First Nations Voices, The Tina Legacy, A Local Love Letter

Before the sequins and stadium chorus, there was a teenager at the Darwin Amphitheatre in 1993, eyes wide as Tina Turner filled the night with energy, legs, and big hair. That memory still powers Ben Graetz, known as Miss Ellaneous, who brings TINA, A TROPICAL LOVE STORY, to Brisbane Powerhouse from 18 to 20 September. The show is part tribute, part community celebration. It centres Ben’s voice, lets Miss TINA sparkle, and invites a cast of Brisbane guests to make the story local. For this season, the team features choreographer Sani Townson, dancers Cleopatra Pryce and Olivia Adams as the Tinettes, Roymata Holmes as a soloist and as Miss Martoya, and vocalists Garret Lyon and Kristal West. The format is fluid, half scripted and half improvised, so each night can turn on a dime from euphoria to tenderness. Accessibility is built in, with one Auslan interpreted performance, audio description, and fifty percent visual content. As a cultural organiser for Sydney WorldPride and Garrmalang, Ben holds space for LGBTQIA+SB First Nations artists, and he shares the advocacy that defined Tina’s legacy.

Take me back to the Darwin Amphitheatre in 1993. What detail from that night with Tina Turner still lives in your body and changes the way you step on stage today.

I was 16 years old and I remember it being absolutely packed! The Darwin Amphitheatre holds around 8,000 people, so it was very squishy. What I remember most is her energy, those famous legs, and of course, her big hair! Whenever I step on stage for my show ‘TINA – A Tropical Love Story’, I try to embody that energy, her command of an audience, and most importantly her sense of fun and pure entertainment.

You perform as Miss Ellaneous, yet you also tell Ben’s own story. Where do those two voices meet in this show, and where do you keep them apart.

I’ve been performing as Miss Ellaneous for over 24 years now, so in many ways the two voices overlap. But for this show, I mostly tell the story through Ben’s perspective and keep the drag elements alive through Miss TINA!

Each city’s season features local guests. In Brisbane you have choreographer Sani Townson and performers Roymata Holmes, Garret Lyon, Kristal West, Olivia Adams, and Cleopatra Pryce. What was the curatorial brief for this team, and what facet of Tina does each of them amplify.

Yes, I love to work with local performers in each new location, it keeps the show fresh and alive every time. For Brisbane Festival, I’m especially proud to have curated a cast of incredible First Nations artists. Cleopatra and Olivia are my Tinettes (Tina’s backup dancers), Roymata is both a solo dancer and also performs in drag as Miss Martoya and Garret and Kristal bring powerhouse vocals to the stage. My only brief for them was simple…bring the spirit of Tina to your performance, and have fun with it!

You have called the work a love letter that grew into a variety cabaret shaped by place and community. What touring model have you built that both keeps the show fresh and supports independent artists meaningfully.

For me, the best way to keep the show accessible and tourable was to engage local artists in each location. It not only makes touring easier, but it also creates opportunities for local artists to shine in the show. It ensures the work feels grounded in each place, and audiences connect with it on a deeper level. Through my storytelling, I often weave in context about my experiences in that city, or stories about the artists involved, which makes the show feel truly local every time.

The piece blends storytelling, cabaret, and drag. When you need the room to turn from euphoria to tenderness, which tool from each form do you reach for first, and why.

For me, it always starts with storytelling. I find when I strip everything back and just speak directly and honestly to the audience, that’s when the energy shifts into a tender space. From cabaret, it’s the intimacy I can bring the room in close, even in a big venue. And with drag, it’s the vulnerability beneath all the glamour. Drag can be loud and joyful, but it also carries a raw truth when you remove your mask. Using all three together allows me to take the audience on that journey between joy, laughter, and those deeper, heartfelt moments.

The Brisbane season runs 60 minutes at Brisbane Powerhouse, 18 to 20 September. How did you decide what to keep and what to let go to make a one hour arc that still feels big enough for Tina.

Oh, it was so hard to cut things out! It’s impossible to tell my whole story let alone Tina’s in 60 minutes! What makes this show exciting though is that it can shift and change depending on the place, the cast, and the audience. I’d say around 50% of the show is scripted, and the other 50% is improvised in the moment. That flexibility keeps it big, bold, and full of Tina’s spirit.

Reviews have praised the show for sidestepping the usual tribute format. What rule of the tribute genre did you most enjoy bending or discarding, and what did that unlock for you as a storyteller.

I love performing Tina’s big hits in a way that leans closer to impersonation rather than a traditional drag interpretation. But beyond that, I invite the guest artists to bring their own interpretation and really make it their own. In Melbourne, for example, I had The Huxleys in the cast, and they created this quirky, avant-garde number to ‘River Deep, Mountain High’. It was wild, performative, and still totally embodied Tina in their own unique way. Those moments unlock something special because they show just how wide Tina’s influence really is.

One performance is Auslan interpreted and audio described, and the event lists 50 percent visual content. What creative choices did you make to invite Deaf and blind or low vision audiences in, and did those choices change the choreography or pacing.

The show itself is a big drag/cabaret production, with me speaking between numbers, so there’s always plenty to see (colour, glitter, movement) and plenty to hear, with music and storytelling. So far we’ve only had Auslan interpretation, so I’m really excited that this Brisbane season includes audio description too. It means more people can experience and connect with the show, which is exactly what I want.

Your leadership roles include Sydney WorldPride 2023 and Garrmalang. How has being a cultural organiser shaped the ethics of how you hold your own story on stage and how you hold space for other artists.

It’s always been important to me that this show isn’t just about my story, it also holds space for other people’s stories and artistry. So much of my work is about creating opportunities for LGBTQIA+SB First Nations performers, ensuring our voices and experiences are seen and heard on mainstages. For me, art is a way for people to learn, connect, and transform through our lived experiences, so it’s about holding that responsibility with care and generosity.

After shows you often hear other people’s Tina stories. What is one audience story that surprised you, and how did it send you back into the studio with a new idea.

I hear so many beautiful stories whether about meeting Tina, seeing her live, or the way her music connected to someone’s life. One story that really stayed with me was hearing how, during her 1993 Darwin visit, she took time to meet with Aboriginal people in town and record public service announcements. That reminded me of how much of an advocate she was for culture and First Nations communities worldwide, and I now share that story in the show. It’s a powerful reminder of her generosity and the depth of her legacy.

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TINA, A TROPICAL LOVE STORY is part of Brisbane Festival.

For Tickets CLICK HERE