Natalie O'Donoghue - Page 49

Sophie's quest to discover the father she's never known brings her mother face to face with three men from her distant romantic past on the eve of a wedding they'll never forget.

In 2002, in the turmoil after the end of the Kosovan War, Dritan is sent on the notoriously perilous journey across the Adriatic with a gang of people smugglers to a new life in Europe. He relies on his young wit and charm to make it to the UK. But the fight for survival continues as he clings to his identity and sense of self when he ends up in the British care system.

One parent refuses to talk about sex. The other buys their child gay porn DVDs. Sex Education blends startling performance, moving storytelling, a no-holds-barred interview with Harry's mum and some good old-fashioned gay porn that his dad bought when he was 14. A show for anyone who's wondered why they want what they want. Delivered with the candour and charm that have made him an acclaimed international touring success.

This is a show about dads. Good dads, daft dads, dads who wear slogan t-shirts, dads that put on barbecues, dads that tell dad jokes, dads that are bad at dancing. This is a show about dads who are absent and dads who are not very good dads at all. Daddy Drag asks us to consider how the relationships with our fathers affect us for the rest of our lives. Leyla Josephine attempts to understand what it means to be a father through her witty performance style, drag costumes and complex but unconditional love for her dad.

A new play about consent within a relationship. A young couple at university have fallen in love. They listen to each other. They respect each other. But everything changes after a drunken evening with their friends. On this night, when he takes off her underwear and his boxers, she says, 'No'. But he doesn't stop. She struggles to assimilate the rape for what it was, because how could it be rape? He loves her. He couldn't have done that. Endless Second explores how two people deal with a trauma that fundamentally alters the nature of their relationship.

The Claim by Tim Cowbury, directed by Mark Maughan. A comically absurd and quietly shattering journey to the heart of our tolerant and fair society. Serge stands before us. He has a performance to give. But why is he here? What is he claiming has happened to him? And what has Willy Wonka got to do with it? A bold, imaginative response to the stories of those seeking refuge in the UK, The Claim asks what happens when your life is at stake and all you have to save it are your words.

Person of interest on Mock The Week, People Just Do Nothing and The Bugle squats and delivers a show about the extreme sport of womanhood. Birthing her vision of the future before your eyes, how she hopes it will be... free from class war, poverty and consent issues. Also dragging the overdue spectre of what it is more likely to be: t-shirt feminism, Jordan Peterson and corporate wokeness from her loins. All without an epidural.

Brister has it all: a wife, kids, a house and a job she loves (sometimes) so what the hell is she moaning about? Join Jen as she takes an irreverent look at the often controversial subject of 'privilege'. Who has it? Who doesn't? And why does no one like to admit they have any?

1969 at the Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow, three women are murdered by an Old Testament-quoting serial killer, nicknamed Bible John. He's never been caught. 2019, four women bound by their obsession with true crime want to change that. Immersing themselves in the world of Bible John and his victims, they try to solve the case, once and for all. A riotous, furious, joyful exploration of violence, gender and one of Scotland's darkest mysteries.

Two friends, Ed and Sarah, travel to the small squalid bedsit where Ed's father passed away a few days earlier. As they wade through the debris, the fragments of one lost life begin to coalesce, just as another starts to show signs of cracking. Will we be remembered for anything more than the mess we leave behind? Either way, the carpet is beyond saving. A brand-new play, based on an actual afternoon.

A gripping electric thriller, exploring the far-reaching, unexpected and devastating effect childhood bullying can wreak. Gasp-inducing moments between former schoolmates twist and turn in this tense, often darkly comedic, and ultimately shocking female two-hander.

From disastrous dates, to ruining weddings, to causing whole islands to go into a state of emergency, Sasha Ellen chalks it all up to being a bit of a pickle. A storytelling stand-up show about romantic misadventures on an epic scale. A friendly romcom featuring an engagement, a missing person and a near catastrophe which explores love, loss and sexy, sexy helicopter pilots.

Baby wipes, glitter and cans at the ready, Joni and Scarlett head off on their respective weekends. From two sides of Dublin City, the pair unexpectedly meet in the neon fields of Irish music festival Electric Picnic. Hysterically riotous and soul-stirring, Electric probes our innate prejudices and preconceived notions of who we are while taking you on the session of a lifetime!

Winner: Top-tier Fringe World Martin Sims Award 2019. Winner: Adelaide Tour-Ready Award 2019. Winner: Best Circus Fringe World Weekly 2019. Sugar, spice, and apparently 'nice'. With our bloody good sense of humour, we're going to rip into the uncomfortable using high-flying acrobatics, absurd confessions and groovy dancing. Get ready to witness a powerhouse of female circus performers kick art in the face.

Aoife's hungry and bored. Cillian makes a mean cheese toastie. As boredom and hunger are satisfied by half an hour in Cillian's bed, Aoife's life changes forever. As social and political upheaval grips her country, what hope does Aoife have to regain control? A timely, politically-charged show written by award-winning writer Rachel Trezise at the time of the historic referendum of the eighth amendment in Ireland, Cotton Fingers takes us on a journey from Belfast to Cardiff.

Musical Comedy Award winners 2018 sing about everything keeping them awake at night: tax, wooden cutlery and the consequences of last night's eight double G&Ts. Each. From the creators of the hit show, Adele Is Younger Than Us, Stiff and Kitsch: Bricking It is a story of life's favourite fears, told through one big night out and one miserable morning after. Everyone's scared of something, but there's safety in numbers: maybe we'll be braver together.

A story of an astonishing young woman who lives quietly in the world, but loudly in her mind. She secretly improvises small, but extraordinary acts of kindness that bring happiness to those around her. But when a chance at love comes her way, Amélie realises that to find her own contentment she'll have to risk everything and say what's in her heart.

After a swift rise to fame with her Nobel-nominated book Diary of a Drag Queen, DENIM's Crystal is back. Bringing her pages to life through song, dance and writhing around in a children's swimming pool. A tour-de-force show of a lifetime, 108-year-old Crystal reveals how to escape shame, escape the debt collector and escape James Franco who has been obsessed with her since 1996.

This daring new play uses a blend of verbatim interviews, Methodist hymns and original songs to investigate the lives in and around Miracle Village, a rural American community for sex offenders buried deep in Florida's sugar cane fields.

Absolute powershed and regular host of The Guilty Feminist, Jessica Fostekew explores her big strong strength. Have you ever watched a feminist try and take 'hench' as a compliment? It's like watching a snake eat but funny. In preview, Hench was nominated for Best Show at the Leicester Comedy Festival. You've seen Jess in BBC sitcoms Motherland and Cuckoo and BAFTA Award-winning drama Three Girls. She's also in forthcoming feature films: Gavin Hood's Official Secrets and Michael Winterbottom's Greed. She writes for 8 out of 10 Cats.