Cirque Du Cosplay
Cosplay meets cabaret at AVCon After Dark!
Cirque du Cosplay returns for AVCon After Dark 2026 with performers bringing fandom, burlesque, pole, fire, dance, drag, comedy, storytelling and character work to the stage.
This show is playful, cheeky, heartfelt, ridiculous and proudly queer. It gives a platform to queer, gender diverse, disabled, neurodivergent and chronically ill performers, alongside artists using cosplay, cabaret and performance to tell stories in bold and unexpected ways. Acts are inspired by anime, games, cartoons, movies and pop culture, then reimagined through camp, chaos, glamour, vulnerability and a healthy amount of “I cannot believe they did that on stage”.
Cirque du Cosplay is part of AVCon After Dark 2026 and is an 18+ event.
What Is Cirque Du Cosplay?
Cirque du Cosplay is an 18+ stage show where fandom gets the cabaret treatment! Performers take characters and references from anime, gaming, comics, cartoons, movies and pop culture, then twist them into burlesque, pole, fire, drag, dance, comedy and performance art. The result is silly, seductive, strange, skilled and sometimes unexpectedly emotional.
This is one of the big After Dark moments to add to your night.
Meet Your Co-Hosts
Back for their third year leading Cirque du Cosplay, Starling Strix and Diana Divine have become a favourite part of the show across 2024, 2025 and now 2026!
Starling Strix (He/They)
Co-Host and Director
It’s your favourite cryptid’s favourite cryptid, Starling Strix!
Ever since someone left their cage door unlocked, Starling has spread their chaos across stages in Adelaide and beyond.
A disgraced cosplayer, aspiring twink, and renowned ruiner of childhoods, Starling puts their years of training in pole, exotic dance, and aerials to good use creating thirst traps both blessed and cursed.
Starling is known to go rogue and bring the unexpected to the stage – be warned, this will awaken something in you.
Diana Divine (They/Them)
Co-Host and Performer
Scylla
Award-winning artist and seasoned producer, this performer is Divine by name, but a little more nuanced by nature. For the past decade, Diana Divine has been shimmying from pub floors to sold-out theatres – and boy are their arms tired.
They have a passion for creating supportive, accessible spaces within the arts sector, lovingly referred to by mentees as “Uncle Di”. Diana was Mx Burlesque Adelaide 2023 and the winner of multiple Adelaide Fringe Awards (Emerging Artist 2022, Best Cabaret (weekly) 2019, 2023) over their career.
Gifted with a love of performance and a total lack of dance skill, Diana’s camp characters and storytelling shines through in every act.
With an ass that won’t quit but legs that sometimes do, prepare yourself for sauciness, silliness, and a sucker punch of sarcasm when Diana Divine takes the stage.
Meet The Lineup
Our 2026 lineup will feature a mix of local and interstate performers bringing fandom, character work and stage presence to AVCon After Dark!
CC Viper (She/Her)
Performer
Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil Village)
CC Viper is a Melbourne-based cosplayer, content creator, host and performer bringing spice, shit-posting and very tall heels to the AVCon After Dark stage.
After performing in Cirque du Cosplay for the first time last year, she caught the bug and is back for round two, this time leading a bloody group performance inspired by Lady Dimitrescu from Resident Evil Village that may leave you questioning whether you are here to survive the castle or ask politely to be stepped on.
Leona Rex (She/Her)
Performer
Piccolo (Dragon Ball series)
Leona Rex is a cosplay-inspired burlesque performer with a taste for villains, power dynamics, and ruining your favourite childhood characters in the hottest way possible.
Blending commanding stage presence with playful nerd culture references, her acts live somewhere between boss battle and the sudden realisation you may have unlocked a brand-new kink.
Expect gender-bending reveals, dominant energy, dramatic musicality and the unsettling realisation that your fictional crushes may have awakened something in you years ago. Leona Rex is here to make sure they finish the job.
Geri Blossom (She/her)
Performer
Waluigi (Mario series)
Geri is an occasional performance goblin and long-time enjoyer of video, board and tabletop gaming.
Often cringe, sometimes hot, Geri is excited to deliver your favourite lanky purple villain (and best MarioKart character) in a pole show that will surely make you say waaah!
Winchester Angel (She/Her)
Performer
Babydoll (Sucker Punch)
This hauntingly beautiful angel is here to indulge you in her unique style or performance. From classic burlesque to draglesque, Winchester brings it all.As your current reigning MX Burlesque Adelaide of 2024/2025, Kaurna Land.
Winchester has achieved many accomplishments, including being a resident performer at Nineteen Ten, touring as an interstate artist, producing multiple continuous sold-out workshops, and producing 5 sold-out shows including appearances at the Adelaide Fringe.
This vamp had to be bitten somewhere right? Winchester teaches at Hot Sauce Burlesque bringing metalesque to the Adelaide scene where she first started.
Winchester, a powerhouse performer and producer, is bringing her self-titled show to the stage this May celebrating the fashion of our glamorous world…The Devil Wears Corsets!
It’s the gun in a dress…Winchester Angel!
Reggie Mori (They/ Them)
Performer
Nishinoya (Haikyu!!)
Best described as spellbinding and hypnotic, Reggie blends their love for classical ballet, contemporary dance and aerial hoop to bring you grace and energy that is truly otherworldly.
They are known to command the stage with their presence and contagious joy, and will leave you wanting more…
K8astrophe (She/Her)
Performer
Nabooru (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
When she isn’t kicking it at Karate, swinging around a pole, or desperately pretending to be normal at her day job, Kate enjoys getting lost in video games. Tonight, she is fusing her love for rolling around on stage with a deep nostalgia for Nintendo 64 Zelda games. Having spent countless hours in Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask, she has always frothed over the Gerudo Tribe, particularly the desert region’s second-in-command, Nabooru.
Captivated by Nabooru’s dual nature as a flirty master manipulator and a rogue vigilante who will risk her own life to defy a king, Kate is eager to embody Nabooru’s hotness tonight. She’s ready to explore what spending more time with her would’ve been like… if you didn’t have to steal treasure for her and watch her die!
Polly Esther Pantomime (They/Them)
Performer
Betty (Date Everything!)
They may be called Polly Esther Pantomime, but there’s nothing artificial about them.
Thespian by trade, storyteller at heart, Polly blends vulnerability, theatrics and cheek into each performance. Baring their soul, and maybe a little more, one tantalising tale at a time.
A queer, camp icon “exuding androgynous glamour”, you will fall for Polly long before the final curtain.
Roxie Bordeaux (She/Her)
Performer
Itachi (Naruto Series)
Roxie Bordeaux is a powerhouse artist with over 20 years of performing experience. Known for her versatility, she is skilled in many disciplines. Fire arts, aerial arts, burlesque, vocals, and a wide range of dance styles, just to name a few. Her stage presence is easily her most noticeable asset, drawing in the audience and keeping them completely engaged under her control.
Roxie has found success nationally and internationally, touring with some highly prestigious performing arts companies all over Australia and New Zealand. Although often travelling, Roxie adores performing in her hometown, where she is currently based, Adelaide, South Australia.
Fire breathing is one of the most dangerous skills that fire arts has to offer, to give a little display, we gladly present Roxie Bordeaux
Freddy Johns (He/Him)
Performer
Chunky Kong (Donkey Kong 64)
Freddy Johns is a queer, neurodivergent performer and MC whose work blends camp, vulnerability, humour and audience connection.
Raised on musical theatre, cabaret and an ongoing desperate search for dopamine, this manic middle-child moves fluidly between heartfelt and chaotic — combining live music, comedy, character work and burlesque.
Part bisexual barbarian, part king of the jungle, Freddy is here to swing hard (both ways), go bananas and remind you that thick thighs really do save lives — no cheat codes required.
Siera (They/Them)
Performer
Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)
Stepping onto the stage, and fluttering in from Naarm/Melbourne, is Siera! A multi-disciplined artist with a knack for hyperfixating just a bit too hard on bringing both costume, performance and music together to entertain an audience and tell a story.
They sew! They dance! They fly! And with accolades ranging from National Cosplay Awards to State Lyra Titles, they really put their whole clam-ussy into their pursuits, whilst also managing their own chronic health and assisting with accessibility and education for others where possible.
Witch Aurora (She/Her)
Performer
Maya (Borderlands Series)
Aurora is an artist at heart and a chaos gremlin by nature.
She first took to the stage at age seven through the disciplined world of Irish Dancing, competing across Australia. Years later, a chance encounter with a boutique studio led her to the bold and captivating realm of pole and aerial arts. Since then, Aurora has been crafting a distinctive style defined by sensual flow, striking visuals, and gravity-defying feats.
Now embracing the world of performance art, Aurora brings her love of the unique, the strange, and the slightly obscene to every stage she steps onto. She invites you to join her on a journey that stirs the senses, ignites the imagination, and gently unravels your grip on reality.
Audience Guidelines
Cirque du Cosplay is a cabaret and burlesque-style show, so the crowd is part of the fun. Cheer, clap, laugh, gasp and give performers the energy they deserve.
Please help keep the show safe, respectful and welcoming:
- Follow all AVCon staff, volunteer, security, host and stage crew directions.
- Do not touch performers, costumes, props or stage equipment.
- Keep aisles, walkways and stage access areas clear.
- Do not interrupt performances.
- Do not take costume pieces, props, clothing or accessories that are thrown, dropped or placed near the audience. That glove, boa, prop, jacket or suspiciously sparkly object is part of the act, not a souvenir.
- Respect every performer, every body and every way of moving on stage.
- If an act is not your thing, keep comments kind and let someone else enjoy it.
This show includes performers with different bodies, genders, access needs, performance styles and lived experiences. AVCon has no tolerance for harassment, body shaming, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, racism or disrespectful comments about performers.