Always on
This project successfully funded on 31st July 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
Bring "Made of Magic" to Gothenburg Fringe 2026!
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Aim
help a queer, non-binary trans, disabled, neurodivergent poet & artist bring his multimedia poetry show to Gothenburg Fringe 2026
About me
My name is Jude FireSong (he/him), aka Fabulous Phoenix Boy; I am a Scottish-by-inclination multidisciplinary artist; a non-binary trans, polyamorous queer man; and a neurodivergent, mentally ill, disabled survivor.
I have 15+yrs of experience as a spoken word poet, 10+ years of theatre experience on all sides of the stage, and an academic background in English literature, philosophy, and performance studies. My poetic inspirations range from Shakespeare to Walt Whitman, Lawrence Ferlinghetti to Alok Vaid-Menon, with an added sprinkling of pop culture. I am also a writer of speculative fiction (mostly horror/fantasy from the point of view of monsters), and firmly believe the line between fiction and poetry is in itself fictional, and entirely permeable.
As a visual artist, I have supplemented the 8yrs of art and art history I took in school with 5+yrs of experience in set design and scenic art, and a decade of self-taught mixed media art practice as a tool for trauma healing and self-expression. My work has appeared in several local and national exhibitions.
The core themes of my work are intersections of identity, mental health, love and loss, alienation and community, social justice, and storytelling as vocation and catharsis. The aim of my creative practice is to provide representation, healing, and hope to myself and to others: my beloved LGBTQIA+ community; those struggling with mental/chronic illness; and anyone else who has ever been made to feel like an outsider/misfit/freak for simply being themselves, or experimenting with what that might look like.
For links to performance videos, publications, forthcoming shows, etc see my linktree.
About the show
Based on my forthcoming illustrated poetry collection of the same name, 'Made of Magic' is a hybrid spoken word performance and visual art exhibition which tells the story of my fight for sanity and sense of self in the context of a nervous breakdown. It is a love letter to myself as a survivor of complex trauma, and a reminder to everyone who needs it that, even in moments of utter darkness, there’s still so much beauty to be found.
Most of all, this deeply personal show for me represents that elusive light at the end of the tunnel. Taking this work beyond my chosen home in Edinburgh to its first international Fringe is an accomplishment I would have never dared dream of when first sharing these poems and artworks with an audience.*
*[This was at a 1-night-only poetry reading/art exhibition called 'Scrivere coi Colori' (tr. 'Writing with Colours'), graciously hosted by Italian mental health social enterprise Basti-Menti all the way back in 2018]
Excerpts
'Writer's Block' @ Loud Poets 2024-25 Slam Series: St. Andrews Heat (March 2025)
'Latin Lovers' @ Loud Poets 2024-25 Slam Series: St. Andrews [timestamp: 39.19-41.227]
[TW for transphobia, fetishisation of trans bodies, non-binary erasure, ableism, mental health stigma, fatphobia]
Reviews
'[M]esmerising, I adored... the clear thought and love... poured into [Jude's] poems and the engaging way in which he delivers them... Made of Magic deserves so many more eyes and ears. These words must be heard and these stories must be told. I walked out... with a renewed sense of appreciation for life' - Mike Dorey for BingeFringe Magazine, 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Review
'Such clear, truthful poetry, beautifully sequenced... enriching, honest, and will stay with me for a long time' (Audience Review)
'[P]oems you will want to discover again and again' (Audience review)
Why a crowdfunder?
While I didn't succeed in securing a venue or funding for the main Edinburgh Festival Fringe or the Free Fringe this year, I was delighted to receive an invitation from Gothenburg Fringe to bring 'Made of Magic' to Sweden in late August/Early September.
Unfortunately, I don't have the disposable income to take the show on tour without outside help:
I have limited capacity for work due to a variety of physical disabilities/chronic pain and injuries, mental health conditions, undiagnosed neurodivergences; I subsist (barely) on Universal Credit and Adult Disability Benefits. Last year, I funded the second Edinburgh Fringe run of the show via a small business loan and several credit cards (which I am still repaying).
I believe with all my heart that this is a good, important, timely piece of work - but I cannot do it without you.
Please share this with your family, friends, and frenemies; if you're in a position to contribute anything at all (no matter how small) please consider making a donation, so that this fabulous phoenix boy's show about resilience and survival may rise once again.
With deepest gratitude,
Jude FireSong (he/him)
aka Fabulous Phoenix Boy
member of QUILL Scotland & Scottish Artist Union
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made