London, are you prepared?
For one week only, experience the magic of Alyssa Edwards as she sashays her way into London's glittering West End from 7 – 13 June!
From young gay boy in Mesquite, Texas, to global fame on 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 5 and a triumphant return to season 2 of 'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars', Alyssa is hailed as one of "the most powerful drag queens in America" by New York Magazine.
Having recently starred in the critically acclaimed Netflix docuseries Dancing Queen, Ms. Edwards now brings her fully realized autobiographical extravaganza, complete with iconic costumes, high kicks and splits, phenomenal dancers and outrageous tongue pops to the Vaudeville Theatre this summer.
Don't miss the world premiere of this much anticipated drag spectacular, where herstory will be brought to life!
Creative team:
Writer Brad Loekle
Director Spencer Noll
Designer Libby Tood
Lighting Designer Gillian Tan
Press Representative: Kevin Wilson
Marketing: Jan Baister (JB Creative Consulting)
Graphic Design: Steph Pyne
Photography: Dillon Del Toro
Video Creation: Dekel Lazimi Lev
Production Management: Ian Taylor and Jerome Reid for eStage
Produced by New Frame Productions
Rehearsal space supported in partnership with Pineapple Dance Studios
Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson
(Alyssa Edwards)
Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson, known by his stage name Alyssa Edwards, is an American entertainer, choreographer, drag performer and television personality. Prior to his TV debut, Johnson was a gifted dance instructor and accomplished performer in the drag pageantry scene before rising to international prominence on the fifth season of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’, where he quickly became a fan favorite. In 2012, Johnson was chosen as one of the 14 drag queens to compete on the fifth season of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’, where he immediately catapulted to fame for his candid testimonials, outrageous tongue-pops and quirky personality. In 2016, Johnson returned as one of 10 contestants in Season 2 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars’, where he stole the hearts of the audience, ultimately finishing as fourth runner-up. With personal appearances and tours spanning the globe, the Alyssa Edwards persona has quickly become a household name in many countries. Performing to fans throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Central and South America, Johnson balances his time between international bookings and teaching dance in his hometown. Johnson currently resides in Mesquite, Texas, a small suburb of Dallas, where he owns and runs an award-winning dance studio, Beyond Belief Dance Company. Johnson and his dance studio are the centerpieces of the 10-part Netflix Original docuseries ‘Dancing Queen’, produced by RuPaul and World of Wonder.
Brad Loekle: Writer
Brad Loekle was a semi-finalist on NBC’s ‘Last Comic Standing’ and appeared in eight seasons of the hit TruTV series, ‘World’s Dumbest’. As a writer, Brad’s snarky wit and keen intellect were put to good use for icon Joan Rivers on E!’s ‘Fashion Police’. Since 2017, he has been Courtney Act’s writer for all of her live touring shows and their work together has garnered numerous awards and rave reviews. He co-wrote her C4 2019 Christmas special, ‘Courtney Act’s Christmas Extravaganza!’.
Spencer Noll: Director
Spencer trained with the National Youth Music Theatre and at The University of Kent, Canterbury. Directing credits include: ‘Lilies and Sweets’ by Nathan Wright (Pleasance), ‘The Last Will and Testament of Henry Van Dyke’ by Karrim Jilali (Landor Space), ‘Our Day Out’ by Willy Russell (Towngate Theatre), ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (New Wimbledon Studio), ‘Too Far from the Light’ by Katie Wimpenny (The Lion and Unicorn), ‘Dan and Joel’ by Barry McStay (Arcola Theatre), ‘Hummingbird’s by Barry McStay and ‘Kidnapped’ by Shaun Kitchener (Waterloo East Theatre), ‘Iron’ by Tristian Bernays (Orange Tree Theatre), ‘The Orange’ by Katie Wimpenny (Landor Theatre) and ‘Market Boy’ by David Eldridge (Lost Theatre).
UK Script Consultant: Beth Granville
Beth left University with a 2:1 in Drama. She appeared in the BBC smash comedy ‘Gavin and Stacey’. She created, produced, wrote and starred in, ‘Foiled’, a comedy play set in a hair salon in Tonypandy. She took this creation to the 2016 Edinburgh Festival and performed it live in a site specific location (an actual hair salon). This breakout hit led to a commission for a full sitcom series on BBC Radio Wales, and now, award-nominated ‘Foiled’ has just recorded its fourth series, having broken the record for most downloads for a BBC Wales Comedy on BBC Sounds. In 2020 Beth collaborated with New Frame Productions as a writer, producer and director to create the heightened reality web series, ‘The Vicky Vox Project’.
Libby Todd: Designer
Libby is a Set & Costume Designer working across theatre and live events. Design credits include: ‘Public Domain’ (Southwark Playhouse & Vaudeville Theatre), ‘You Are Here’ (Southwark Playhouse), ‘Bring It On’ (Bernie Grant Arts Centre), ‘The Fabulist Fox Sister’ (Southwark Playhouse), ‘The Limit & Catch Me’ (Embassy Theatre), ‘Stages’ (Vault Festival), ‘Derriere On A G String’ (Sadler’s Wells), ‘F*Off’ (Underbelly), ‘Afterglow’ (Southwark Playhouse), ‘Into The Woods’ (Embassy Theatre), ‘Wasted’ (Southwark Playhouse), ‘A Winter’s Tale’ (Rose Theatre Kingston). www.libbytodd.com
Gillian Tan: Lighting Designer
Gillian Tan is a multi-disciplinary designer, working across lighting and video for various theatrical, immersive and interactive experiences. Theatre Credits: ‘Aisha and Abhaya’, a co-production between The Royal Ballet and Rambert (Royal Opera House), ‘Is In Our Blood’ (Royal Court Theatre), ‘4.48 Psychosis’ (Royal Opera House), ‘La Soirée’ (Aldwych Theatre & Southbank Centre), ‘Coraline’ (Barbican Theatre/Royal Opera House) ‘Tamburlaine’ (Arcola Theatre), ‘Invisible Treasure’ (Ovalhouse Theatre), ‘Who Do We Think We Are?’ (Southwark Playhouse), ‘Crocodiles’ (Royal Exchange Theatre).
New Frame Productions
New Frame Productions is a live and digital production company launched in 2020 by James Quaife and Robin Rayner. NFP values inclusivity, queerness, artistic bravery, sustainability and bold storytelling, with the belief that distance should not be a barrier to theatre, art and entertainment. The company was set up in response to the Coronavirus pandemic to explore new ways of creating and sharing stories, adapting to an ever-changing world. Productions include: ‘The Vicky Vox Project’ (YouTube - heightened reality web-series), ‘The Hollow’ and ‘Spider’s Web’ by Agatha Christie (Riverside Studios - staged readings), ‘West End Acoustic - Live’ (Riverside Studios & Stream.Theatre), ‘Ferris & Milnes Christmas Cracker’ (Riverside Studios).
James Quaife, Executive Producer
Productions include: the Pulitzer Prize Winning drama; ‘Sweat’ (Gielgud Theatre; Winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Play 2019 and Olivier nominated for Best New Play), ‘Good People’ starring Imelda Stanton (Noël Coward Theatre), the world premiere of ‘Barking in Essex’ starring Lee Evans, Sheila Hancock and Keeley Hawes (Wyndham’s Theatre; Evening Standard and WhatsOnStage Award nominations for Best New Comedy), ‘GHBoy’ (Charing Cross Theatre) ‘Next Fall’ (Southwark Playhouse), ‘Step 9 (of 12) and Precious Little Talent’ (Trafalgar Studios). From 2014 - 2019 James was the Producer for English Touring Theatre where he produced over 12 No.1 tours including the multiple award-winning UK tour and West End transfer of ‘Equus’ (Trafalgar Studios/Theatre Royal Stratford East/UK tour; Winner of the UK Theatre Awards, Best Revival 2019 & the Off-West End Awards for Best Production 2019).
Robin Rayner, Executive Producer
Productions include: ‘Ripped’ (Underbelly, Edinburgh), ‘Tori Scott is Pickled’ (Live at Zedel, UK Tour), ‘Iconic: A Brief History of Drag’ (UK Tour and 54 Below, NYC), ‘Timmy’ (King’s Head Theatre / Assembly), ‘The Big Smoke Festival’ (The Other Palace), ‘FABRIC’ (UK Tour; Winner of The Scotsman Fringe First Award), ‘Foiled’ (Edinburgh Festival; The Stage’s Pick of the Fringe), ‘Next Fall’ (Southwark Playhouse), ‘Our Friends, the Enemy’ (UK tour and Theatre Row, NYC), ‘The Dogs of War’ and ‘The Fastest Clock in the Universe’ (Old Red Lion). As General Manager: ‘With a Little Bit of Lerner’ and ‘Sondheim on Sondheim’ (The Royal Festival Hall) and ‘Freemason’s Tercentenary Celebration’ (Royal Albert Hall). Robin was most recently the Producer at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and Associate General Manager of the Olivier Awards. Robin is the founder of TREMers and Robin Rayner Productions Ltd and has received multiple bursary awards from Stage One for a diverse range of projects.
LISTINGS INFO
New Frame Productions
present
Alyssa, Memoirs of a Queen!
By Brad Loekle
Vaudeville Theatre
404 Strand
London
WC2R 0NH
Strictly Limited Season -
8 performances only
Monday 7th June - 7:30PM
Tuesday 8th June - 7:30PM
no show Wednesday 9th June
Thursday 10th June - 7:30PM
Friday 11th June 7:30PM
Saturday 12th June - 3PM
Saturday 12th June 7:30PM
Sunday 13th June - 3PM
Sunday 13th June 7:30PM
Gala performance:
Thursday 10th June at 7.30pm
Duration: 2 hours 10 minutes inc interval
Tickets: £22.50 / £37.50 / £52.50 / £62.50
VIP tickets £122.50 (limited availability)
(includes Premium seat plus complimentary Alyssa cocktail and signed souvenir
brochure and signed poster)
All prices include a £1.50 restoration levy
and a £2.50 booking fee
Box office: 0330 333 4814
www.nimaxtheatres.com
Aged recommendation
Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult
At the Vaudeville theatre, COVID-19 Secure guidelines for social distancing will include robust risk mitigation, hand sanitation, face coverings and track and trace, contactless tickets, temperature testing and the regular deep clean and sanitation of the theatre.
