THE STORY

Girl meets anatomical wax sculptor. Anatomical wax sculptor meets Girl. They fall in love. Or something like that.

Bea's older neighbour was her first love, her first cigarette, her first prosthetic eye. When Bea is invited to the Wellcome Collection to speak about her expertise making glass eyes, she finds herself unable to untie Margot from all that she does. As she tries to unpack her mentor's effect on her work, Bea must dissect for herself what love really looks like.

how to build a wax figure is a brand new play, showcasing a fresh perspective on queer love, age-gap relationships, and ocularistry.

THE ASK

Making theatre is expensive, and we want to ensure everyone we work with gets a fair wage for their work on the project. This is the premiere of this show, and as a group of emerging theatre-makers taking our work to the Edinburgh Fringe is a really exciting step in our careers! We need to raise £10,000 to cover:

• paying our actors and creative team fairly
• accommodation for cast and crew for the month
• 1.5 weeks of rehearsal in London prior to the festival
• accessible captioning for performances
• fringe registration fees
• venue costs
• employment of a PR company to promote the show and make an impact

Truly every pound/dollar helps us get us closer to our goal.

We also have a series of rewards for those of you who donate, so please take a look. Thank you for any help you can give.

THE ORIGIN

Like all modern love stories, this one started online.

Nell and Isabella met on zoom in January 2021, when Isabella brought an early version of the script to one of November Theatre’s New Writing Development Workshops. Nell knew immediately how special it was, and what started as a reading online quickly upscaled to a one-night rehearsed reading at the Golden Goose Theatre in June 2021.

Isabella and Nell forged a tight writer- director dynamic, honing the script, bringing on an exceptional cast and team. By September 2021, they had funding from Arts Council England, were programmed at VAULT, London’s biggest theatre festival, had secured a week of Research & Development space at New Diorama Theatre, and were Seeding Space residents at London Performance Studios. The proof was in the pudding: We were making something with impact. 

Unfortunately VAULT was cancelled due to the impact of the pandemic and the shows premiere delayed. However, the show was one of 10 selected for a transfer season at London’s leading Fringe venue, The Pleasance, where it delivered a sold-out 5-night preview run in February 2022. We also were able to deliver on our mission of providing accessible performances with captioning and of community outreach, partnering with London-based charity "Opening Doors." We will continue to prioritise our mission of creating queer, accessible work as we take this project further. 

Now, the show has been programmed at Assembly, one of Edinburgh Fringe’s leading venues (“the jewel in the crown of Fringe” – The Scotsman) for a month-long run in August 2022. At the festival, we will finally open the show to the press, theatre programmers across the UK, and an audience of over 4 million international attendees. This is an incredible chance for our team of emerging artists to make their mark.

By donating, you support a team of emerging talent to present new theatre at the world's leading arts festival. This project means so much to us, and your support does not go unnoticed. 

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP

Every little bit helps, but if you can't donate, you can definitely still help us out! Please make noise about our campaign and our show. Share it on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and bring it to the attention of all your friends!

You can follow us: @NovemberTheatre on Instagram and @Novtheatre on Twitter

Tickets on sale for Edinburgh Fringe here

The Team:

Playwright: Isabella Waldron Director: Nell Bailey Producer: Sarah Jordan-Verghese Fringe Producer: Emma Ruse