The Old Strumpet Poet Of Brighton
Etcetera Theatre
I'm the Old Strumpet Poet of Brighton. My show is about being old, being sassy and giggly. Older people can do anything - age is freedom. My poems will make you dribble all over with laughter. One piece is called My Vag is an Erupting Volcano. If you like the sound of that, come and see me on the 24th August at 1pm at the Etcetera Theatre.
My First Time
Etcetera Theatre
First time, first high, first heartbreak, FIRST ORGASM! This one woman dramedy takes the audience on an unhinged ride through life's firsts. Told through the manic lens of a girl in the throes of losing her virginity. But much like the journey to self acceptance, nothing is linear. Told tangent style, this outrageous comedy of errors (my errors), invites you to laugh, cry and cringe along with me, whilst reliving some of life's biggest and most embarrassing moments. Come lose my V-Plates with me!
Noblesse Oblige
The Courtyard Theatre
1. Whoever claims to be noble must conduct himself nobly. 2. (Figuratively) One must act in a fashion that conforms to one's position and privileges with which one has been born, bestowed and/or has earned. - [The Dictionnaire de l'Académie française.] The War plays on, and the Butler is late for breakfast. The rabid Baron vies for meat. The bleak Butcher stalks for rank. The Baroness dances, kicking, to quash, as her haunted Daughter carries the tune on her viola. And the Son, blinded by the fog, searches desperately for the last of any light left. Another day breaks, and high above the corpses of the forgotten splayed in ashen gutters, noble vermin feed upon what is rotten.
Eoghan and Paul
Rosemary Branch Theatre
What happens when it’s all said and done, and we’ve gone down our separate paths? One locked door separates a pair of twins. It can only be opened if both are willing to face one another. Will they make the brave sacrifice? Or will they continue the cycle. Eoghan & Paul explores fractured family relationships, addiction and the cost of emotional avoidance. It’s an intimate, confrontational, and emotional experience steeped in stasis and unresolved conflict.
The Final Exam: Gao Kao
Bridewell Theatre
What if the most important exam of your life became a battle you had to physically fight? On the day of the Gaokao — China’s high-stakes university entrance examination — a student enters the exam hall expecting to prove her future. Instead, she finds herself fighting against her own examiners, each representing a different subject and a different definition of success. Through physical theatre, stage combat, multimedia projection and storytelling, The Final Exam: Gao Kao explores the pressure to achieve, the expectations placed on young people, and the struggle to discover your own voice in a world full of “correct answers”. Inspired by the experiences of students navigating intense educational systems, this powerful new production asks: When everything you have been taught tells you what to become, how do you decide who you really are? A bold and emotional theatrical journey about ambition, identity and the courage to question.
I’d Kill for this Place
Etcetera Theatre
What’s inside Meg’s cool box? And why is she bringing it to a flat viewing? Four broke friends. One mouldy flat. And the “coming out” no one was prepared for. Sure, Meg’s been acting strange all summer, but who could have predicted that she turned into a vampire and even brought her lunch!? Three things unite Gen Z and Millennials: being woke, not being able to afford a house, and an unhealthy obsession with vampires. In a housing crisis this bleak, everyone ends up living with a monster. So is it really such a big deal?
MixTones Presents: Human Instruments
Barons Court Theatre
What if a full band walked on stage... and there were no instruments? Human Instruments is a high-energy a cappella show where every sound is created live using only the human voice. From cinematic soundscapes to pop anthems, MixTones transform voices into drums, basslines, harmonies and everything in between. Featuring music inspired by Interstellar, Jacob Collier and Eurythmics, this is live music reimagined, bold, surprising, and completely instrument-free.
Waiting Room
Hen & Chickens Theatre
A Fringe debut from Superfluous Theatre follows three siblings; Alex, a thin-skinned optimistic actor, Jennifer a disgruntled and stressed architect, and Harvey, a charmingly oblivious labourer. Having spent many years drifting apart, the catalyst for their reunion is finding their father has collapsed from a heart attack. Through revelations, rebuttals and roastings, they must reckon with each other and their antics, as they wait around for answers, and reconnect in the waiting room.
NYRA
The Courtyard Theatre
A space mission is over. The return should be simple. As two women make their way back to Earth, something begins to feel off. Isolation draws something buried quietly back into the light. What begins as a journey home becomes a confrontation with something far more personal.
Balthazar Dark – Dark Thymes
Aces and Eights
Alternative/Character/Sketch/Improv/stand-up madness from former professional wrestler & current all round silly billy Balthazar Dark. Join him for an hour of free wheeling mayhem including jokes, stories & what happens if a pot plant turns out to be your own semi-legitimate support network. ‘The future of alternative comedy’ Blizzard Comedy
The Swan, the Werewolf and Gianpiero
Etcetera Theatre
A backstage breakup between tango partners spirals into total chaos when Roxana ends her relationship with Mateo five minutes before their performance. Their argument erupts onto the stage, where Gianpiero, an eccentric “artistic genius” of a director (and allegedly a descendant of Julius Caesar), decides to transform the disaster into his greatest masterpiece. He casts Mateo as a werewolf, Roxana as a swan, and begins manipulating them in front of a live audience. What follows is a gloriously unhinged collision of Argentine tango, carefully crafted conspiracies and pure theatrical madness, led by a director who bows while the actors call an ambulance. A dark, physical, absurd comedy where even the audience can’t tell what’s scripted anymore. Consulting Director – Krystian Godlewski There is more to this story. These characters are back — in "Tango Night", an immersive theatrical performance by Drama Queen Studios. Check out this next project.
Dicey Company
The Libra Theatre Cafe
Adventure awaits! With magic, romance, and prophecies of greatness just a dice roll away, who wouldn’t want to play? Join the campaign as five hopeful heroes embark on a D&D-like game, discovering who they could be outside of the “real world”. But what carries over from make believe? Watch as they come out of their shells and push their new friendships to the limit. This brand new musical follows a small group of women and non-binary adventurers as they learn what is truly at stake at the roll of the dice.
Wrap Party
Lion & Unicorn Theatre
Wrap Party lifts the hatch on life behind a film-set catering van. Harry and Ollie are lifelong friends and working-class caterers, trying to survive one last chaotic service before the wrap party begins. As A-list egos flare, inspections loom and impossible coffee orders stack up, their tiny van becomes a pressure cooker. Multi-rolled by two performers, the show blurs the line between performance and reality as Harry clings to the business he’s built, while Ollie dreams of escaping catering for an acting career that always feels just out of reach. When Ollie is suddenly offered a real audition in the most surreal and morally dubious way imaginable, hope collides with loyalty, and their friendship starts to fracture. Fast, funny and rooted in real film-set experience, Wrap Party is a lightning-quick comedy about invisible labour, ambition and class.
Big Girl Words
Rosemary Branch Theatre
This comedy-drama follows Ama, a vibrant writer-performer auditioning for a new theatre programme celebrating Black artists. As Ama passionately pitches her kaleidoscope world of characters, she becomes entangled in a web of micro-aggressions, familial pressures and the dilemma of values versus compromises. Blending humorous and tender moments, ‘Big Girl Words’ asks the audience to reflect on intersectionality, womanhood and creative identity. Written & performed by Winnie Arhin
THE LAST DAYS OF TRUMP
The London Art Bar
It’s 2028 and President Trump is about to be replaced for good. Will he go rogue like before, or will a plan to keep him focused on golf, gorilla documentaries, porn, and developing his perfect presidential library avert disaster?
My Fort Knox Vagina
Camden Comedy Club
Being cockblocked is pretty crap, the only way to make it worse? Being cockblocked by your own body. Natalie has vaginusmus, a condition that while hard to say, is even harder to date with. As a single girl with an ever so slightly faulty vag, she tries to figure out what’s going on, why her and simply, can she fix it?
The King of Hollywood
The Water Rats
Before Tom Cruise, Cary Grant or Clarke Gable, Douglas Fairbanks was the King of Hollywood! Doug was a remarkable actor and gifted visionary. Alongside his wife Mary Pickford and best friend Charlie Chaplin, he is responsible for the movie industry as we know it today. Doug single-handedly invented the action movie and was instrumental in the creation of the Oscars, Beverley Hills and even Batman! The King of Hollywood tells the story of his rise and fall which is more astonishing than any movie!
PERICLES (kind of)
SHAKEFEST @Old Red Lion
PERICLES (kind of) is a rapid un-telling? re-telling? mis-telling? of Shakespeare’s stormy story. Traditionally, Pericles follows a wandering prince who flees an incestuous king. Survives storms and shipwrecks. Escapes assassins. Wins deadly jousts! Falls in and out of love several times. Endures another storm. Is bested by Pirates. All ending in a brothel? A tale of true virtue! Through centuries of adaptations this story has changed surprisingly little... for Pericles. In this new telling however, Pericles has his work cut out for him keeping the story on track when other characters decide to see how far they can push a musical adaptation. Part Operation Mincemeat, part The Play That Goes Wrong, part The Princess Bride, PERICLES (kind of) is a musical that entertains, delights & ultimately leaves the audience wondering: is that really how the story goes?
The Bride
Camden People's Theatre
A haunting dance theatre work blending movement, ritual and cinematic storytelling. The Bride follows Er’er, a young woman returning to her mother’s hidden ancestral home on Silkworm Island after her death. Through weaving, ritual dance and visceral physical performance, she begins to unravel the forces that have shaped her body, her memory, and her sense of self. Visually striking and emotionally charged, the piece moves between dream and reality, drawing on film language to create an immersive stage world. As past and present collide, Er’er is faced with a question: how do we break from what we inherit, and what does it mean to truly become ourselves? Director : Yu Ai Performer: Yu Ai, Lei Ieok Mang, Shiting Tao, Yutong Yang Producer : Yu Ai Visual & Costume Artist : Ziyao Geng, Lu Wang Composer：Thomas Calcutt, Yu-Hui Zong Singer (Organist)：Yu-Hui Zong Moving Image artist: Lijuan Kang Lighting design: Yiling Liu
Maz Pantz
Canal Cafe Theatre
Are you ready to laugh your Pantz off? This comedy sketch show combines physical comedy and cleverly written script with some bizarre twists to make you do just that. Created and performed by actor and comedian Mary Redmond, this is a character-led comedy sketch show that uses cinematic voice over and mime to immerse you in each of their worlds. With certain characters reappearing throughout, you will unfortunately have the privilege of getting to know them, perhaps a little too much, as you start to unravel and understand their slightly dark and tragic lives. With years of tried and tested material, plus fresh new treats, this is the alternative comedy show you didn’t know you desperately needed. Your pantz will not survive it.
The Final Exam: Gao Kao
Bridewell Theatre
What if the most important exam of your life became a battle you had to physically fight? On the day of the Gaokao — China’s high-stakes university entrance examination — a student enters the exam hall expecting to prove her future. Instead, she finds herself fighting against her own examiners, each representing a different subject and a different definition of success. Through physical theatre, stage combat, multimedia projection and storytelling, The Final Exam: Gao Kao explores the pressure to achieve, the expectations placed on young people, and the struggle to discover your own voice in a world full of “correct answers”. Inspired by the experiences of students navigating intense educational systems, this powerful new production asks: When everything you have been taught tells you what to become, how do you decide who you really are? A bold and emotional theatrical journey about ambition, identity and the courage to question.
Falling Out
Hen & Chickens Theatre
Following nuclear war, two estranged brothers are forced to co-exist in their father’s doomsday bunker—an option only slightly preferable to the bombs. While Miles grieves for the world, for art and culture, Connor’s just annoyed he didn’t get to see if Aston Villa equalised. As the months crawl by tensions build, old wounds are prodded and secrets struggle to stay secret. Their only grip on sanity is an old games console. More than entertainment, It’s a link to their shared childhood. After the console breaks, so does their fragile peace. They survived the bombs, but will they survive each other?
You Killed My Cat!
Barons Court Theatre
Mary’s cat has been missing for a week, and she’s not coping. So when a socially awkward stranger arrives at her door with a bin bag - things quickly spiral. This dark two-hander comedy unfolds over one increasingly unhinged encounter, where politeness clashes with panic, and social niceties are pushed to their limits. As Mary and Max navigate guilt, lies, denial and the absurdity of the situation, the play asks: why do we cling to civility, even when everything is falling apart? Blending sharp dialogue with uncomfortable humour, this intimate, fast-paced piece explores loneliness, repression, and the chaos beneath everyday interactions, where the need to be polite might just be the most dangerous instinct of all.
Milkshakes Milkshakes Milkshakes
The Courtyard Theatre
Three idiots open a milkshake stand with a revolutionary idea: human-flavoured milkshakes. It’s bold. It’s original. It’s a terrible plan. Try one—they’re bloody delicious. From interrogating a robber about his career choices, to being chased by vultures desperate for a sip, to sourcing ingredients in ways that raise serious ethical questions, their business spirals through one ridiculous situation after another. With surreal, sketch-show logic, mime, and high-energy physical comedy, nothing behaves as it should. This is a fast, chaotic ride through the rise and fall of a very bad idea. You laugh at them. You laugh with them. Mostly, you wonder how they’re still open. Created and performed by Paul Kelvin, Elsa Mills, and Gabriel Parker-Ellwood, this marks their debut as a company.
The Hairbangers
Camden Comedy Club
We are The Hairbangers. The greatest band you've never heard of. Made up live. We'll take suggestions from the audience and invent an entire band on the spot - egos, bangers and breakdowns included. No script. No setlist. No idea what's about to happen.
Are You Waiting To Be Found?
Lion & Unicorn Theatre
Until the job is finished, they’re going nowhere. Down in a basement office, Mister David Barclay and his four agents (Ross, Gilda, Graham and Belinda) are working to discover the whereabouts of the lost boys (as Dave refers to them). A pair of suspiciously well-kempt boots, a soft shoe shuffle to Flanagan and Allan’s Forget-me-Not Lane and a riff-rap vignette from Hamlet, finally point towards a chilling conclusion and a disconcerting new case for TWO of the investigators. This unsettling and darkly comedic noir drama will keep you on your detectorist toes and is perfect for fans of flawed anti-heroes, from Jackson Lamb and Sam Spade, to Krapp and his last tapes!
Birdy
Hen & Chickens Theatre
From Survivor to Detective to Comedian: Multi-award-winning comedian Sallyann Fellowes brings her new show ‘Birdy’ to the Camden Fringe. Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year 2023, Sallyann Fellowes, was a Police Detective with a complicated secret. Her journey began with a crime that the police showed zero interest in solving. Determined to change the system from the inside, Sallyann decided to join up, which wasn't straightforward given the presence of a notorious gangster in her family tree. Birdy - a nickname that followed her throughout her police career - is a hilarious, honest, and wildly unique look at life behind the blue line. "They called me Birdy. Not because I could fly, but because I wanted to help those who could."
A Death In Drafts
Camden People's Theatre
'A Death In Drafts' is a contemporary psychology thriller about fame, success, and the limits of the human mind. It follows a wildly successful writer whose debut film has shaken the world to their core. But now, she battles the demands of a life in the public eye. Facing constant cameras, and unwarranted opinions, she begins to succumb to the stress of a life that is painted on a billboard. To add to this, she faces the expectations of an unruly and demanding agent fighting to keep his career afloat, and a sister who idolises her, but wants nothing but the best for her. This concoction of pressure, stalking, and emotional imbalance gives way to some familiar faces, and the deadly secret that they bring with them. But what happens when the writer can no longer separate this horror from reality? What happens when this secret becomes an intrusive actuality? ‘A Death In Drafts’ tackles ideas plaguing many young people today, such as how much of our lives are watched and criticised and stalked through the internet. It exposes the harsh reality behind constant stimulation, and a complete lack of privacy. And it begs the question: can we escape this man-made hell, or are we doomed to watch our own suffering on the big screen?
I’d Kill for this Place
Etcetera Theatre
What’s inside Meg’s cool box? And why is she bringing it to a flat viewing? Four broke friends. One mouldy flat. And the “coming out” no one was prepared for. Sure, Meg’s been acting strange all summer, but who could have predicted that she turned into a vampire and even brought her lunch!? Three things unite Gen Z and Millennials: being woke, not being able to afford a house, and an unhealthy obsession with vampires. In a housing crisis this bleak, everyone ends up living with a monster. So is it really such a big deal?
Barleycorn
The Courtyard Theatre
★★★★ “A hilarious mash-up of folk song, dance and storytelling" - StageTalk Magazine It’s been raining all summer. But that’s not going to stop the residents of Hopley Drew gathering in The Barleycorn Inn for their annual village show and one final knees up before the pub closes its doors for good. As the villagers show off their soggy crops, share songs and tales of local lore, and wait with baited breath for the results of the raffle, a wild storm rages. Some say it’s just typical British weather, but others say it’s something much more sinister... Can this drenched and disenchanted community band together to overcome whatever lurks outside? Acclaimed folk theatre company Riddlestick Theatre present a new musical comedy inspired by English lore, folk horror, and ‘wyrd’ 1970s telly, featuring traditional and original music and dance. ★★★★ “A musical comedy both immersive and full of homespun appeal... Barleycorn is a highly enjoyable slice of pastoral charm” - The Fix Magazine “Their energy is boundless, the script fiercely intelligent and the original live music bound to stay dancing through your head” - The Guardian on The Cabinet of Madame Fanny Du Thé (Featured in ‘Best Shows at the Edinburgh Festival 2018) “This is creative, imaginative theatre at its very best” - Bristol 24/7 on The Cabinet of Madame Fanny Du Thé “Energetic, rich storytelling seasoned with a generous helping of genuine fun” - A Younger Theatre on The Cabinet of Madame Fanny Du Thé “The troupe are expert storytellers” - Epigram Arts on Undercover Christmas Club “Hysterically funny” - Bristol 24/7 on Undercover Christmas Club
Children of Empire
Rosemary Branch Theatre
A white father and his mixed-race daughter drive through their town one night in his cleaning van, taking down English flags. Beginning as an act of reclamation, the night progresses with paranoia whipping up between the pair, bringing them to question their own trust of each other and the place they both grew up in. Starring MIFTA winner Elise Nguyen as Diana, and Coronation Street star Gareth Berliner as Chris, this new play by Jake Turner Chan was hailed as "a powerful interaction, neatly encapsulated... evok[ing] a political landscape in a deeply intimate way" by a Young(ish) Perspective, when it was put on as a part of Untold Collectiv's 'Short and Mighty' scratch night. At the Rosemary Branch Theatre, it makes its full-length debut.
Brunette Brunette
The Libra Theatre Cafe
*Pulls up in a smokin' hot convertible. Sunglasses on. Seatbelts buckled (safety first). ''In Da Club'' by 50 Cent is blastin'.* Get in, we're going for a ride. It’s September 3rd 2004. Monday and Olive are two freshmen attending Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. They are about to perform at their university's original song contest, a moment they have dreamt about since September 2nd 2004. Before this life-changing event that will boost them into international stardom and create world peace, or at least that’s what they believe, they reflect on the journey that brought them to this moment - a journey of passions, fears, unrequited love, childhood humiliation, uncontrollable urination, and most importantly, the power of friendship. Brunette Brunette is a musical satire, playing on cliches from early 2000s teen dramas. Prepare to laugh, cry, cringe, heckle, and cringe again. In our audience, everyone is the main character, just trying to chase a dream in the big city.
Love Me Tomorrow
Barons Court Theatre
What happens when love collides with growing pains, unspoken trauma, and the weight of cultural difference? A story unfolds - messy, intimate, and brutally honest. Love Me Tomorrow is a sharp two-hander that moves between humour and heartbreak, following a couple whose relationship begins effortlessly but slowly unravels under the pressures of everyday life wine-stained receipts, passive-aggressive Netflix betrayals, and unresolved tensions rooted in different cultural upbringings. As their worlds begin to pull in different directions, small disagreements take on deeper meaning, and compromise feels increasingly out of reach. The play asks: can love survive not just growing up, but growing apart? Told across shifting timelines, it’s a love story for anyone who’s ever argued over something small-only to realise it was never about that at all.
Are You Evil? Let’s Check the Data…
The Water Rats
Have you ever wondered if you are evil, or perhaps a saint? How can you know for sure? I suppose we could consult religious perspectives or ancient philosophers... but where's the fun in that? Especially when we can instead consult the data! Join University of Southampton Associate Professor Paul Conway on a whirlwind tour of the psychological science of morality and find out whether you should be wearing a halo, horns, or both!
LIMBS
Aces and Eights
What would you do with an extra limb? Mary’s answer comes in the form of a semi-improvised flute/comedy show, fulfilling the niche we’ve all been waiting for. Through live music, experimental sounds, and a healthy dose of nostalgia, Mary explores her relationship through time and space with all of her body parts, including her extra limb, the flute. She delves into her teenage brain by reliving old diary entries and music of time gone by. As if you need any more encouragement to see the show, here are some (very real) reviews: “I liked the bit when she spoke about me” - my mum “I implore you to watch this show” - my producer