GLOWING Premieres At Contact, Manchester

Candid, ferocious, funny and loud, Glowing is the New Comedy Theatre show devised and performed by acclaimed theatre maker, writer, performer and new mum - Amy Vreeke - in which she shares her very personal and unfiltered views on the realities of pregnancy and motherhood. The show is directed by former 20 Stories High Co-Artistic Director Julia Samuels and premieres at Contact from October 18-22nd.

One thing Amy has always been sure of is that she wants to be a mother. She envisioned herself pregnant, in dungarees, doing yoga and even drinking kale smoothies. The reality of constant nausea, exhaustion and midnight sausage rolls left her questioning, when does the glowing start?

Then, 9 months of pre-natal anxiety and several stitches later, Amy fell in love with the tiny human she'd made. But with no sleep, a national lockdown and a crying baby that refused to feed - Amy found herself disillusioned with the version of motherhood we see so often in the media. And so Glowing was conceived and subsequently born...

Inspired by her own personal experiences of new motherhood, and following conversations with many other new mums equally shocked and startled by the realities versus the expectations of pregnancy and parenting - Glowing celebrates Amy's pre and post natal journey whilst shedding a light on the often unspoken but very real truths of what motherhood is. From the stigma around maternal mental health to the rights of working mothers - Amy's autobiographical multi-layered new show, explores these and other social taboos in her own inimitable way - with much humour, pure heart and unabashed honesty.

Amy Vreeke is a stand-up comedian, actor, theatre maker, writer and women's health advocate based in Greater Manchester. Amy's "slick delivery" (North West End) took her to several prestigious stand-up competition finals including The Leicester Square Theatre Comedy Awards and The Funny Women Awards.

Amy's acclaimed last show 'The Year My Vagina Tried to Kill Me', about her experience of the chronic disease endometriosis, had a sell-out run at Manchester's SICK! Festival and a successful northern tour. The show gained wide media attention after Amy created a short video for the BBC that reached over 100K viewers. As well as performing and writing herself, Amy also facilitates theatre and comedy workshops for a range of ages and abilities.

Glowing Director and Dramaturg Julia Samuels is a freelance theatre and film-maker. Previously as Co-Artistic Director of 20 Stories High (Liverpool), she made a range of award-winning work through collaboration between artists and young people.

Recent highlights include: Buttercup (20SH/Tigerlily Films/BBC Arts), Offie/Oncomm award-winning Touchy (20SH/Unity/Wellcome Collection) "I told my Mum I was going on an R.E. Trip...", (20SH/Contact/BBC & Toronto's HotDocs festival selection) and She's Leaving Home (20SH/Phelim MacDermott/Culture Liverpool). Julia's current freelance projects - in addition to her work with Contact and Amy Vreeke - include creative collaborations with artist Brodie Arthur at Everyman Playhouse.

Bafta Award Winning writer and fellow Contact Theatre alumni Sophie Willan comments "Amy Vreeke's new show is glorious! She shares the genuine whirlwind experience of becoming a mother with honesty, humour and vulnerability. She is an exceptional performer and brilliant writer, taking on yet another complex issue with ease and sparkling wit."

Contact Artistic Director Keisha Thompson comments: "Amy Vreeke was nurtured as a Contact participant through programmes like Contact Young Company before progressing to Assistant and Co-Director for performances at our venue. Since then, she has been commissioned by Contact to create multi-genre, autobiographical work that explores social taboos with candour and comedy. We're so excited to premiere Glowing, a hugely timely and topical show that unmasks our preconceptions of motherhood, womanhood and society'.

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