(Photo courtesy Orlando Fringe)
This show contains Adult Language, Audience Interaction, Mature Themes and Sexual Content.
Cabaret performances, ventriloquism and the animal kingdom might not sound like an obvious recipe for comedy, but somehow it works. In the hourlong performance of “Wild & Gay Animal Kinkdom,” those elements came together for a night of laughter, surprising animal facts and plenty of double meanings at SAVOY’s Starlite Room during the first official night of Orlando Outfest 2026.
Hosted by Haywood Sloth, a pink sloth puppet with plenty of personality, the show invites the audience to look at same-sex relationships through a wilder lens. Early on, attendees are asked which animal they identify with and, more importantly, why. From there, the show blurs the line between human dating culture and the animal kingdom.
One of the funniest segments in the show invites the audience to figure out which animal “owns” a dating app profile based solely on how the creature describes itself. The descriptions are filled with double meanings, including a reference to “puffer play,” a reference to dolphins chewing on pufferfish for their “narcotic” effect.
Between the jokes and unexpected animal facts, “Wild & Gay Animal Kinkdom” incorporates burlesque performances from its puppets, using songs such as Raye’s “Where Is My Husband?” and Maroon 5’s “Animals” to illustrate the sometimes surprisingly complex relationships found in the wild.
The room laughed throughout the performance — myself included — but two moments stood out as the highlights of the night.
The first was a surprise appearance by Gaymer Dee, a local burlesque performer who gave the audience a full burlesque performance representing the “human” side of the animal kingdom. He began as a version of the Beast from “Beauty and the Beast” before transforming into a delightfully queer version of humankind.
The second came when an audience member was invited onstage to receive a lap dance from James, a 130-year-old tortoise puppet who apparently has one goal in life: making people happy with his moves.
It is exactly this kind of absurdity that makes “Wild & Gay Animal Kinkdom” work. The show manages to blend the sexual humor and theatricality of burlesque with real examples of relationships and behaviors found throughout the animal kingdom. It is silly, unexpected and surprisingly educational, proving that sometimes learning about nature is more fun when a pink sloth is the one teaching you.
See “Wild & Gay Animal Kinkdom” at SAVOY’s Starlite Room on Sept. 13 at 6:45 p.m.
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