From drag queen to director, we talk to the hard-grafting musical theatre star about his latest career challenge.

The secret to a successful performing career is a simple combination: talent, charisma and a healthy dose of good fortune. But when fate dragged its heels in delivering a lucky break for musical theatre star Trevor Ashley, he took the matter in hand by stepping into a pair of heels of his own. 

“It was a good eight years after I left school before I got my first professional musical theatre job, so I needed to do something to pass the time,” he quips. “I got into cabaret and then that led me to drag, which brought me to that first professional gig, in the premiere of Priscilla Queen of the Desert – the Musical. So in a way, all that versatility and hard graft brought me to where I’d always wanted to be. I’m thrilled I have that variety in my career now – life would be very boring without it!”

Today, Ashley is well and truly cemented as one of Australia’s leading musical theatre character actors and cabaret luminaries, particularly lauded for his drag shows such as