Bathurst resident Jonathan Hosking has been recognised as one of Australia's finest up-and-coming drag queen entertainers.
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Hosking took his popular 'Betty Botox' character to the Australia's Got Drag competition in Port Macquarie on Saturday, February 9, and was rewarded with second place at the event.
"I'm still getting my head around it, and to be recognised among the best drag queens in the country is a huge honour," he said.
Over 4000 drag queens submitted entries to the event, and 'Betty Botox' was chosen as one of 10 to compete.
Each queen had to devise a series of routines to enthrall the crowd, and Hosking made it his mission to ensure 'Betty Botox' was fabulously entertaining.
"For the runway segment, I walked out covered in a black shroud to eventually reveal this beautiful blue dress that was designed by Helen Schwab," he said.
"I then did this lip sync routine to the tune of 'All That Jazz' [from the musical Chicago], but changed it to 'All That Jatz.'"
"The idea for 'All That Jatz' came from a TV commercial advertising the product, and I felt that could turn into a hilarious routine involving words out of context."
Other aspects of Hosking's performance involved a comedic retelling of Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' and a number involving an outfit containing LED lights that worked in synchronicity with the music.
The reworking of 'My Heart Will Go On' was provided by Graham McNab of Dachsound Audio Service, and featured the vocals of local talent Alex Vidler.
Hosking invented the 'Betty Botox' character five years ago, and he said her camp personality is a creative and provocative extension of his own.
"'Betty' started off as a fun character to play at dress up parties, and after realising how much I enjoyed becoming her, I began to fully develop her personality," he said.
"There are things I can get away with as 'Betty' that I wouldn't be able to as Jono."
Hosking regularly appears as 'Betty Botox' at the Oxford Hotel's Venom Pride nights, and he said drag queen culture has come a long way.
"Australia has become very accepting towards drag queens, in part thanks to the early exposure we received through films such as Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," he said.
"Even in a place like Bathurst, drag queen and LGBTIQ+ culture has definitely evolved."
Although a career as a drag queen sounds like an overtly glamorous experience, Hosking admits that the role requires a lot of hard work.
"As a drag queen these days, there's a lot of pressure on up-and-coming performers to be experts in a variety of creative fields," he said.
"It's almost a prerequisite to be a great dancer, an inventive fashion designer and a sharp-witted comedian all in the one package."
'Betty Botox' is regularly active on Instagram.