The life of a road worker who said dressing in drag had saved his life has been turned into a play.
The Road to Zandra is based on the real-life story of Mark Preston, who swapped his jackhammer drill and hard hat for a microphone and a wig.
Mr Preston, who works for Nottingham City Council, found solace in drag after suffering depression and trying to take his own life.
The grandfather went on to raise huge sums for charity.
The play will be staged at Squire Performing Arts Centre, in the city, on Friday 31 March and Saturday 1 April.
The dramatisation begins in 1999 when Mr Preston, from Giltbrook, in Nottinghamshire, travelled to Blackpool after going through a difficult period in his life.
Ex-army friends signed him up for a drag contest for a laugh but he discovered, despite initial apprehension, that he loved performing as alter ego Miss Zandra.
Mr Preston has raised more than £370,000 for charities through his drag performance and has been nominated for a Pride of Britain award.
He also became a winner of BBC Radio Nottingham's Make a Difference award.
The play was produced by Nottingham-based theatre company New Perspectives.
Mr Preston will be played by Ashfield actor Jack Burrows, but he has worked closely with the directors and will have a cameo role.
Jayne Williams, participation director at New Perspectives and writer of The Road to Zandra, said: "It's been great getting to know Mark over the past few months in the process of writing the play.
"We've drank copious amounts of tea and chatted for hours about all sorts to figure out how best to tell the story of the man behind the makeup. We hope audiences enjoy it."
BBC News
