Owner Bjorn Godwin converted his garage into an unusual little bar in Chippendale that's decorated with industrial, scavenged objects like a truck grill and a rainbow-coloured cocktail wheel. Knox Street Bar hosts the glamdrogynous freak show the Oyster Club, as well as monthly stand-up comedy.
Marlena, a clown, and Porcelain, a showgirl. Tell us, how did you first meet?
Porcelain: We saw each other performing at Art Party that used to run in the Inner West. We talked later on Facebook and met when Marlena was running shows in warehouses in Marrickville… and I got to be in some of them.
Marlena: I think the first show we did together was an awful burlesque show (I was asked to put on a burlesque event in the Cross). We didn’t really know each other, but I really liked that you made costumes out of paper. I was doing [grassroots show] Cabaret Sasquatch, and I started trusting Porcelain Alice’s opinion on things, so we started collaborating and eventually working on our own thing.
You’ve said that you created the Oyster Club to fill a void in Sydney’s nightlife...
Porcelain: There was a big void. We really believe that queer artists should be in both experimental spaces, of course, but that they also deserved licensed venues and real stages and lights, so we wanted to bring people to watch queer artists in a legitimate venue – and maybe we would get new allies and audiences for queer art – but we also wanted people to sit down and watch the art in a focused manor. There are a lot of incredible queer party nights in Sydney, but there’s this sense that people want to keep dancing and you have to keep the hype going. The Oyster Club offers a journey of emotions and human expression, and we want the audience to come on that journey – there will be moments when you’re expected to be silent, you take your cues from the people on stage. Plus we wanted a space where we could get weird.
The Oyster Club has been hosting weird monthly parties at Knox Street Bar for two years. What made you choose to start the Club in Chippendale?
Marlena: I actually asked the Bearded Tit first… but they don’t do ticketed events and we’ve got a lot of artists to pay! We wanted a cabaret – a freak show – so it was about trying to find venues where are we allowed to have nudity and close it off to make it a safer space. The owner of Knox Street Bar, Bjorn [Godwin], was like ‘Weird? Yeah, I’m all about it. Wanna make a mess? Awesome – I’ve got a mop’.
Porcelain: Plus, there’s no other venue in Sydney that has a grotto that you can fill with water and put a mermaid – or merpersons. That’s a bit of an Oyster Club special.
How do you make sure it’s a safe space for queer expression?
Marlena: We’ve learned a lot about how to make artists very comfortable. When we say that our event is inclusive it’s because we’re bringing in other artists with all different kinds of lived experiences. As an MC I try to facilitate a safe space with my hosting abilities, and as a stage manager, Alice facilitates it too. It’s made it really fun – everyone has a good time.
You like to keep your line-ups underwraps ahead of the event, but you’ve had some excellent guests over the years – Andy Dexterity, Blake Lawrence, Betty Grumble...
Porcelain: Our tagline is ‘what you see, not who’. New performers have just as much to offer as beautiful seasoned guests. Also, sometimes the seasoned guests might want to do something they don’t usually do – we’d had dancers who want to sing because they feel safe in the Oyster Club – so the audience is going to be surprised. It’s a place of experimentation.
Where are the best places to go out at night in Chippendale?
Porcelain: Come to the Knox Street Bar, then when it closes head to the Lansdowne and see live music in their upstairs bandroom. We love eating at Spice Alley! Bjorn has also taken me for dinner at Ester, which was lovely. I’m vegetarian and the cauliflower dish is incredible. Marlena: Chippendale has one of my favourite galleries in it – White Rabbit. I also really like the arepas at the Colombian café across the road, La Herradura. Galerie Pompom – I went to a fantastic show there the other month featuring Chinese Australian artist Thomas C Chung called "...It Was Like Seeing a Fallen Rainbow". Also Wellington St Projects – it’s really important to showcase local artists instead of just big names.
What other safe, queer venues or events do recommend in Sydney?
Marlena: I would say the next safest event is definitely Queerbourhood, in Redfern. Canned Fruit in Secret Garden Bar in Enmore is also good. And praise to Delsi Cat for her work on the event Unicorns, in Marrickville.
And where do you shop for your amazing outfits?
Marlena: We’re full time performers so our spending budget is nil – we both make our costumes by altering items from vintage and thrift stores. I cut rhinestones off outfits and find whatever sparks my imagination. Reverse Garbage! – I cannot emphasise enough how many costumes I’ve made from items I’ve bought there. The crown I’m wearing is made from cardboard from Reverse Garbage.
What’s your favourite memory from Oyster Club history so far?
Porcelain: My absolute favourite was Matt Format doing this epic, epic drag show. We pulled the curtains open and he ran around the venue and appeared at the window from outside – to ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ – no one expected that.
Marlena: Andy Dexterity performing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The entire audience sang along. Porcelain: We had someone crowd surf in a mermaid’s tale recently. Anything goes in Chippendale!
