22.6.23

Charlie Hartill Award finalist We’ll Have Nun of It premieres at Edinburgh Fringe 2023 following a hugely successful run of sell-out, ★★★★★ workshop performances. Comprising an all-female and non-binary, actor-muso cast, the original musical traverses themes of home, identity, sexuality, faith and turbulent Anglo-Irish relations as it follows four convent school friends during the 1960s.

The original score oscillates between pop, soul, Irish folk and choral music, drawing the audience into all of the angst, joy, liberations and frustrations of a sisterhood united by their struggles. [sample audios here]

The story is inspired by real-life conversations with director-producer-writer Rosie Dart’s grandmother, who emigrated from Ireland to London at aged 18 in the 1950s; and composer-writer Finola Southgate’s mother who attended convent school in the 50s and 60s. 

Rosie commented: “At its core, the piece explores feelings of powerlessness to change the world. Just as in the 1960s, young people today remain frustrated to be growing up in an environment permeated with shame surrounding abuse of power, feminism and sexuality. My grandmother and Finola’s mother’s stories still resonate, and we hope to inspire our audience to ask questions and seek answers.”

Dates: 3 - 27 August (Not 9, 14, 21)

Time: 3:50pm

Running Time: 60 minutes

Venue: Belly Button, Underbelly Cowgate, 66 Cowgate, Edinburgh EH1 1JR

Prices: Tickets from £8.00

Age Guideline: Recommended 14+

Ticket Link: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/events/event/well-have-nun-of-it

Twitter: @sisterprods

Instagram: @sisterprods

TikTok: @sistersister.productions

Press pack here.

Listen to some of the tracks here.

Creative Team: Rosie Dart (Book, Director, Producer), Finola Southgate (Book, Music, Lyrics), Honor Halford-MacLeod (Orchestrator and Musical Director), Francesca Davies-Cáceres (Producer).

Cast: Angel Lema (Eliza), Chaya Gupta (Sarah), Heather Gourdie (Bernie), Juliette Artigala (Mary), Michaela Murphy (Caragh). Full cast bios here.

We’ll Have Nun of It has an all-female creative team - Rosie Dart has created work for Gilded Balloon at Edinburgh Fringe, VAULT festival and NYMT. Within casting she has worked in-house at Netflix as well as on projects such as Girl From the North Country (UK Tour), Enola Holmes 2 (Netflix) & Luther (Netflix). Finola Southgate has written and performed original music across venues including Sportspaleis Antwerp and released albums on Spotify with The Monroes and Sister Sister Productions. Honor Halford-MacLeod is currently Musical Director on Then, Now and Next (Southwark Playhouse). Previously she was Associate Musical Director on Bonnie and Clyde (Garrick Theatre), Musical Director on A Christmas Carol-ish (Soho Theatre) and has also worked on SIX (Vaudeville Theatre). Francesca Davies-Cáceres has worked in-house at the BFI as well as on productions such as Heartstopper (Netflix), Love Island (ITV) and new musical R&Ds with Broadway Director Sarna Lapine.

Accolades

FINALIST Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Award for new work 2020

WINNER ‘Best New Work’ at The Palatinate Awards 2020

Reviews

★★★★★ Palatinate

‘A masterpiece.’

‘The piece is a triumph.’

‘Bold, brilliant and breath-taking.’

‘Innovative direction, a compelling script, and songs that are piercing, potent and will stay in your head long after the show is over.’

‘A piece that is truly special.’

‘A beautiful, touching experience to be part of.’

★★★★★ DST First Night

‘A polished, slick and compelling production which engages with a whole host of important questions about growing up in a controlling world.’