As life slowed down in lockdown, Courtney Act has been reading, writing, and then reading some more.

Courtney Act: I have been writing a memoir and so I’ve been reading lots of memoirs with queer themes and lots of books on queer theory. I read Dustin Lance Black’s book Momma’s Boy which I loved. I read Grayson Perry’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl and Descent of Man. I tried reading Judith Butler but it was all a bit much, so I settled on a picture book version called Queer – A Graphic History.

As well as writing, Courtney has done everything from singing, to dancing; Drag Race to television. But what tops the list?

CA: My favorite thing is being on stage in front of a live audience singing songs I’ve written…which happens to be the show I am doing at The London Palladium!

The process of putting together a show comes with a lot of firsts.

CA: Putting together this show was the first time I had written a show of songs, and I really loved doing that. Usually when writing pop songs, I just think of a topic and run with it. And that definitely happened at the beginning of writing Fluid. But then I had to write an opening number and an 11 o’clock number and it was fun to write with purpose like that.

…And here’s what to expect.

CA: The show features stories and songs about the fluidity of my life. We have a live band, beautiful costumes and a lot of fun.

The fluidity of Courtney’s life is just one of the many lessons she’s learnt. And the one she thinks everyone should learn too?

CA: Life might seem like it’s pretty rigid and that you have to act a certain way, look a certain way and even feel a certain way to fit in and get on. But the most important thing is to tune into yourself and pay attention to how you feel on the inside. All of those outside opinions might be useful, but really when you stop trying to be the person everyone wants you to be and start living from the inside out, it’s a powerful thing.

Courtney Act comes to The London Palladium on Monday 26 April. Find out more here.