Fashion designer Leigh Buchanan returns to the cabaret stage with his show at the Queensland Cabaret Festival ‘The Devil Wears Leigh Buchanan’.
Leigh Buchanan has lived, in his words, “a camp life”. The Ipswich local has dazzled stages with his costume designs, eventually becoming a screen star in the very first Australian season of reality show 'Project Runway'. Now, Leigh will be pushing the frocks he’s created to the side to take centre stage for his show at the Queensland Cabaret Festival, ‘The Devil Wears Leigh Buchanan’.
“The show is the story of my life told through a few stories and a few of my favourite songs,” Leigh explains. “I’ve lived quite an amazing life. Often, people think this show is made up, but a lot of it is true. The way I tell stories, people think, ‘Nah, that’s got to be a joke’.”
Leigh’s life has been filled with all kinds of adventure. From being hit by a bus and nearly being killed to searching for his birth-mother, the fashion designer’s life would make for a great show. However, the origin of the show lays in a silly suggestion Leigh made.
“I was talking to [Producer Troy Armstrong], and mentioning that I looked like the love child of a couple of famous celebrities. So that sparked the story. We wrote the show around me being the love child of two famous Australians. I’m not allowed to say who for legal reasons, but I hint enough that everyone knows who they are by the end of the show.”
While Leigh has been more focused behind the sewing machine than the stage, he did get a crash course in being a star during his time on 'Project Runway'. Leigh’s designs and antics on the show impressed judges and viewers alike and he finished the season as the runner-up.
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“It was harrowing at the time; reality TV is not for the faint-hearted. But it was a great experience. I think reality TV sends you a bit crazy, but it led to me having the confidence to doing my own one-man show, in a way.”
In addition to his designs, another thing which made Leigh a favourite were the characters he introduced on the show, like Nana and Leigh’s arch-nemesis Barbara Windsor Woo. Those characters will make appearances alongside the singing, dancing, and storytelling in the show. Performing was Leigh’s first love, but “fashion quickly took over”.
Leigh’s costumes have graced many theatre productions, but the focus in his show will be on the performance. However, Leigh’s idea of a minimal costume is outrageous compared to most.
“People come thinking it’s a costume show, but it’s not. I’ve got my Katherine Hepburn-memorial high-waisted tuxedo pants, the Swarovski devil horns, and some Swarovski-encrusted heels. There may or may not be a slight reveal if the audience claps loud enough. I think with everything in life you have to work with your positives. For me, it’s my eyes and my legs. I’ve got good eyes and good legs, pity about the rest.”
