Drag Race star Courtney Act’s triumphant return to Hong Kong: after the city’s 2019 protests brought her show to a halt, Australia’s most famous drag queen finally returned to Sevva – interview

Hong Kong’s live scene has returned – as we’ve seen with the return of big events like Clockenflap, Creamfields and, of course, the Rugby Sevens. Fortunately for drag fans, the art form gaining mainstream popularity has also come back with a bang. During March, Hong Kong’s first mask-free month after three years, Australian drag icon and RuPaul’s Drag Race star Courtney Act put on a spectacular open air performance overlooking the harbour at award-winning restaurant Sevva. “Hong Kong is back, and I’m so excited to celebrate with you,” Act announced to the crowd. In fact, drag persona Courtney Act, better known as Shane Jenek when not performing, started her relationship with Hong Kong way before she rose to international stardom on RuPaul’s Drag Race. As Act, 41, rushed in frantically from an afternoon of shopping and sightseeing in the city, she was noticeably accompanied by Hong Kong’s very own Bonnae Gokson, a vocal supporter and close friend of the star. Meet ‘Thailand’s most beautiful trans model’, Poyd Treechada Petcharat Gokson, of course, is the owner and creative visionary behind popular eateries like Sevva, Ms B’s Cakery and C’est La B cafes, and she serves as a creative adviser to the Niccolo Hotel Group. “I met Bonnae in Sydney and she invited me over to Hong Kong to Sevva. I’ve been performing at Sevva since New Year’s Eve 15 years ago,” Act told us during an interview at her hotel, with Gokson right by her side. Act’s return to the stage in Hong Kong was a particularly sweet one after her last performance got cancelled during the 2019 protests. “I was here in 2019 during the protests and did the sound check,” she said. “I went back to the hotel, and next thing you know they were banging on the doors of the Mandarin Oriental. We had to cancel the show. So it’s really great to be back.” But Act has another reason to be excited to be back in the city. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Courtney Act (@courtneyact) “My Dancing with the Stars dancing partner Joshua Keefe lives here in Hong Kong, so I’m really excited to be reunited with him again. We worked on two seasons of DWTS together and Strictly Come Dancing in the UK, so we do some dance numbers during the show here in Hong Kong.” Which Blackpink member has the most successful solo career – so far? Fans at her show were clearly excited to see the drag superstar back on stage. And when we say superstar, this drag queen has pretty much reached household name status in all three major time zones in the past 20 years. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Australian Idol (@australianidol) “Australian Idol, which was 20 years ago, changed everything for me, and when I took part on Drag Race, that’s when so many things aligned,” she recalled. “Season six was when it really exploded, and it was the first to be streamed on Netflix in the UK.” What did the singing pop star drag queen do next? Only win over the hearts of the British public and walk away as the champion of Celebrity Big Brother 2018. “Celebrity Big Brother in the UK was a big turning point for me too. Life has just gotten more exciting over the years.” Just this February, Act was honoured with her very own Madame Tussauds wax figure at a special unveiling in Sydney. “Having a Madame Tussauds wax figure feels like such a status symbol,” she said. “It’s like being knighted, but in wax. It’s the pop culture version!” She added: “They make it in London and it takes about seven months to create, and costs an extraordinary amount of money. It’s a big honour.” A pop culture icon she is indeed. The viral moment that Act wore giant opening angel wings on the RuPaul’s Drag Race main stage was even immortalised on an episode of The Simpsons. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the filming of RuPaul’s Drag Race season six, the Emmy award-winning reality show that has grown exponentially and taken the world by storm. Act says she’s still in close contact with the co-stars from her season after all these years. How Zaya Wade is already a Gen Z fashion icon … at only 15 “Adore Delano, Bianca Del Rio, Darienne Lake and I have a WhatsApp group that we constantly talk in. We still talk and FaceTime all the time.” But fans hoping to see Act on the Australian franchise of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Drag Race Down Under, shouldn’t hold their breath. “I said to them I’m here and available, but they still haven’t called,” she admits. “It’s fun to see the Aussie queens get a go at it, but sadly Drag Race Down Under is universally known as the worst in the franchise. So I feel like maybe a dodged a bullet, or maybe I would’ve made it better. I don’t know,” she says with a cheeky smile. So what does Australia’s most famous drag queen still want to achieve on her list of world-conquering achievements? “A Courtney Act variety TV show,” she says without hesitation. “We did a Christmas special in the UK, but I want a weekly one, like old school Sonny and Cher. That’s something I’ve got my sights set on in hopefully the UK or Australia, we’ll see.” Act certainly seems to get what she wants, so RuPaul herself might even have some competition. Want more stories like this? 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