MAN!FEST: The Drag BoyBand Musical

Aim

Help get the biggest boyband in the world to Edinburgh Fringe! That's right, a boyband, there’s just one catch…They’re played by women!

Hello! We are OnTheNose Productions, a comedy driven feminist theatre company that creates original comedy musicals, and we need your help to get our newest show MAN!FEST: The Drag BoyBand Musical to Edinburgh Fringe this year!

ABOUT OUR SHOW:

Ash (the bad boy), Ewan (the romantic boy), Cody (the sporty boy), and Ruben (the... other boy) are kicking off their second world tour as the biggest boyband in the world; MAN!FEST. 

Their tweenage fangirls are maturing and the threat of female empowerment and independence looms. With constant pressure from management, and an overwhelming sense of duty to their screaming groupies, MAN!FEST fight against their impending collapse as the demand for perfection climbs to impossible heights. A riotous drag musical that exposes toxic masculinity and its effect on boybands and fangirls.

It’s every awkward tweenage girl’s dream to have a boyband member as her boyfriend. We just took it to the next extreme; why date them when you can be them?

WHO'S IT FOR?

Those who love boybands

Those who hate boybands

Those who hate that they love boybands

Those that love that they hate boybands

Importantly, it’s also for theatre seekers that love drag and crave theatrical explorations of gender, toxic masculinity, and criticisms of the patriarchy (especially through song and dance!) If you're big into comedy, want a fun night out, or desperately want to be at a concert, this one's for you.

I mean, who doesn’t love the sound of a musical about a boyband played by women?

WHO ARE WE?

We’re OnTheNose Productions: an exciting and unconventional all-female theatre company that specialises in creating original comedy musicals, and this time we’re really testing the limits! We’ve created a new hysteria-inducing boyband, played by women, singing their own original songs all whilst dancing just like the great boybands that came before us! 

MAN!FEST is our 2nd musical and has been developed as part of Chichester Festival Theatre’s Future Theatre Maker’s program. The show opened the theatre’s newest venue The Nest in the summer of last year, and has also performed there since! MAN!FEST will also be performing at Brighton Fringe in May, and we are planning to perform the show in other exciting venues in the future! 

We are incredibly excited to be taking our all-singing, all-dancing, and (most importantly) all-flexing boyband to Edinburgh to perform throughout the entirety of August for the Fringe! The boys can’t wait to hit the stage in Edinburgh, however, there is one slight issue… The band’s manager 'accidentally' spent a huge percentage of their tour funds on his Ray-Bans collection! 

YOUR FAVOURITE BOYBAND NEEDS YOUR HELP!

Your generous contribution will go towards making your favourite boyband’s show the best it possibly can be. We’re talking *NSYNC style headset mics, fancy hip-hop threads that even One Direction would be jealous of, and maybe even some signed posters for your bedroom wall… In addition, donations will also aid us in areas such as accommodation, travel expenses, and more (the boys are desperate for a gold-plated jacuzzi…!) Contributions will also ensure that our show gets the visibility it deserves, which in turn will assist us in our long-term goals of touring MAN!FEST post Edinburgh Fringe!

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, whether it’s £1, £50, £100, or even just a gentle encouraging pat on the shoulder! If our goal is reached, we will firstly celebrate by partying long into the night (as boybands do), and then we’ll aim even higher! Beyond our initial goal, any further contributions will go into making our rollicking musical even better than it already is; better set, better makeup, maybe even merch… Get hyped!

AN EXCITING UPDATE IS PENDING…

We have some fangirl-scream-worthy news coming soon! We can’t tell you what it is yet, but when we do it will reveal some exciting details about our run in Edinburgh! Make sure you stay tuned!

THANK YOU!

MAN!FEST cannot express their gratitude enough for your contribution, however they’ve given it a go in the most non-egotistical way possible. Here are some rewards we're offering in return for your incredible support!

• £25 or more: 1 member of MAN!FEST will send you a personalised thank you video!
• £50 or more: 2 members of MAN!FEST will send you a personalised thank you video!
• £75 or more: 3 members of MAN!FEST will send you a personalised thank you video!
• £100 or more: the whole band will send you a personalised thank you video!

Please note, the boys you get in your video will be completely random! (Much like a boy pick ‘n’ mix if you will.) You will receive your personalised video between now and august, though we will endeavour to get your personalised video to you as quickly as possible!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Much love festies, 

Cody, Ash, Ruben, Ewan 

A.K.A MAN!FEST x

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 25th June 2026 at 6:57pm