A drag king-cabaret-inspired play about Victorian superstar artist Elizabeth Thompson visits Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre this month (June 19-21).
Modest is the latest show by award-winning Hull company Middle Child (with Milk Presents), which celebrates queer culture.
Elizabeth Thompson fell only two votes short of becoming the first woman elected to the Royal Academy in 1879, having stunned the public with her painting The Roll Call five years earlier.
Modest uses music, comedy and drag to tell Elizabeth’s story: a pioneering artist who shouldered the empowerment of many women of her time.
Writer Ellen Brammar said: “Elizabeth’s unwavering confidence and unapologetic arrogance was really fun to write; she’s perfectly imperfect and I love her and feel exasperated by her in equal measure.
“The idea for Modest was born from a podcast about tokenism, illustrated through Elizabeth’s frustrating story, which lodged itself firmly in my head.”
More info and tickets here