The Big Reveal is the first book you’ve written. I imagine the change from performing to writing is quite a big one, and wondered what made you decide now was the time to write a book? I’ve always loved books. I loved designing and doing layouts for them as my day job before I was a drag queen. In my mind I always dreamed one day I could write a book about drag. It was initially formulated as a memoir, but I felt that the point of my life has been uncovering some of the history of drag, and becoming a drag queen while learning about where this art form comes from with all the ups and downs of how it’s been received by the world. So that was the story I wanted to tell: my life through the history of drag and vice versa.

You’re a scholar of drag, which came across on your Drag Race-winning performance. Are there any forgotten queens from history that readers will discover through your book? I hope so! There are a couple of figures that really pop out for me from history that I don’t hear about a lot. One is Coccinelle, a trans woman drag performer who lived in Paris and was a star of cabarets in the 1950s and 60s. She also founded organisations to support trans women around the world and help share resources, long before the internet existed. I love that connection between performance and advocacy. Another huge influence is José Sarria who, in the 60s, was the first drag queen to run for political office. She lost the election but was out about being a gay person and drag performer. She founded the Imperial Court System, which raises money through drag balls and still exists today.

Obviously I would love to imagine that Sasha Velour’s writing day involves silk pyjamas, 9am daiquiris and a 24 carat-gold Cartier fountain pen. Can you tell me a bit about your routine as a writer? I love that vision; I wish it were that glamorous. The silk pyjamas isn’t so far off. But my vice is coffee, so that fuelled the writing process. And then I could only do about 30 minutes at a time before I had to go and lie on the ground and second guess all my choices. I have so much respect for writers and I’m amazed at the process. It’s so hard to really tell a captivating story with words. I’m much more comfortable with gestures and gloves and wigs.

I feel the same way about drag. The art of drag blows my mind. There are so many elements: performance, comedy, costume. I think the fact you’re doing both is just ridiculous I do feel like the experience of writing a book is making me better at drag, in terms of trying to really express myself in just one of the languages of drag. I had never put as much thought into the words I chose while being on stage. And as I started adapting the book into the show, I felt an even better capacity for using language to express what I want to say, as well as the reveals and the costumes.

How did you go about translating what you’d written into a stage show? I chose some sections from the book that I felt needed to be performed to make more sense. It wasn’t a literal translation, but all of the numbers are fantastic reveal performances. I really tried to push the idea of what a reveal can mean beyond the most literal, exploring ideas; or the surprise of an interpretation you wouldn’t expect. And the show’s setting is a living room and a house; so much of the story is a very personal one. I tried to find interesting ways to make the history come to life on stage without it being a lecture series. Although I could do that as well . . .

What’s so special to you about the art of reveal? I guess I’ve always believed drag tells the truth about the world through exaggeration, metaphor and play. And I think it’s always revealed the real fluidity to people’s expressions of gender and beauty, and shown the way that our appearance is changeable. Which maybe opens up possibilities for people in real life too. And then I think we’re revealing the fact that we’re gay and we’re queer through drag: we’re not hiding. That’s the most abstract level of it. I also love that so much of drag is about surprise, of all the different kinds. Surprise in life reminds us that there’s something to keep hoping for and living for.

Sasha Velour: The Big Reveal tours Friday 8–Friday 15 March.