Following the success of Norwich Theatre’s inaugural Edinburgh preview season last year, this July, Norwich Theatre will be bringing the vibes of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to Norwich with three fantastic shows before they head off to the Festival.
Norwich favourite Joe Tracini will be previewing his comedy show Ten Things I Hate About Me. Produced by Norwich Theatre it is a personal account of Joe’s struggles with his borderline personality disorder. It’s also about mental illness, good liars, bad ideas, Lorraine Kelly and a gang lord forcing Joe to hold a raw chicken.
Norwich residents may recognise elements of the show from a work-in-progress version Joe brought to Norwich Theatre Playhouse in 2023. That iteration was filmed as part of a Channel 4 documentary Me and the Voice in My Head, which won two awards (Best Documentary Presenter and Best Single Documentary) at the recent Grierson British Documentary Awards 2024.
Francesca Moody is the name behind the theatrical versions of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer, both of which debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before being adapted into television series. In July, Norwich Theatre Playhouse welcomes two of her newest shows: Crybabies: The Scaring and How to Win Against History.
Sam Bain, Head of Programming at Norwich Theatre, said: “It is an exciting time for Norwich Theatre. Not only are we taking two shows made right here in Norwich (Spy Movie: The Play! and Joe Tracini:Ten Things I Hate About Me) to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we are also bringing the Festival spirit to Norwich with two brilliant new shows from the keen eye of Francesca Moody.”
Join comedy group Crybabies for their new narrative sketch tale, The Longing. When former priest Arthur Holland checks into a remote hotel, he soon discovers that all is not as it seems. It is a show about fear, faith, fathers (the normal kind), fathers (the Church kind), phantoms and finally, moving on. The Crybabies trio picked up a number of five star reviews for their show Bagbeard which has since been adapted for a BBC Radio 4 programme.
How to Win Against History is a fierce comedy musical and true story about expectations, masculinity, privilege and failure on an epic scale. Henry Cyril Paget, the 5th Marquis of Anglesey, blew his family’s colossal fortune on diamond frocks and lilac-dyed poodles, causing a very Edwardian scandal. His fabulous flame burned brightly, briefly and extremely cross-dressingly until he died at just 29, after which his outraged family destroyed every record of him ever having existed. Now Henry’s back to tell his regrettable cautionary tale, with nothing to his name but savage wit, banging belters and a metric tonne of sparkle.
For the full Fringe experience, see both Norwich Theatre Playhouse shows on separate days or make an evening of it and see them both at once! You can see both shows for £30 by booking online at norwichtheatre.org or contacting the Box Office on 01603 630 000. Shows must be booked at the same time.
