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Modest

  • Ellen Brammar
  • Full Length Play, Drama, Comedy, 19th Century
  • 5M, 8F
  • ISBN: 9781839042324

"A woman. On the line in Gallery Two of all places. I never thought I'd see the day. This is progress, my dear."

More information

Description

  • Full Length Play
  • Drama, Comedy

  • Time Period: 19th Century
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult
  • Set Requirements: Unit Set/Multiple Settings

  • Performance Group:
  • College Theatre / Student, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, Professional Theatre
It's 1874, and Elizabeth Thompson stuns the artistic establishment with her painting The Roll Call. Five years later, she falls two votes short of becoming the first woman elected to the Royal Academy.

In between, she shoulders the hopes and dreams of female artists across the country, while fighting for her place at a table full of top hats, neckties and mutton chop beards.

A thrilling collision of music hall, cabaret and drag king swagger, Modest tells the true story of a pioneering megastar of the Victorian art scene. Written by Ellen Brammar and with music by Rachel Barnes, it was first produced in 2023 by Middle Child in collaboration with Milk Presents at Hull Truck Theatre before touring.
REVIEWS:

"A rollicking piece of gig theatre... a show that bubbles over with charisma... it has a fabulous drag king aesthetic and fringe energy, throwing in plenty of raunchiness, satire and poppy interludes... Brammar's script shines in its humour... it never fails to amuse."

 The Guardian

"Exceptional... a potent mix of drag, searing comedy, indignant fury and tenderness... a raucous cabaret [that] is a forensic evisceration of staid "respectability."

 The Stage

"A quick-witted, bawdy, diamond in the rough."

 Time Out

"Fast-paced and funny... a story that deserves to be told."

 British Theatre Guide

"A play that delivers punch after punch... hugely pleasurable watch."

 WhatsOnStage

"Energetic and empowering."

 Theatre Weekly

"A remarkable true story that is just as relevant today... there are brilliant quips relating to women's rights, which make for an entertaining performance."

 Drama & Theatre Magazine

Premiere Production: Middle Child tour, 2023.

Characters

  • Casting: 5M, 8F
  • Casting Attributes: Flexible casting
  • Casting Notes: Gender flexible; can be performed by a cast of 6, and all f

Available Material

Name Price
Modest Script This is optional. Order Now

It's 1874, and Elizabeth Thompson stuns the artistic establishment with her painting The Roll Call. Five years later, she falls two votes short of becoming the first woman elected to the Royal Academy.

In between, she shoulders the hopes and dreams of female artists across the country, while fighting for her place at a table full of top hats, neckties and mutton chop beards.

A thrilling collision of music hall, cabaret and drag king swagger, Modest tells the true story of a pioneering megastar of the Victorian art scene. Written by Ellen Brammar and with music by Rachel Barnes, it was first produced in 2023 by Middle Child in collaboration with Milk Presents at Hull Truck Theatre before touring.

$24.95

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