Polyamorous queer pirates Anne Bonney and Mary Read earned the title the ‘Hellcats of the Seven Seas’ for their vicious and notorious crimes, but they’re better remembered for fighting with their tits out! And now they’re writing their own sea shanties, becoming legends (go away Blackbeard, Captain Kidd and Calico Jack) and doing some HOT GIRL PIRATE SHIT in Titswingers by Abey Bradbury and Sam Kearney-Edwardes.
This new queer punk gig musical (with added pirates) combines punk rock, stand up, drag cabaret, sea shanty influencers and the vibe of a good old-fashioned bar brawl – what other styles would bring to life a story about ruthless pirates with a taste for anarchy and theatrics?
Titswingers aims to celebrate different kinds of queerness including polyamory. Bonney and Read dressed as men and women interchangeably and Calico Jack actually got their name for their famously flamboyant and stylish clothes – and ambiguous sexualities. Brought to life by a cast of all non-binary aligning performers from the LGBTQ+ community, Titswingers might be based on the life of real, historical pirates but you’ve never seen them like this before.
Writers Abey Bradbury comments, Do you know what there’s not enough of on stage? Queer Punk Pirates! We’re bringing a bit of anarchy and chaos back to musical theatre – we’ve got live music, comedy, queer joy and kazoos hidden in places we can’t mention – and we can’t wait to help people release their inner Buccaneer and do some Hot Girl Pirate Shit!
The cast include writers Sam Kearney-Edwardes and Abey Bradbury alongside Max Kinder. Titswingers is presented by Le Gasp! Productions who return to the Fringe after Off-Com award-winning JULIE: The Musical in 2022. Titswingers was developed as part of MTFest24 at The Other Palace.
