
Boy, girl, artist, advocate. Courtney is more than the sum of her parts.
Meet Shane Jenek. Raised in the suburbs of Brisbane, Australia, by loving parents, Shane realises from a young age that he’s not like all the other boys. At a performing arts agency he discovers his passion for song, dance and performance, and makes a promise to himself: to find a bigger stage. Meet Courtney Act. Born around the turn of the millennium, Courtney makes her name in the gay bars of Sydney. Years later, she makes star turns on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Celebrity Big Brother UK, bringing her unique take on drag and gender to the world. Behind this rise to global fame is a story of searching for and finding oneself. Told with Courtney’s trademark candour and wit, Caught in the Act is about our journey towards understanding gender, sexuality and identity. It’s an often hilarious and at times heartbreaking memoir from a beloved drag and entertainment icon. Most of all, it’s a bloody good time.
Caught in the Act, Shane Jenek aka Courtney Act
I listened to this audio book, written and then narrated by Shane Jenek mostly because it had been on my to do list for ages, and then the 2025 Eurovision broadcast reminded me how much I enjoy watching and listening to Courtney Act and I just knew there had to be more to the story of how a young boy, raised in the suburbs of Brisbane went from realising he wasn't the same as other little boys, to become the performer she is today.
There is so much to take in from this memoir, the pain and complications of coming to terms with your difference, even though Jenek's family were supportive and loving, he still had to find a community, which search started in the gay bars and venues of Sydney, moving out to wider circles which now includes some names that were dropped oh so elegantly into this story. It's also a story of learning to understand the differences in others - Jenek's experiences with differences with the gay community being part of that, and out into the wider community of trans people and other identities.
Told with great wit, candour and very little in the way of filters at point, this was such a moving story, not just of Jenek's personal journey into the world of Courtney and the freedom she gave him, but the difficulties in finding, keeping and not stuffing up love along the way. Add to that the Act's Facts delivered at points and this is the sort of memoir that this reader found moving, funny and incredibly informative. The blurb probably puts it best:
Told with Courtney’s trademark candour and wit, Caught in the Act is about our journey towards understanding gender, sexuality and identity. It’s an often hilarious and at times heartbreaking memoir from a beloved drag and entertainment icon. Most of all, it’s a bloody good time.
Warning: The book does contain information about drug taking and sexual acts so whilst it's probably not a book for prudes and wowsers it also probably is.