Acting graduate is RuPaul drag star

Want to know the best preparation for appearing in top TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race UK? Study at East 15 Acting School according to drag queen Kyran Thrax.

Acting graduate Kyran – who has been wowing audiences since the latest series started on BBC Three in September – says their East 15 Acting School education has been “instrumental” to their drag career.

The self-declared “super fan” of the tv and social media hit has explained how studying at East 15 Acting School was the perfect preparation for the contest.

Kyran, who completed a foundation course at East 15 in 2017 before graduating in 2021 with a BA Acting and Contemporary Theatre, has been doing drag for four years.

They were inspired to try drag while studying at the School’s Loughton Campus: “I would always play around doing different make-up looks, and my housemate said to me 'you love doing make-up and fashion, and you're a performer, why don't you try putting them together and see what happens?' and then, Kyran was born!”

“East 15 was instrumental to my drag career: so many of my inspirations come from my time in training. I use my skills from clowning, expressionism, commedia, even Shakespeare! My drag is a mishmash of all of my training at East 15,” they added.

Kyran will be judged in a variety of challenges by Drag Race regular judges Michelle Visage, Alan Carr and Graham Norton, with head judge, RuPaul, having the final say on who has to ‘lip sync for their life’ at the end of each show.

The winner is due to be crowned the UK’s Next Drag Race Superstar in the show finale in November.

Kyran, whose drag inspiration is Sasha Velour, explained why the television show is so important: “Far right extremists are constantly trying to paint a negative image of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“Some people are full of hate and I believe it's because they don't understand, so I feel like it is so important to have drag in the mainstream right now, to show who we really are and what we do.”

Kyran explained why now was the right time to join the show: “I’ve been such a super fan of the show for so long and I wanted to get on to showcase myself, my story, my art and also to just have fun!”

The experience so far hasn’t disappointed: “It is everything to me! I'm somebody who really enjoys working under pressure and in competitive environments (my drama school training really comes in handy here!). I cherish every single memory there equally, it's a blast!”

Header picture courtesy of BBC/World of Wonder/Nick Strasburg