INTERVIEW: Ophelia Payne, beloved MILF of the Brighton Cabaret scene talks Taylor Swift, Christmas shopping, new single Feliz Navidad and potential new music in 2026đź‘€
"I haven’t even remotely started Christmas shopping and I fully expect to be running around in a flap on Christmas Eve panic buying!"
Ladies and gentleman, theys and thems, welcome to the Brighton & Hove residents' community corner series celebrating our city’s bold drag artists and boundary breaking performers!
I wanted to create a series that goes beyond the glam with our legendary and local queer performers so we can all get to know them more because like Lady Gaga said on ARTPOP, "Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura?" so erm, why not?!
This week, we’re joined by the MILF of the Brighton Cabaret scene: OPHELIA PAYNE.
If this is only the first interview of this centrestage series that you've stumbled across and you want to catch up on the others don't panic! You can catch up HERE and next week I'll be yakking with Dawn the Drag Queen or simply, Dawn. But today, it's all eyes on Ophelia Payne so let's dive in head first!🤿🌊
DALEYPOP: Hey Ophelia, how’s you? Big question already....have you finished your Christmas shopping yet?!
OPHELIA PAYNE: I haven’t even remotely started Christmas shopping and I fully expect to be running around in a flap on Christmas Eve panic buying!
DALEYPOP: Snap! So for our readers who haven’t yet had the joy of seeing you perform yet, can you introduce yourself-and let us know your pronouns both on and off stage?
OPHELIA PAYNE: It’s me, Ophelia Payne, the MILF of the Brighton Cabaret scene! I’m she/her on and off stage and super proud to be repping for the dolls who do drag.
DALEYPOP: Since when have you been on stage?
OPHELIA PAYNE: I think the stage and performing has always been in my blood from playing Rolf Gruber in The Sound of Music in primary school! Things are looking a bit different now though. I’ve been doing drag on and off my whole life but full time now for about 6 years. The past 2 years for me have been wild and super busy, everyone wants a bit of MILF in their life.
DALEYPOP: Where did the name Ophelia Payne come from? (I can't help but think of The Fate of Ophelia by Taylor Swift now whenever I hear your name by the way!)
OPHELIA PAYNE: Ophelia Payne was actually given to me by my friend Matt who has an unnatural talent for naming drag queens as a straight guy. I had a drag naming dinner party, bit like a gender reveal party but less weird. If it wasn’t for Matt it could have been Ophelia Thigh.
I have received many messages to put The Fate of Ophelia in my set list, it’s coming, it’s super embarrassing that Taylor wrote a song about me, she’s obsessed with me.
DALEYPOP: Wellll she's only human! When you think about Pride, what does it represent for you?
OPHELIA PAYNE: Pride for me on a basic level is always a crazy work time. It’s gay Christmas for us queer performers so it’s always a buckle up, slap on the wig and head into the gigs with a dream and a prayer to make it out alive. For Pride this year I really got to do some utterly amazing things and it was a real pinch me moment to be asked to be a host on the main stage in Preston Park whilst also taking mine and my bestie Dick Day's show Partybag to a sold out official opening show for the weekend and then having our tent in the park for a second year with an even bigger and better show! Being able to create a space at Pride for alternative performers to be seen and queer performers who don’t get enough of the opportunities they deserve.
I know Pride's all across the country have faced a lot of criticism over the past few years and I agree we need to get Pride back to its roots in the message it stands for.
The LGBTQ+ community faces some very unique challenges right now all across the world and we need positive representation. It’s essential though that we remember that Pride is and always has been a protest. Right now using the platform that I’m very lucky to have to hopefully inspire and represent the LGBTQ+ is more important now than ever.
DALEYPOP: Oh when's season 3 of your Party Bag The Extra Bump podcast with Dick Day coming?!
OPHELIA PAYNE: Ohhhhhh season 3 is on hold at the moment as we’ve both been super busy but watch this space. There’s still plenty of episodes to keep you going in the meantime.
DALEYPOP: What's the last thing you Googled?
OPHELIA PAYNE: The last thing I googled was “how can I see where a song is charting” as myself, Alfie Ordinary and Allan Jay are in direct competition with Kylie Minogue for the Christmas No.1 spot with our new single Feliz Navidad. Weirdly I couldn’t find us in the top 100 but I’m sure it’s an error.
DALEYPOP: Oh that's weird, definitely an error, it's the only explanation! What's a Christmas looking like for the Payne's this year then?
OPHELIA PAYNE: I’m a bit of a work horse to be honest over Christmas and actually I love it. I always work over Christmas so I’ll be spreading some festive cheer at some of my regular spots. Christmas Eve I’m at Fitzherberts in the afternoon so you can catch me for a mince pie whilst you get the rest of your shopping in and then off to the lovely Grosvenor Bar in the evening. If you miss that then come find me Christmas Day at Affinity and then finishing off at Legends for a cheeky one on Boxing Day.
DALEYPOP: Omg you ARE a work horse! Super important question: who’s your crush of the day?
Oh Santa! It’s the beard and the twinkle in his eye for me. I do love a man with a beard and a bag. Oh and Zohran Mamdani, love a good guy (with a beard) basically I’m into beards.
DALEYPOP: I’m not an original Brightonian although I've lived here almost 5 years now (omg) and as a total foodie I still can’t get over just how many delicious places there are to eat here so I’m on a mission to work my way through them all (yessss I genuinely have a spreadsheet) so I’d love to know….what’s your go-to spot for food in Brighton right now that you’d highly recommend
OPHELIA PAYNE: Well I am obsessed with bao buns and The Pond in the North Laine have literally the best bao buns in Brighton. I always end up ordering a feast in there and manage to jam it all in! Bit of shameless promo but my afternoon gigs at Fitzherberts as well are a real vibe, in there every 2 weeks on a Saturday afternoon at 3:30 and the cocktails and staff are great. It is always such an amazing gig and really pops off, you’ll often find me clambering over the tables on the terrace there.
DALEYPOP: Oh delicious, thank you! If you had three wishes....what would they be?
OPHELIA PAYNE: If I had three wishes….you can’t say three more can you? There’s some genie loophole about that I think? Wish 1 that all dogs live forever. Wish 2 world peace (practicing my beauty pageant answer) but genuinely the world feels pretty insane right now. Wish 3 that Feliz Navidad makes it to Christmas Number 1, it’s available to download on all streaming platforms by the way!
DALEYPOP: I actually do love your Feliz Navidad song with Alfie Ordinary and Allan Jay, do you have plans to release more music in 2026?
OPHELIA PAYNE: Well I don’t know if it will happen but I’ve been talking with the amazingly talented Alex Fincher about doing a 90’s club banger song for a while now so keep your eyes peeled and your ears cleaned out, it might just happen in 2026!
DALEYPOP: For our readers’ diaries, where will you be performing next? Oh and do you have any new years resolutions?!
OPHELIA PAYNE: Well I’ve already told you about my Christmas run so don’t miss that but New Year you can catch me at The Regency Tavern. Also my weekly Thursday residency at The Queens Arms will be carrying on through 2026, come for a revamped 2026 show with Prudence and Meryl (if you know you know). Finally my show Partybag with my best buddy Dick Day will be celebrating our 5th birthday next year! It’s a very silly and fun show, the first one of the year is Feb 27th at the gorgeous Ironworks Studios.
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