We’re back bringing you the very best UK drag talent for you lovely readers to discover. Serving barbie girl realness, dressed head to toe in pink, and living out our fantasy dream world is Malibu Barbra. Garnering her inspiration from of course Barbie, as well as a host of 60’s female icons and cartoons. Overcoming negativity and pain to go on and be a real-life positive role model that you should all look up to.
Dragadventures: You’re a vision in gorgeous pink, creating pure Barbie fantasy. How did you come up with the name Malibu Barbra?
Malibu Barbra: Thankyou! Pink is my absolute favourite colour and it makes me so happy! And when something makes you happy I’m a firm believer in immersing yourself completely into it!
My name came from my creator’s obsession with Barbie as a little boy, he was never allowed to own one. But he loved Malibu Barbie the most. So now as an adult, I think he decided to become his own doll! And thus, I emerged from the toybox of his psyche!
DA: Barbie is an iconic childhood toy, for you which fashion era do you love the most and do you try to incorporate that in your drag?
MB: The sixties through and through! To me, there is something overtly feminine about the styles of the mid-century. From the 40s to the 50s to the 60s Everything grew bigger, eye makeup became wilder! Skirts shorter! Big beautiful buttons, and fabulously chunky shoes! I keep this theme in a lot of my fashion choices. And who doesn’t love that 60’s flip!
DA: If you had to be a Barbie which one would you be and why?
MB: Malibu Barbie of course! Who wouldn’t want to spend all day every on the beach in a dreamy paradise crisping up a nice “healthy” tan and not having a care in the world or even a single thought about melanomas!
DA: How did Malibu Barbra come to be a life-size Barbie?
MB: A lot of people see Barbie as a dumb blonde anti-feminist archetype who limited children into a certain way of thinking. But I’ve always thought that she the most chaotic feminist. She infiltrated so many career options and gave them a test run. Sure, she never held down a job for more than two months but she WAS the first plastic woman to simultaneously walk on the moon and save animals!
And, when she opened her voicebox to speak in the 90’s yes, she upset the world because she found math class hard but she also had a line saying that she was studying to become a scientist! I think “good for her!”. All this and she still loved shopping! Not to mention she bought herself her dream home. AND was a part-time mermaid? Colour me impressed! I admire her for that. I have to say that I’m inspired by all the women who were secret badasses, Penelope Pitstop, Daphne Blake, Debbie Thornberry, Elle Woods and of course Barbara Novak!
DA: What inspired you to get started into drag and who gave you the start?
MB: Like all good stories mine starts off with some drama. My creator James, used do drag whenever and wherever possible (A Hallowe’en Queen you might say) until one year in 2012 when he went out in drag in the middle of the year to celebrate a birthday.
Sadly he was in a homophobic incident due to how he was dressed, a group of straight men broke his arm. This scared him away from being in drag in public for about 4 years. Until I decided it was time to help him out of his shell again and show the world that positivity CAN come out of a negative experience! Now we work together as one to show that world that even when you are literally beaten down, you can get right back up! It might take some years. But you can absolutely do it! So here we are, spreading love and acceptance. And fighting for LGBTQ rights wherever we can.
I’ll be forever grateful to my friends for giving me the strength to start again. As well as the Theatre Royal Plymouth and The Barbican Theatre for taking a chance on my show!
DA: If your drag career were a song, what would be the title?
MB: I’ve always felt an affinity with the song Perfect Day – by Hoku
DA: The UK drag scene is full of exciting drag talent, who do you recommend our lovely readers keep an eye out for?
MB: Oh my gosh, so many! I find so much inspiration in Alfie Ordinary, Lydia L’scabies, Rococo Chanel, Emily Meow, Holly Stars and the wonderful miss Cherry Liquor.
And my bio sis: Summer Reign! How could I forget!
DA: During your career what’s been the best bit of advice you’ve been given?
MB: I have been lucky to have been given two wonderful pieces of advice by two queens whom I absolutely idolise:
1. Always make sure to be paid for the work you do. – Miss Cynthia Lee Fontaine.
2. Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse! – Miss Coco Peru.
DA: What advice would you give to those in the drag scene and creative fields
MB: Your work is absolutely valid. Take it from a queen who can’t lipsync, dance, or cover her brows [She shaves them!] You will find your voice before you know it!
And once you find that voice you can use it to sing, preach, monologue, or tell jokes! The world is absolutely yours! And you’ll have a fan in me already waiting too.
DA: What’s been the best part of your career to date?
MB: The best part of my career to date has been the connections and friendships that I have made along the way so far. People and joy are the dearest things to my heart. While standing on stages and singing, laughing and telling my stories to my captive audience is a wonderful experience, the subsequent successes that I have had are simply very happy symptoms of the virus I like to call My Friendship!
Be sure to follow Malibu Barbra on her social media:
Instagram: @malibubarbra
Twitter: @MalibuBarbra
Official Website: https://malibubarbra.wordpress.com/
