Modest at Kiln Theatre

Middle Child’s new production Modest is touring the UK and coming to Kiln Theatre this summer, with a starry drag king cast. Made in collaboration with Milk Presents, Modest follows the superstar of the Victorian art scene, Elizabeth Thompson, in a riotous mash up of music, theatre and drag king swagger, following this rebellious woman artist, whose work was bought by Queen Victoria and who was nearly the first woman elected to the Royal Academy.

Emer Dineen (Pecs, Haus of Dons) is Elizabeth, and the roles of the Royal Academy members are performed by some of the UK’s most exciting drag artists as drag kings: LJ Parkinson (The Man Who Fell to Earth, Death Drop) aka LoUis CYfer; Fizz Sinclair (Mulan Rouge); Isabel Adomakoh Young (Heartstopper, Netflix); Jacqui Bardelang (Sink the Pink, Mulan Rouge); Libra Teejay (When All Is Said) are the cast of Royal Academicians, and multi-role as the women in Elizabeth’s life. Modest is co-directed by Paul Smith (Middle Child) and Luke Skilbeck (Milk Presents), and written by Ellen Brammar.

Modest is an electrifying take on a sexist tale as old as time, as Elizabeth fights back in a male-dominated world, shouldering the hopes of Victorian women across the country, all while excelling as one of the few successful female painters of the time.