Fringe First award-winner Joe Sellman-Leava (Labels; Monster) is heading out on a national tour with his hit Edinburgh Fringe show Fanboy. This love-hate letter to pop culture and nostalgia explores our past and future selves through epic storytelling, razor-sharp impressions, and theatrical magic.
Joe’s teen obsessions with Nintendo, Star Wars and A Muppets Christmas Carol have continued into his thirties. But he’s started to notice something about the way certain fans are behaving– something unsettling. Fanboy doesn’t just question our love for superheroes: it also considers the fandom of political figures and the protectionism that can build around certain icons, and the language and responses that are then generated online.
This innovative, multi-disciplinary show examines loneliness, mental health, and how men often use pop culture and fandom to form connections and process emotions. Sellman-Leava, with director Yaz Al Shaater (Dead Reckoning, Young Vic; Boris: World King, Trafalgar Studios), asks us to consider the very nature of fandom and what happens to our childhood obsessions over time, how we can sometimes feel safer in our childhood memories, hiding from the world.
Writer and performer Joe Sellman-Leava comments, It’s been such a joy touring Fanboy. I love taking it to new places, and chatting to audiences after the show – particularly when people share their own experiences of fandom – so I can’t wait for our autumn tour dates!
The tour opens at Harlow Playhouse on Saturday 7th October
