Blue Elephant Theatre, Camberwell

A cocky gay clown in therapy.
A clueless detective.
An X-Factor sob story.

Pop culture and queer drama drama drama collide against a rainbow backdrop.

A surreal, fast-paced and darkly funny exploration of a queer relationship gone bad. Blending clowning, drag and a subversive take on the trauma-parading solo show, plewds is about the lengths we’ll go to avoid what’s right in front of us, in a story where the villains don’t look like villains. Being queer is the best, right?

WINNER of Summerhall’s Mary Dick Award 2024.

plewds is written and performed by Kathrine Payne (they/them), a theatre maker and actor from Stockport, who trained at LAMDA. Kathrine makes theatre that is funny, queer and political. They developed plewds as part of Camden People’s Theatre’s Starting Blocks scheme and Soho Theatre Writers Lab, before it won the 2024 Mary Dick Award at Summerhall. Kathrine is a part of Sweet Beef Theatre, a Pleasance Associate Artist company.

Praise for previous work:
"Powerful and compelling" ★★★★ - West End Best Friend
"Flits effortlessly between comedy and darkness" ★★★★★ - The Student
"Utterly poignant" ★★★★½ - Theatre and Other Things
"Clever, accessible and hugely entertaining" ★★★ - All Edinburgh Theatre
"Dazzles and disarms" - There Ought to be Clowns
"Payne is ridiculously funny" - Liam O’Dell

Age guidance: 14+, contains strong language and sexual references

Content Guidance:
Strobe lighting
Audience interaction (optional)
Contains topics that some viewers may find distressing, including homophobic language, transphobia, domestic violence, sexual assault, and depictions of mental illness.

Made with support from Camden People's Theatre and Soho Theatre.

Tickets can also be booked by phoning the Ticketsource Telephone Box Office on 0333 666 3366, available from Monday to Friday, 9.00AM to 7.00PM and Saturday, 9.00AM to 5.00PM (excluding bank holidays). Bookings made through this service are subject to a small booking fee.