HELP GET BLOODY ELLE TO BLOODY EDINBURGH!
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Aim
We'd love your support- Big or small- To help get ‘Bloody Elle – a gig musical’ to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer!
Now then you lot, you beautiful bones! It's me again...
We are going to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer and sparkling up at the Traverse Theatre. The excitement is palpable, I can already feel the buzz and taste the battered Mars bars! But - the reality is kinda terrifying.... So, here goes....
What is ‘Bloody Elle’?
Bloody Elle is a one-woman, semi-autobiographical gig musical. Featuring original music created live on stage, it is a funny, poetic and epic exploration of love, class, shame and beauty in all its complexities.
First seen in 2021 at The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, this critically acclaimed show is loud, proud and unapologetically queer. It’s a story from then, for now.
Nominated for ‘Best Regional Production’ at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2022.
What the 'Bloody Elle' is it all about?
It’s the coming of age and coming out story of Elle; a young working-class girl from the north of England. It’s 2009. Gigging by night and working at ‘Chips n dips’ by day, Elle lives ten floors closer to the clouds in a highrise with her mam. From Cloudrise (that’s what her dad used to call it), she can see everything. The good, the mint, the fugly. She doesn’t think much beyond the cityscape she can see from her bedroom window.
Until she meets Eve, a privately educated girl from the South who is about to head to Oxford University and has got a job at 'Chips n Dips' to piss off her Dad! It’s like an alien has landed on the front counter with Elle. She’s got a new apron (the jammy bastard..) posh hair and a freckle on her chin (or is it chocolate?) From that moment onwards, nothing is the same.
Elle sings and swears her way through a heady, scorching summer of soaring melodies, heart-stopping, belly-flipping firsts… and lasts. Her world bursts at the seams. We feel the buzz, live the highs, see the shame, the lows, the lies - it’s confusing, its beautiful and brutal and it’s so hard to hide something that makes you feel so alive. But a storm is brewing...
'Bloody Elle' grabs the audience by the heart, blasts them through the cosmos, round the moon and crashes them back to the stark fluorescent lights of ‘Chips n Dips.’
Why ‘Bloody Elle’ matters?
Growing up I saw very little queer representation I could directly relate to. The female led queer narrative was thin on the ground. And even now, in 2022, it still feels like it is a desert out there for female queerdom - even when you’re lucky enough to find a female led storyline- most are often thrown in for effect, fetishised, ‘a phase’ or for the male gaze.
I wanted to write love how I experienced it, and how I wish I could have seen it.
‘Bloody Elle’ is for everyone. Not just for queer individuals- but for their parents/friends/families/colleagues/fellow humans to see it too; it's for anyone who has fallen in love. It's for anyone who doesn't feel represented. It's for everyone.
The journey so far
Last year ‘Bloody Elle’ had the mega support of Rebel Productions and the Manchester Royal Exchange for our first staging. We released a soundtrack Bloody Elle- The Soundtrack and were nominated for 'Best Regional Production' at the WhatsOnStage Awards 2022 receiving a bunch of stella reviews-
★★★★ It’s a performance that fills every last inch of the auditorium, which buzzes with energy- The Guardian
★★★★ A warm-hearted, embracive bit of gig theatre- The Stage
★ ★ ★ ★ Redding creates a gratifying, superbly accomplished display of invention and craft- WhatsOnStage
A tour de force performance! I didn't want to leave at the end- British Theatre Guide
BUT - it was the audience members who got in touch to share how much the show had impacted them which ignited our flame to share the story more widely.
Here are a few examples of audience members response;
"I came out to my sister on the way home, which I never intended to do..."
"It helped my mum to understand... It has dramatically improved our relationship and made her more at peace with my coming out..."
"It is inspired me to keep speaking my truth..."
"It gave me hope that even though I'm not there, I will be one day.."
"If I'd seen [Bloody Elle] when I was growing up, I wouldn't have lost all those years and tears to arrested development.."
This show has helped and changed people.
We set our sights on the Edinburgh Fringe festival, and the show has been programmed at the incredible Traverse theatre - one of the festivals leading, most exciting venues. We have been listed in the top 20 unmissable fringe shows by The Guardian:
Unmissable Fringe Shows, The Guardian
And we've been listed in the WhatsOnStage's Top musicals to see at the Edinburgh Fringe 2022
With a 90-minute slot, I am bringing a new version of the show to audiences and enhancing that intimate gig experience we all know and love!
The joys and woes of Edinburgh
The Edinburgh Fringe runs for the whole of August and attracts audiences from across the UK, Europe, the world! We hope to use the festival as a springboard into bigger things for ‘Bloody Elle’, so that Elle and Eve’s important story reaches wider audiences around the world.
Despite our previous incredible support from the Royal Exchange Theatre and Rebel Productions - this time we are on our own. Our little team is having to do this leg solo. And in order for any of this to happen, I need to financially support my small team and myself in getting to Edinburgh. The Fringe is not an easy gig for artists and creatives. Accommodation rates soar through the roof; adding in registration, venue hire fees, travel, marketing costs, press support, insurance… the list goes on, and finances quickly shoot up into the 10s of thousands!
How you can help?
Firstly - a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has so far supported ‘Bloody Elle’s journey - I really mean it when I say that I couldn’t have done it without you!
You can continue to give your support by:
- Recommending our Edinburgh performance to everyone you know who’s going to the Fringe!
- Buy a ticket yourself!
- Purchase and share 'Bloody Elle- The Soundtrack' Bandcamp link
- Share this Crowdfunder and 'Bloody Elle' love on socials
- oh and ..... GIVE TO THIS CROWDFUNDER :D
If you are able to spare anything - big or small. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!
Every generous penny will go towards securing the success of our Fringe run and supporting the dedicated team.
Love you all,
L x
This project successfully funded on 18th August 2022