Following his acclaimed Bottom, writer and performer Willy Hudson returns to Soho Theatre with a brand-new autobiographical show, Welcome Home, facing the battle between religion and homosexuality told through the lens of science fiction.
Recovering from a bad breakup, Willy moves back to his parents’ house, but waiting there is the thing that’s been controlling him since birth – his childhood church. Join Willy in his kitsch DIY world as he catapults an autobiographical story into a fantastical spectacle. Expect space battles, monster anthems and an out-of-this-world terrain, all revolving around a real-world battle of the heart. Within an impossible revenge story on an unbreakable institution, is a story about resolving anger, the importance of allies and knowing when to let go.
Writer and performer Willy Hudson said “I am very excited to be bringing my next show to the iconic Soho Theatre. I’ve written WELCOME HOME as a queer genesis; a story of biblical proportions to try and heal shame. I wanted to make something fun, epic and silly out of my biggest pain. And, above all, I wanted to make a good night out.”
Willy Hudson Ltd is a queer, neurodivergent & working-class led performance company led by artist Willy Hudson and producer Daisy Hale. Willy Hudson Ltd’s work fuses theatre and comic storytelling to centre queer narratives in a mainstream cultural context, to challenge queer stereotypes in an engaging and inclusive form. We make genre bending shows that use queerness to unpick taboos. Our work is fun and entertaining, unashamedly silly, serious and a good night out conceived to attract new audiences, especially LGBTQ+ audiences, into theatre and offer a creative space to express, find confidence in, & document their own experiences. Through our work as a company we look to increase opportunity for intersectional, early career queer artists, creating paid assistant and apprentice roles within the creative team to develop long-term relationships between more established queer artists and those in their early career, who often find finding safe, welcoming and paid opportunities hard to come by.
In 2016 Willy made and toured his first solo show BOTTOM supported by ACE and BOV Ferment. The project was an overwhelming success playing critically acclaimed runs at the Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre followed by a sell-out UK tour & 3 runs at Soho Theatre, including one in the Main House. To date, BOTTOM has been seen by approximately 4200 people. The piece is now being developed for TV with Balloon Entertainment. BOTTOM is published by Oberon Plays which has led to international performances. Willy has a number of screen projects in development alongside his theatre work.
Off the back of the success of BOTTOM, Willy and Willy Hudson Ltd were invited to be part of Soho Theatre’s associate artist scheme the ‘Soho Six’, co-commissioning with Daisy Hale a piece of new work and committing to sustained support and mentoring of future work. This piece, ‘Welcome Home’ has been the focus of our work since early 2020, with the script being developed over the pandemic.
Welcome Home is at Soho Theatre 25 Jan – 11 Feb 2023
