It’s World Pride 2023 and the queer globe is converging on Sydney Australia to celebrate diversity, inclusion, community and fabulousness!

To mark this momentous event the STAGES podcast is saluting the cast of captivating drag divas and personalities who have been featured on the podcast during the past 5 seasons.

They are artists who have appeared on national and global stages; thrilling audiences, making a difference, healing community and expressing unique and wondrous talents.

We spotlight these episodes so you can savour a second listen - or so you can sample the delights of these entertainers for the very first time.

A Diva a day for each day of World Pride!

In the bohemian world that is drag, few artists can lay claim to the exulted and ebullient eccentricity that is Cindy Pastel. The alter ego of performer Ritchie Finger, Cindy has been delighting, thrilling and astonishing audiences for close to 45 years. Guided through life by a signature catch cry ‘Is Everybody Happy?’ Pastel has ensured that we are always a satisfied audience.

A unique talent, Finger has inspired generations of drag performers who have followed in his fabulous footsteps - whether they be in stilettos or skates.

Ritchie Finger arrived in Sydney from Melbourne in 1979 and became one of the many young drag addicts to work at Patches (later DCM) Nightclub on Sydney’s celebrated Oxford street.

An auspicious beginning, entering a talent quest under the drag name Barbara Mattel (Barbie), allowed Finger to make an indelible impression. Though he didn’t earn a place. Finger discovered ‘Barbie’ had a younger sister and so, Cindy Pastel was born.

The song that Finger performed was ‘A Love Like Yours Don’t Keep Knocking Every Day’ featuring both Sonny AND Cher. “Once on stage I felt like I had been there before and my world became my stage for evermore”.

In the early part of the A.I.D.S. crisis, Pastel was a tireless worker for HIV/AIDS organisations and charities. The decimation of community was enormous and Pastel states “I believe the microphone was my personal way of unleashing anger towards the hideous disease. I felt like an Andrews sister doing her bit through shows during war time”.

Cindy Pastel exploded in the 80’s and was in high demand performing shows at the Hordern Pavillion for Mardi Gras, Sleaze Ball, Bacchanalia, Rat, and Sweatbox parties.

Cindy Pastel worked at The iconic Albury Hotel for many years forming a group called ‘The Showbags’ consisting of Miss 3D, Twisty (Pat Gently) and numerous other showbag fill-ins such as Kandy Conrad and Sara Pax. Cindy formed other drag ensembles at pubs and clubs like Stranded Nightclub, where she worked with Channelle Saint Laurent and Christina. They were called ‘The 3C’s’ At The Exchange Hotel Cindy performed with a group called ‘Mixed Company’ with Julie Ashton, Ginger Benson, and Polly Petrie as the male dancer.

Finger’s performance work has also extended beyond drag as an actor in Richard Wherett’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, staged at The Sydney Opera House and roles in the films The Everlasting Secret Family, Desire, Hand Job, Gone Tomorrow and the documentary Ladies Please!

The celebrated film Priscilla - Queen of the Desert entered Ritchie Finger’s world when his life story inspired the character of Tick, played by Hugo Weaving. Finger travelled to London and The Cannes film festival to promote the film and further his own adventure.

A delicious icing for the remarkable cake of Ritchie Finger’s career was sitting in the silver shoe atop the Priscilla bus, in the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. A recognition that celebrated the seminal film and the fabulous community of drag queens who have worked the stages of Sydney.

Cindy Pastel has been recognised by the DIVAs - The Drag Industry Variety Awards - twice in her illustrious career. A career that has reached incredible peaks and challenged with occasional obstacles. But through it all Ritchie Finger