is nestled deep in the heart of Pauline Hanson country - was on the verge of suffering the same fate as countless ‘bowlsies’ around the Australia, and slamming its sliding doors for good.

That is, until a bunch of colourful strangers sashayed in one day, to hire its modest hall for a one-off show.

When Des the Pres took the booking, little did he know that this simple act would not only irrevocably change the future of his beloved 55-year-old club, but also countless lives beyond its membership ranks.

That one-off booking ultimately morphed into ‘Taboo’ – a monthly, professional drag show – indefatigably led by local lad and grandfather-of-three Karl Eastaughffe aka Crystal Heart who, over the ensuing years, has lined up more than 40 ‘girls’ before the devoted local crowds.

Now that they’ve helped rescue the bowlsie from going under, the next chapter of this heartening story centres on three drag queens who, over the course of a year or so, we’ll see are now battling to save themselves.

Karl/Crystal Heart, Ross/wanda dparke and Logan/Candy Featherbottom are all at very different stages of their drag careers.

Karl reckons next February’s 10th anniversary show, would be the perfect time and place to hang up his wig and heels for good.

The 48-year-old steelworker says his demanding job plus the perpetual preparations for his monthly drag show, have finally taken their toll, and his brain is literally “wearing out”.

Besides, he hasn’t had chest hair in 26 years and is very keen to see it (despite the inevitable greys!).

Karl’s already tried to retire once – and even did the farewell show but had to stage a comeback after only several months, in a bid to right the ship and restore dramatically flagging numbers.

He’s now determined to go out on a high but these plans could well be thwarted by a debilitating knee injury, and mental health concerns.

As we see one man winding down his career (while also preparing for the mother of all drag shows), we’ll also witness another hopefully have his second wind.

Fifty-seven-year-old Biloela boy, Ross Waghorn, makes no bones about it: If it weren’t for Taboo and Karl throwing him that “lifeline”, he wouldn’t be here. At all.

The Ipswich gig has not only resurrected his flailing career – particularly at time when most “showgirls” are long-retired or simply not even hired - it’s also given him a new-found confidence to chase some long-held dreams that he never thought he was good enough to realise.

Held back by crippling body image issues (he was anorexic as a teenager) plus his Navy father’s echoes of “I’m not having a poofta dancer in the family”, Ross is now making up for lost time, working towards being that contender he coulda, shoulda been.

After taking some rather radical steps to lose “fat Wanda” Ross wants to return to his home town after a 33 year absence, to debut his one (wo)man autobiographical cabaret ‘The Girl from Biloela’ – a prospect he finds “absolutely terrifying”.

Lastly, we’ll also follow a queen-in-the making: At 12 years of age, Logan Kelly is just starting out in the art form - he’s arguably one of the youngest drag artists in the world. And we’ll be in the front row, watching him gear up for his very first “proper performance”, after Karl asks the grade 7 student to perform a duet with Crystal at the 10th anniversary show. No pressure Logan.

Our talented trio – along with their heartrending families and friends – will take us on both a hilarious and deeply moving journey down their respective frocky roads – their powerful stories also reflecting the importance of family support, acceptance, and, as Logan so aptly puts it: “Being who you wanna be. And need to be.”