This piece was published before the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
It’s hard to imagine that beloved Australian drag queen, Karen From Finance, wasn’t always living her most fabulous life.
The self-confessed Dolly Parton fan insists she was just like anyone else stuck in the corporate world who was dreaming of something more.
“Well sometimes what happens when you reach your middle age is you suffer a mid-life crisis and I realised that there was more out there in the world than spreadsheets and tax forms and I just realised I needed to break out and live a little.”
The gamble has evidently paid off and Karen From Finance is now set to present her debut one-woman show 'Out Of Office' at Melbourne International Comedy Festival. “It has all been wonderful and overwhelming, I would never have dreamt that I could skyrocket from the photocopy room to the theatre. It’s been fabulous.”
'Out Of Office' features all of Karen From Finance’s trademark high camp and hilarious mash-ups with plenty of tomfoolery. “The audience can expect a super hilarious, super camp, super fun night out. The show has an amazing narrative that tells the story of Karen From Finance going on a journey of self-discovery whilst set to the soundtrack of totally fun, disco Saturday night music that you can dance to.”
Karen From Finance is also excited to check out the all-star line-up at the comedy festival, in particular fellow comedian Geraldine Hickey. “I’m really excited about Geraldine’s new show,” Karen says. “She’s a fabulous comedian from Melbourne who's been around for a little while now and she’s hosted breakfast radio. I’ve heard really good things about that show so I’m really looking forward to that one.”
The year 2020 is shaping up to be a big one for the much-loved drag queen. In addition to performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Karen From Finance has also been appointed as an Ambassador for DragExpo in Melbourne and will be attending RuPaul's DragCon in Los Angeles and Drag Fest UK in London. “I’m looking forward to returning to RuPaul’s DragCon in Los Angeles in May and then heading back to the UK in June for their first ever Drag Fest. This is my fourth time going to RuPaul’s DragCon. It is so exciting and it is so special being on the other side of the world and people know who you are and want to take photos with you and celebrate.”
While Karen From Finance has long since left the corporate world behind her and her future is looking as bright and fabulous as ever, she insists she will never forget her roots. “I take my advice from Jennifer Lopez, she always says to never forget your roots and she’s still Jenny From The Block so no matter what happens, I’ll always just be Karen From Finance.”
And for any other aspiring queens looking to make the jump from spreadsheets to spotlights, Karen From Finance has some words of advice: “For any office girls that are thinking about taking the leap, they just need to start by working on their day to night look on a Friday night before they go out for drinks with the girls from the office, and just to remember to take it slow. You can’t rush these things.”
