Queen of the Sky: A Demon Ballet Dazzles At 12th Avenue Arts

October 27, 2026• byMichael Strangeways

Looking for something different to see when it comes to live entertainment? Then, you might want to check out QUEEN OF THE SKY: A DEMON BALLET onstage at 12th Avenue Arts on Capitol Hill. It blends “aerial arts, acrobatics, dance, and immersive physical theatre” into an extraordinary evening of entertainment. It’s a visual feast and not your standard theater experience…less talking and more FLYING!

Tickets: https://collections.humanitix.com/queen-of-the-sky-events

Written AND DIRECTED BY JONES TALMADGE
Choreographed BY Anne-Marie Talmadge
Conceived BY Craig Baurley

World Premiere — Seattle
October 21-November 7, 2026
12th Avenue Arts Mainstage
1620 12th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122

The Show

Queen of the Sky: A Demon Ballet is an original production from Not Man Apart that fuses breathtaking aerial arts, acrobatics, dance, and immersive physical theatre into one visceral journey. As creatures emerge from the darkness, the line between audience and performer begins to blur. You are part of the experience, following our heroine pilot, Aelia, into the storm that unleashes a sinister demon. Incorporating jaw-dropping stunts, haunting visuals, cinematic sound track, humor and suspense, and a story about courage, resilience, and reclaiming your power.

The experience begins as guests enter through The Lab, where they are offered a complimentary lab coat to wear during the performance, as protection from the occasional theatrical blood splatter. VIP ticket holders will have an extra thrill, seated in our optional Splash Zone, where the action (and a little theatrical blood) might get just close enough to leave its mark.

The Concept

Queen of the Sky: A Demon Ballet is a timely horror story that mashes up American Imperialism in the 1940’s with ancient demon lore and brazen nuclear testing in the South Pacific. A meaningful love story between a female pilot and her navigator quite literally spirals out of control into a crash landing on a toxic island, resulting in a mortal battle with a hive-mind mutant from another dimension. Whether our monsters are imagined, the struggle with addiction, paralyzing fear, and powerlessness are always real.

The Story

“Queen of the Sky” begins with the developing life and love of young female pilot Aelia Erenhardt and her childhood friend, Fred Newman. Just as their love begins to bloom, they face a cataclysmic challenge to survival in the crossroads of brazen nuclear testing. Crash landing on a toxic island in the South Pacific, they encounter a hive-mind creature that was unleashed by the hubris of dark science cut open by the cruelty of U.S. suppression of indigenous people. “A Demon Ballet” composed of a pack of mutated humanoids that conglomerate into one body under one sinister mind now seeks to capture the heroine, resulting in a high-stakes, epic battle. Or is it a delusion?

About the Author: Michael Strangeways

As the Editorial Director/Co-Owner, Michael Strangeways writes, edits and does about a million other jobs for Seattle Gay Scene, Puget Sound's most visited LGBTQ news, arts and entertainment website now celebrating its 14th year as a media outlet. A semi-proud Midwesterner by birth, he's lived in Seattle since 2000. He's also a film producer who would like you to check out the Jinkx Monsoon documentary, "Drag Becomes Him" now available on Amazon.com. In his spare time, he gets slightly obsessive about his love for old movies, challenging theater, "otters", vodka, chocolate, "I,Claudius", Lizzie Borden, real books made out of paper, disaster films, show tunes, Weimar era Germany, flea markets, pop surrealistic art, the sex lives of Hollywood actors both living and dead, kitties, chicken fried steak, haute couture and David Bowie. But, not necessarily in that order.