EDINBURGH 2025: A DRAG IS BORN Q&A

BWW catches up with Edu Díaz to chat about bringing A Drag Is Born to the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about A Drag Is Born.

A Drag Is Born is a wordless, interactive, and whimsical blend of clown & drag show in which a random man accidentally becomes a Queen onstage and accepts himself. It is also the biggest surprise of my career, as I never thought a silly 5-minute sketch would become a multi-awarded piece of theatre and the one to bring me to the Edinburgh Fringe.

Why did you decide to tell the story in this wordless way?

Believe it or not, I wasn't aware that the piece was wordless until someone from the audience pointed it out to me. But it makes sense with the story, as the character only finds out how his voice sounds (spoiler alert) by the end. On the other hand, I had been performing an intense solo show with a lot of words, so I wanted to express my inner world differently. I'm also glad that I got rid of the idiomatic border. Words are overrated.

How has the show been received so far?

In a beautiful way. Besides the awards and the great reviews, the magic begins during the shows, where there is a sense of complicity, of community, and childish play I had never seen or experienced with an audience. At the Orlando Fringe, a mother told me her trans daughter had seen herself on stage. We cried and hugged each other. That is priceless.

Why is it such an important story to tell?

The show, triggered by a homophobic attack, is a tribute to a side of me I thought would be hidden forever, as the biggest shame. The kid and teen Edu used to perform dramatic lip-syncs in front of a mirror with a curtain as a dress, a plastic bag as a wig, and homemade special effects. So this is a story of self acceptance and queer existence, told in a context of the rise of hate speech and homophobia.

What do you hope audiences take away from it?

I want them to have fun and take part in this glittery roller coaster called A Drag Is Born. If they can also take home some spark of hope in these dark times, I'll have reached my ultimate goal as an artist.

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