Amateur dramatics is the unspoken past of many a performer. From four generations of leading ladies comes one queer Londoner, sharing this personal story of return and reconciliation – with her history, hometown and her love of musical theatre. I, AmDram returns to Camden People’s Theatre by popular demand following a well received run at the Pleasance Courtyard during the Edinburgh Fringe.
Sing-a-long with Hannah as she recounts her first foray into musical theatre aged 7 as part of Welwyn Thalians Musical and Dramatic Society. Join Hannah she comes out as queer halfway through rehearsals for My Fair Lady and delight in her entrance into the world of experimental performance art. Step-ball-chang- ing between suburb and city, I, AmDram minds the gap between the identities we assert and the worlds we leave. Expect renditions from My Fair Lady to The King and I and of course Oliver!
The artist is proud to enjoy the support of Welwyn Thalians Musical and Dramatic Society (est 1929) in Welwyn Garden City of which she was a member for 18 years. I, AmDram has been developed through Starting Blocks at Camden People’s Theatre.
Writer and performer Hannah Maxwell said of I, AmDram: “No prior experience with amdram is necessary to enjoy the show; it’s hopefully relevant and resonant for anyone who’s left the place they’re from. Saying that, audiences will probably leave with more knowledge of Gilbert and Sullivan than when they arrived. So far, the show has gone down well with both London’s queer intelligentsia and my nan’s ladies from the lun-cheon club. I hope the London audiences are similarly mixed, and their feedback isn’t.”
Hannah Maxwell is a writer, performer, storyteller, podcaster and stand-up comedian, originally of Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, currently of South London, where she lives in a disused morgue. Since graduating from Queen Mary University of London in 2014, she has performed and hosted nights at various theatres, fes- tivals and clubs across the UK, including as a vicar in the Inflatable Church and as DiceMaster at DICE Festival at Edinburgh Fringe 2018.
As writer, producer and collaborator, she has worked with performers and companies including Hunt & Darton, Bobby Baker and The Sick of The Fringe. She co-wrote the text for Unexploded Ordnances by Split Britches, which premiered at the Barbican in May 2018. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian, Scotsman and several arts journals. The playtext of I, AmDram is available from Oberon Books, with a Foreword by Brian Logan, published May 2019.
I, Am Dram is at Camden People’s Theatre 26th – 30th November 2019.
