Rehearsals underway for new play about Eastwood's most treasured drag queen

Inspired by the true story of Mark Preston and his drag persona Miss Zandra, the play, called ‘The Road to Zandra’, will be performed for two nights only at the Squire Performing Arts Centre in Nottingham on Friday, March 31, and Saturday, April 1, at 7.30pm.

The play tells 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.

The play begins 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 will follow 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.

Some of the charities Mark has raised money for include local charities such as Danielle’s Flutterbyes, Broxtowe Women’s Project and Haywood House.

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.

‘The Road to Zandra’ has been produced by Nottingham-based theatre company New Perspectives.

Jayne Williams, participation director at New Perspectives and writer of ‘The Road to Zandra’, said: “It's been great getting to know Mark over the past few months in the process of writing the play.

“We've drank copious amounts of tea and chatted for hours about all sorts to figure out how best to tell the story of the man behind the makeup.

“We hope audiences enjoy it.”

In the play, Mark Preston will be 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 is a true joy to live for the moment as Mark in the telling of his story.”

Worksop-based Femme Fatale Suga Phoenix who lip-synced her way into the drag community in 2019 will also have a role in the play as a Fairy Godmother-esque drag queen who will help move the story along.

And, although Mark did not want to play himself, Miss Zandra will be making a short appearance in the show.

Tickets are £10 each and can be booked on the Squire website here.