Tell me about Black Puddin. What’s it about? 

I was in a show called Smashed back in 2020. It got a review which was great overall, but some of the language was problematic: they used food to reference the cast and called Kween Kong the ‘black pudding’ of the production. I found that a really odd choice of language. And also, no one really eats black pudding in Australia. Lots of things then happened, but I put my response into this show. Black Puddin is a dystopian world of apologist addicts, people who are always apologising for things that don’t need to be apologised for. In this brand-new version, it’s drag and dine, so you’ll also eat a lot of beautiful food and have lots of beautiful cocktails, mostly Margaritas because I’m a Margarita slut. 

Talk to me about the dining; what are your food influences? 

Tell you what, in the Pacific we’re big feeders and we love to share everything, especially food. I think my best memories of growing up and the thing that Kween loves most is being in the kitchen with my aunties, with my mum; cuppa tea, cake, everything. But we eat a lot of bad food. We are definitely not shy of the calorie.

If you were to have your own table at Black Puddin and could invite any four people in the world to be your dinner guests, who would you have? 

I have to say Whitney Houston, because we share the same birthday and also the same vocal range (we don’t, but I feel like we do). So definitely Auntie Whitney. And Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner (a huge inspiration) and Beyoncé. 

The diva table, then? 

Diva table!  

What would you wear and what’s on the menu?  

I’m very extra, but I’d probably pare it back so I don’t show any of those divas up. I’d wear a Polynesian dress. I’d look like a deity from Samoa. I love Pacific food and I eat a lot of it, but the menu at Black Puddin is all Mexican, because I love a taco. Anything spicy. 

You’re on the road a lot. How does that affect the way you eat?   

Because we travel a lot, being able to sit down and have dinner at home is a luxury. Even if it’s only for a day or two, if I’m home we always have dinner with my family. Otherwise, I’m on the road eating takeout, or at nice restaurants where I drink copious amounts of liquor and put my kidney and liver through the blender.

But you’re dancing, you have a fantastic split, so there must be some nutrition going in there? 

Gravity: 102 kg hitting the ground. I give those hamstrings no choice. Bam. 

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I never allow myself enough time to crave something. If I want a Tim Tam, I go get a Tim Tam. If I want ice-cream, I go for ice-cream. So my guilty pleasure would be broccoli; that’s a once-in-a-blue-moon food. I eat all the bad food and pair it with ‘I deserve it, I’ve been working really hard. Really, really hard. Three whole minutes on stage. That warrants two Big Macs and an extra cheeseburger.’

Yet you’re glowing. 

Botox and KFC grease. 

If you were to sum up Black Puddin in three words, what would they be? 

You. Could. Never. We’re showcasing excellence. The attitude is that ‘you could never do this’, because attitude isn’t just about performing on stage; it’s from lived experience. So, I want the performers to command the space and say to the audience ‘you could never do this’.

Black Puddin, Mamacita, 16–18 February, 8pm; 22–25 February, 29 February–3 March, 7–10, 14–17 March, 6.30pm. Kween Kong also appears in B.A.B.z, Wonderland Festival Hub, 16–18 February, times vary; and Poppin Out Festival, Adelaide Gaol, 24 February, 1pm.