Set to rock regional venues this Spring, Bloody Mary: Live! sees Mary Tudor work on her reputation in an iconic stand-up show as she heads on a revolutionary UK tour! Produced by Part of the Main, a Pleasance London Associate Company for 2022-2024 and funded by Arts Council England, Bloody Mary: Live! is a gleefully vicious comedic special that tackles the drama every #queenager has to deal with, from divorced parents, sibling rivalry to first crushes and burning heretics at the stake.
Part of the Main are an innovative and exciting upcoming theatre company based in London that curate political, provocative, and accessible work. After frequent performances at New York City venues including Club Cumming, Pete’s Candy Store, and Caveat, this electric production will be returning to the UK, where it was shortlisted for the 2020 Les Enfants Terribles Award and completed a successful run at VAULT Festival in 2023, earning the show OffFest Nomination and Part of the Main the Excellence in Accessibility Award. Investigating how women in power have fought for their right to be heard, this raucous stand-up set, and a coming-of-age narrative will transport one of England’s most infamous queens into Gen Z.
Bloody Mary: Live! strives to resonate with anyone who has ever struggled growing up, or ever wanted to burn it all down. This witty, irreverent blend of stand-up comedy and a one-woman show is written and will be performed by Olivia Miller, an American artist based in New York City.
Previous work by Part of the Main includes Fritz and Matlock, which garnered two Offie Nominations at the Pleasance and was shortlisted for the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence at the Edinburgh Fringe, and The Tinker, which was shortlisted for the Theatre Royal Haymarket/Masterclass Pitch Your Play competition and longlisted for Finborough Theatre’s ETPEP Award.
In 2018 Part of the Main launched Part of the Grid, a series of affordable and practical theatre training workshops that focused on backstage skills such as lighting, sound design, stage management, and producing. During lockdown, they went online, where the digital workshops reached over 1,000 participants worldwide. Alongside their tour of Bloody Mary: Live!, Part of the Main will be reviving their workshops in-person at the Pleasance, Acorn Penzance, Theatre Deli Sheffield, and Exeter Phoenix. More details and how to book are to be announced by the company soon.
In August-September 2020, Part of the Main co-produced the Virtual Collaborators Festival, which brought over 130 emerging and established artists together to create 40 new audio, theatre, & film performances.
Writer Olivia Miller comments, I’m thrilled for my favourite misunderstood punk princess to be resurrected once more. Stepping into Mary’s platform goth boots to talk about everything from boys to burnings at the stake is an honour I take very seriously, especially in front of a British audience that is perhaps more nimble at fact checking me than American audiences.
