What began as Zak Vasiliou’s first-ever solo show at the 2025 Adelaide Fringe has since become an award-winning success story. Twinky Twinky Little Star has earned multiple accolades, including one of Adelaide Fringe’s most sought after awards.
Twinky Twinky Little Star is a witty comedy where Zak shares all the signs he was going to grow up to be gay, and how his parents missed every single one of them. The show also explores the gay community, particularly the twink category.
As well as being a comedian, Vasiliou is first and foremost a musical theatre performer, and the show was born from a desire to take ownership of his creativity.
“I had this itch to be creative again, after years of focusing on auditions and waiting for casting directors to give me the chance to perform,” says Vasiliou.
Following Vasiliou’s Adelaide Fringe award win for Emerging Artist in 2025, ticket sales started to soar.
“I was so surprised when it started selling out, with full houses of people I didn’t know,” says Vasiliou. “When I was creating the show, the only potential audience members I had in mind were my family and friends.”
Due to the show’s success, Vasiliou brought the show back to Adelaide Fringe in 2026. This time, he left the festival with the Sarah Rohrsheim Adelaide Fringe Fellowship Award, one of the festival’s biggest awards and the festival’s largest cash prize of $25,000 to support his artistic career.
Vasiliou dedicates a lot of his success to his commitment to remaining authentic and creating work that is important to him. Whilst the show speaks to the gay categories, and Vasiliou’s struggle to find which label he fits best, it also opens a broader conversation about fitting it. “The struggle to fit in is a universal experience, and I have tried to speak to that and encourage audiences to embrace their authenticity”
You can catch Twinky Twinky Little Star for the first time in the Melbourne Fringe this year.
September 30 – October 4
melbournefringe.com.au
Image: Nick Robertson (NickMickPics).
