A show that began many years ago with a queer Spanish boy's dream of becoming a carnival queen. Find out how it started, the personal journey that inspired it and what Edu Díaz hopes audiences will take away from this joyful, meaningful experience.
How would you describe A Drag Is Born to someone who has never seen your show?
Surprisingly, A Drag Is Born isn't really a drag show, but a wordless clown show in which an ordinary man becomes a drag queen onstage. Audiences usually expect something different from what they get, and that's great. At its heart, A Drag Is Born is a journey of transformation in which the audience becomes part of the experience.
What made you want to mix drag and clowning?
It happened very organically. It started taking shape in 2022, when I was training more seriously in clown and trying to process a homophobic attack I had experienced.
The show began as a short sketch that I kept stretching until it became what it is today. It was incredible to realise that drag and clown share something powerful: both let you become bigger than yourself and, somehow, reveal parts of yourself you couldn't show in everyday life.
Both forms give you permission to be ridiculous, beautiful, vulnerable, unhinged, and completely yourself.
Your character is an unlikely candidate who becomes Queen of the Carnival. What made you want to tell this story?
I'm from Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, Spain, where Carnival is one of the year's biggest events. One of the most important nights is the Carnival Queen election. These women appear in enormous, spectacular costumes covered in feathers and rhinestones, dancing to hit songs. They look completely divine.
Of course, many little queer boys grow up dreaming of being the Carnival Queen, so the show connects with that younger version of myself who wanted to be the Queen. Somehow, in my forties, I'm finally giving him permission to do it.
Edu Díaz in New York City
The show is billed as an accessible drag performance. What does that mean?
Accessibility begins with the fact that there are no words. When I first moved to New York as a Spanish speaker, going to the theatre could sometimes be a nightmare because so much depended on understanding the language. So I became very interested in creating work where language wasn't a barrier.
A Drag Is Born is physical, visual, and musical. It's also a comedy for a wide range of ages. There's certainly some complicity with the adults, but I deliberately wanted to create something younger audiences could enjoy.
You've said the show was triggered by homophobic slurs you experienced. How did that experience shape the show, and how do you feel performing it now?
Beyond being a comedy, A Drag Is Born has personal and political meaning. I needed to exorcise what had happened, and also what is happening around the world, with hate speech against LGBTQ+ people becoming increasingly dangerous alongside the rise of far-right movements in many places, including both my country of origin, Spain, and my country of residence, the United States.
I think about younger queer kids growing up in that environment. I want them to inherit a world where they have more permission to exist than I did, not less. Still, this show is not about hate. It is about transformation and acceptance. So when I perform it, what I feel is joy, hope, and communion with the audience.
Is this your first time in Australia?
Yes! And I keep thinking about that little queer kid on my island, recording himself doing lip-syncs, and I feel incredibly grateful to him.
So far, he has taken me around the world, but I never imagined he would take me on an Australian tour through Adelaide, Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney. It feels completely surreal.
What are you looking forward to seeing here?
Everything I possibly can. I'm much more interested in discovering how people actually live than simply checking landmarks off a list. I want to walk around, meet local artists, see theatre, find cafés, and understand the city's vibe.
What’s the most important thing you think you can do to make the world better?
As an artist, I think I have a fundamental duty: to be honest, process what happens to me and around me, and turn it into shared experiences.
I don't necessarily feel that my mission is to make an audience laugh or cry, or even to leave them with a political message. What I really want is for people to leave with hope. With the feeling that transformation is possible. With the conviction that each of us can contribute, even in a very small way, to making the world a better place.
Quick-fire
Teenage crush? Any straight man around me. Terrible pattern, I know!
Your life's soundtrack? Something very orchestral. Saint-Saëns, perhaps. Allegros, dramatic tempo changes, and unexpected instruments.
A secret about yourself! My stage personality is almost the opposite of who I am becoming in everyday life: a quiet and shy man.
Favourite place to be in New York City. Anywhere in New York City when I'm at peace with its intensity. That's the real luxury.
What brings you the most joy in life? Being onstage.
Finish this sentence: “It’s never too late to…" …embrace and love yourself.
A DRAG IS BORN : CANBERRA SHOW DETAILS
A Drag is Born is showing during the SpringOUT festival at The Street, Friday 13 November at 7:00pm.
“An outstanding representation of what it means to be queer, performed through drag, mime and clowning.” — Oli Fuller, Binge Fringe
CANBERRA TICKETS & MORE DETAILS
A DRAG IS BORN : FULL AUSTRALIA TOUR DATES
A DRAG IS BORN will tour Australia after its Adelaide premiere, with stops in Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney. The tour is supported by the Instituto Cervantes.
❤️🔥 6 NOV 2026 | ADELAIDE
Feast Festival · Nexus Arts
❤️🔥 13 NOV 2026 | CANBERRA
SpringOUT Pride Festival · The Street Theatre
❤️🔥 21 NOV 2026 | MELBOURNE
The Motley Bauhaus
❤️🔥 28 NOV 2026 | SYDNEY
Qtopia Sydney · The Loading Dock Theatre
