Shay Mace
Queer art collective Le Fratelle della Perpetua Indecenza arrive at Thessaloniki with a unique offering – the canonisation of an under-recognised 5th century saint as a certified LGBTQIA+ icon. Following in the footsteps of the legendary Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who canonised American filmmaker Saint Derek Jarman, this order of Drag King monks’ site-specific practice has taken them across Europe to create a piece specifically surrounding a local figure. It is an utterly giddy, maniacal endeavour that unravels with whiplash-inducing speed over an unforgettable half hour cabaret performance. Truly unique, you should not miss a chance to be blessed by their sermon.
Smaragdus was given the name Euphrasyne from his parents as he was born in the city of Alexandria, expected to follow in the footsteps of 5th century Egyptian AFABs, be married to a wealthy man, live a life of servitude and mediocrity. Le Fratelle take our hero’s story and locate it to the fictional island of Mount Psicopathos, inhabited exclusively by monks and where women were barred entrance. They then follow the true narrative that would see Smaragdus incarcerated for 38 years, after brothers in his order blamed him for their own unholy thoughts. Taking it in turns, the three brothers in this much more modern and ephemeral order play Smaragdus in three stages of his life, through a barrage of lip-sync numbers, costume changes, puppeteering and freewheeling.
Frivolity of the highest order ensues, with the audience getting involved with prayers and consuming communion wafers, whilst the brothers take the greatest pleasure in dashing up and down the aisle to perform legendary tracks that roughly trace the outline of Smaragdus’ life. The DIY aesthetic of the piece re-enforces the lunacy, but its scale is vast and impressive. A gigantic cardboard chapel is constructed at the back of the stage, which is soon used to flip in and out of costumes, all while maintaining our complete attention, and garnering masses of whoops and hollers from the audience. There’s many intricate set pieces, to which the team behind Le Fratelle spent a week in Thessaloniki before the debut performance to build from recyclable materials. Here I coin the term, ‘Cardboard Bling’, to describe their general aesthetic, which is equal parts charming as it is irreverent and radical.
Emerging from the anti-fascist grassroots movements in Rome, Le Fratelle were created in the year of the Catholic Jubilee in 2025, and have performed reclamations of queer stories using religious iconography, in-depth research, multimedia production and countercultural techniques inspired by legendary Australian artist Leigh Bowery, Cuban filmmaker Ana Mendieta, and Greek rebetiko singer Sotiria Bellou, to name but a few. In their previous piece, they led a procession of queer visibility along the River Tiber in their home city representing the biblical figure Lilith as a figure of exile, dissent, and desire. Their work is genuinely exciting, flying in the face of heteronormative patriarchy and rigid artistic form, and instead crafting a convincing mould of exuberant cultural activism that aims to ignite conversations about mythology and historiography with fervour.
Queering Smaragdus’ story gives him voice beyond the walls of organised religion, taking it to the masses, chucking it around the stage and demanding it be heard. Synthesis is delivered in deploying pop culture, but it is by no means just a crutch for comedy, it vitalises the essence of queerness as something timeless, tangible, and essential.
Whether you’re in it for the extraordinary, unhinged experience or to add your voice to a movement, the evolving work of Le Fratelle della Perpetua Indecenza will offer what you desire and so much more.
Recommended Drink: Communion wine, by the bucket.
You can catch SmaDragdus one last time as part of Thessaloniki Fringe, tonight Friday 9th October at Transcendance from 22:00 (30mins). The performance is in English, with large lip-sync sections. Tickets are available through the Thessaloniki Fringe Online Box Office.
Keep up with Le Fratelle della Perpetua Indecenza’s future works online.
Lamesha Ruddock
