Varnish
Jonathan Mayor
Tue 31st Jan - Sun 5th Feb
18:30,15:00,18:00 (
60 mins)
Theatre
Tickets from £13.00
Venue: Pit
Age Guidance: 15+
Contains strong language and depictions of adoption trauma. References emotional abuse, childbirth, mental illness, racism, homophobia, drug and alcohol abuse, and ableism.
“When did I, Jonathan Mayor, first know I was special? When indeed.
It might be more useful to ask the question in a different way. It might be better to ask whether there was a time when I didn’t know I was special.
And, you know what, I don’t think there was.
I was chosen, you see. Right from the start. My parents adopted me. Of course they did. They weren’t prepared to leave the quality of their offspring to chance.
Who does that?
You never know what you’ll get, do you? If you leave it to natural selection. You never know what disappointment lies in store.”
A fabulous and fractured, sparkling and splintered, magnificent and messy exploration of adoption, addiction, and ego.
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Jonathan Mayor
Jonathan Mayor has been working across the UK as a stand-up comedian since 2002, and draws heavily on his life experiences, especially his personal history as a transracial adoptee. He was the warm-up for Sarah Millican, on stage and television, and for Countdown (Channel 4). He appears in/hosts comedy, cabaret and burlesque and Pride events, including Europride, Glasgay Arts Festival, Homotopia, Queer Up North and Manchester/Leicester Comedy Festivals. He has hosted sporting events at Manchester Pride Games and the Gay Rugby World Cup. Jonathan hosted the Manchester Pride Candlelight AIDS Vigil for many years.
Molly Byrne is an award-winning director whose show On Your Bike was awarded Best Musical at Edinburgh Fringe 2021 by Musical Theatre Review.
Janet Taylor is a new writer whose previous work has been longlisted by Theatre503 and Papatango, and has been performed at SlaMinutes at The Arcola. Her play, White, a satire on white privilege, will be performed as a rehearsed reading at the Old Fire Station in Oxford in March 2023, directed by John Retallack.
Steve Pycroft is a composer, drummer and filmmaker. He is the co-founder and Musical Director of Manchester-based Kaleidoscope Orchestra as well as a drummer and composer in Riot Jazz Brass Band. In 2020, he was the composer and musical director of the BBC’s Lockdown Orchestra.
Han Sayles is a lighting and sound designer based in London. Their "atmospheric and striking" designs have led them to collaborate with drama, comedy and cabaret productions across the UK, including illuminating five-star shows at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe and garnering a 2022 Offie nomination for Richard II at The Brockley Jack.
Press & Reviews
Praise for Jonathan Mayor's stand-up:
"Very funny" - Michael Palin
"Marvellously wicked" - Sarah Millican
“a self-obsessed glittery queen with a larger than life personality who arrives on stage in a bamboozling mix of innuendo" - Manchester Evening News
"A true Diva of our times." - canal-street.co.uk
"An incredible presence on the stage. Mesmerising to watch and an extremely articulate improviser. Fantastic." - XS Malarkey
Cast & Creative Team Cast: JONATHAN MAYOR
Writer: JANET TAYLOR
Director: MOLLY BYRNE
Composer: STEVE PYCROFT
Lighting and Sound Designer: HAN SAYLES
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