As a love letter to himself, and as a middle finger to everyone who thinks being gay is a sin, Stellenbosch University alumnus Wynand Kotze, directed and performed his first official Toyota US Woordfees show in his drag persona – Tollie Parton.
Wynand Kotze, from wynvirdiepyn on TikTok, saw his Tollie Parton show at the 2022 Toyota US Woordfees sold out. The show was at the Daisy Jones Bar in Stellenbosch on the evening of 12 October. PHOTO: Micaleb Lawrence
Kotze is also known as the TikTok content creator, wynvirdiepyn.
Kotze performed his 60-minute stand-up comedy show to a sold-out crowd at the Daisy Jones Bar at the Summerhill Wine Estate in Stellenbosch on 12 October.
Tollie Parton for Woordfees
“I have imposter syndrome so I still feel like the awkward gay seuntjie in a small town that no one understands,” said Kotze to MatieMedia. “To me, it’s unbelievable that people buy tickets for my shows, and I will never get used to it – whether it is sold out or not.”
“I would feel out my audience, figuring out what works and what won’t work for a specific audience,” said Wynand Kotze, who performed as Tollie Parton, his drag persona, for Woordfees 2022. PHOTO: Micaleb Lawrence
Performing in his drag persona, Kotze touched on various topics relating to South Africans and his personal life.
“Not every show I perform is the same. Very often I would feel out my audience – figuring out what works and what won’t work for a specific audience,” said Kotze, who has been doing drag for seven months.
His first Woordfees performance turned out to be a special surprise, as something unplanned happened, he said.
During the last act of the show, Kotze performed a rendition of Adele’s I Drink Wine.
The Tollie Parton performance was a 60-minute stand-up comedy drag show, which included hit songs from the likes of Dolly Parton and Adele. In the last act, Wynand Kotze invited a father and son on stage. PHOTO: Micaleb Lawrence
“When I performed the song, I saw [a] father and son crying,” he told MatieMedia. Kotze invited the two audience members on stage.
Kotze explained that the son recently came out as gay, and that the father reached out to Kotze prior to the Tollie Parton show seeking advice on how to “understand gay people better”.
“I [felt] like they deserve their moment and they deserve to have this memory to refer back to for the rest of their lives,” Kotze said.
“This is going to be something that will make their relationship stronger,” he added.
Transforming into drag
Getting into drag can be a tedious process and takes Kotze about four hours, he said. This includes doing hair, getting dressed and applying make-up.
In preparation for Tollie Parton, Kotze sets aside the entire day before a performance.
“It is a long process to build a woman from the ground up,” said Kotze.
Tollie Parton was first performed on 12 October with an added show for 15 October, according to Kotze.