Eastwood drag queen's emotional life story makes 'big impact' as play hits the stage

​Inspired by the true story of Mark Preston and his drag persona Miss Zandra, ‘The Road to Zandra’ was performed for two nights only at the Squire Performing Arts Centre in Nottingham on March 31 and April 1.

The play told the story of Nottingham City Council road repairer, Mark, who found solace in drag after experiencing a series of mental health challenges and trying to take his own life.

It began in 1999 when Mark travelled to Blackpool after going through a difficult period in his life.

While there he was unknowingly entered into a drag competition by some ex-army friends of his.

Audiences were carried through Mark’s drag journey up until the present day, where he has gone on to raise more than £370,000 for charities through his drag shows in and around Eastwood.

Mark has also been nominated and won awards for his fundraising, including being nominated for a Pride of Britain award and winning a BBC Make a Difference award.

After the play, in which he made a cameo appearance, Mark said he was “blown away” by seeing his life depicted in theatre.

He said: “It has all been an absolutely unreal experience – I was blown away on the opening night.

“It’s so important to talk about and raise awareness of mental health issues and a few people have already told me that the play has inspired them to seek help.

“It’s amazing to hear that it’s had such a big impact.”

In the play, Mark Preston was portrayed by Ashfield actor Jack Burrows.

Jack has written and performed plays across the last two decades and is passionate about creating performance work with a mental health focus.

Jack said: “I really enjoy working on plays that are based on real life and share true stories to open up discussions on subjects such as mental health.

“So it was a true joy to live for the moment as Mark in the telling of his story.”

‘The Road to Zandra’ was produced by Nottingham-based theatre company New Perspectives, who hope to be able to perform the play again in future.

They are currently looking for sponsorship from local businesses to help cover the costs needed to stage another performance.

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