With a focus on transitions, testosterone, and the blurred lines between performance and reality, Wet Mess navigate themes of drag and the magical in the mundane.
Originally presented as part of the Here & Now Showcase at 2024’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Battersea Arts Centre presents the London debut of this award-winning work.
The show combines razor-sharp movement with pre-recorded interviews. Wet Mess pinches at the dull flesh of life. Expect surreal spectacles, dykey desires and choreography of guttural sexuality.
Starting on the East London drag circuit, Wet Mess builds a following with a core of live art. They advance their creative direction by pushing boundaries and breaking binaries.
TESTO won The Skinny’s Gender Euphoria Award at Edinburgh in 2024. They performed as part of Sound of the Underground at the Royal Court which was written by Travis Alabanza and Debbie Hannan, and Galatea by Emma Frankland as part of Brighton Fringe.
‘Brilliantly executed. Wet Mess is a deeply promising artist to watch in years to come.’
★★★★★ Ed Fest Magazine
Wet Mess won Not Another Drag Competition in 2021
This is one of the most prestigious drag contests held over seven weeks at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern and since have been booked extensively at queer venues in the UK and internationally.
They’ve choreographed a music video for Tove Lo in recent months and have worked on movement direction for artists such as Will Young, London Grammar and Wolf Alice.
In 2019, Wet Mess produced the dance film Sissy Fatigue, which was funded by Jerwood Arts. The film was screened at various festivals, including Thunderdance, Raindance, and the London Short Film Festival. It received multiple awards, including Best Music Video at the Thunderdance Film Festival in Cannes that year.
‘Genderpunk at its finest – watching it feels like taking my first deep breath in a very long time.’
★★★★★ The Skinny
‘Wet Mess shows are not only thrilling and wild, but somehow sweet and life enhancing.’
The Guardian
Their dance video work has been presented on multiple digital platforms, including Nowness, Boiler Room’s 4:3 and BBC Scotland.
As a performer, they’ve worked internationally with Pester & Rossi, Monster Chetwynd (a former Turner Prize nominee), Cecile B Evans, Molly Palmer, Donna Huanca, Oriana Fox, Beth Kettel, Bhebhe&Davies, Joseph Bond and Rebecca Lloyd-Evans.
Solo and collaborative works have been shown at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Battersea Arts Centre, The Place, Shoreditch Town Hall, The Photographers Gallery, Walker Gallery, Baltic39 and several film festivals.
Since 2014, Wet Mess has collectively created work with the performance group STASIS, and in 2018, they won a Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with the theatre company ThisEgg.
TESTO from Wet Mess at Battersea Arts Centre, 11 – 22 February 2025, 7:30 pm, Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TN, United Kingdom,
Price: Pay What You Can (*recommended price £14)
Age guidance: 13+
Running time: 60 mins (no interval)
Access: BSL Interpreted Performance: 13 & 20 Feb. Audio Described performances: 18 – 22.