Life’s a drag as Veronica races for TV crown
“I’M a stallion, baby,” drag queen Veronica Green declares as she graciously sits on a white horse in the trailer for the second series of BBC Three’s RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
The latest series of the hit show reached our screens on Thursday evening and the new cast of drag artists represent all corners of the UK and, among the 12 shimmering queens is Rochdale-born Veronica Green.
“There’s no drag scene in Rochdale,” said Veronica, 34.
“There was one gay bar but I think even that’s closed down now. There’s not much there for singers, actors, drag queens or LGBT+ people - I had to move further afield in order to be able to pursue my dreams.”
Having left Rochdale to study musical theatre in Blackpool, Veronica, whose real name is Kevin, says something awoke within them after discovering musical Wicked.
“As soon as I saw that show, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do - I wanted to be on that stage,” she explains.
“I moved to London for drama school and I’ve been here ever since.”
Since graduating from the London School of Musical Theatre in 2006, Veronica has found a niche for blending musical theatre with drag.
Before the pandemic, she could regularly be seen performing at venues across the
Capital including the Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
“The drag name is actually just a happy accident,” Veronica says.
“Me and my brother wrote comics when we were kids and when our little sister Veronica came along, we were so jealous - you could say we were green with envy as she took all the attention away from us.
“We created a super villain that had these Poison Ivy-style plant powers and we called her Veronica Green because we wanted to put all that envy and jealousy into this character. My drag persona has just played off of that, really. The first time I ever did drag, I dressed up as Poison Ivy. She’s grown up as an inspiration for my drag style; I love villains, I love femme fetales. It just felt like a natural fit as a drag persona. I love to explore characters and it was a great way to roll my childhood ideas into drag.
“I asked my sister and she was happy for me to steal her name - she’s probably my biggest fan and such an inspiration to me.”
And the Poison Ivy outfit Veronica first appeared on stage in was made by her and her mum, a professional seamstress originally from Ireland.
She said: “I decided that I was going to get on Drag Race and I knew that, in order to do so, I needed to be more creative and make more outfits myself. My mum gave me help and I learnt things off the internet.
“My mum taught me professional finishing techniques and how to properly construct a garment.”
“I feel invincible and untouchable when I’m in drag - I feel like I’m changing the world with what I do,” she adds.
“I’m a geeky nerd that’s never really been noticed in life, I’ve auditioned for a role in Wicked so many times that it really starts to chip away at you when you don’t get the part you’ve dreamed for.
“But, drag has awakened such a creative spirit in me. It lets me shine as a person. It sounds so cliche, but I really did discover who I am through my expression of drag.”