HOW TO WIN AGAINST HISTORY Returns to Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Seiriol Davies' sell-out show from Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016 was a huge hit with audiences and critics alike; now the musical extravaganza will be returning to the Fringe and touring the UK - starting at Pontio, Bangor, near Anglesey, home to both Seiriol and the central character - before a run at the Young Vic. Seiriol stars as Henry Cyril Paget, the flamboyant cross-dressing 5th Marquis of Anglesey who gained notoriety for squandering his family's godlike wealth on diamond-studded plays, star vehicles for himself which nobody came to.

The 'Dancing Marquis' inherited his title in 1898 at the age of twenty-one, and was declared bankrupt just six years later, after burning through his vast fortune, spending it on bejewelled dresses, poodles dyed lilac, a fleet of cars modified to give out rose-scented exhaust fumes, and touring Germany with an enigmatic show called The Famous Electric Butterfly Dance. When he died a year later, his family burnt every record of his life they could find, and carried on as though he'd never been. How to Win Against History is an outrageous musical about being just too weird for the world, but desperately not wanting it to forget you.

Seiriol Davies said, "I grew up on Anglesey, the island on top of Wales, and as a kid I'd visit Plas Newydd the ancestral seat of the Marquises of Anglesey. There were busts and paintings honouring the 1st Marquis, the 2nd, the 3rd, the 4th. Then of the 5th... there was a laminated printout of a handful of pictures in the back porch above the doormat. Because this guy was 'different'. Google 'Henry Cyril Paget' and you'll see what I mean; he looks like Freddie Mercury having gone for a run through Elizabeth Duke's wearing a sellotape suit. But this isn't some 'poor little rich boy' story, it's about wanting to be part of the world, and the feeling not necessarily being mutual. And what the dickensy heck would it mean to have your whole life judged invalid? I'm stunned by how people have responded to the show, and thrilled that this means we get a chance to take this story to more people, with a slight upgrade on the sparkles budget. Henry rides again! "

Seiriol Davies is a writer, composer and performer who trained at LISPA. He has made shows with Punchdrunk, You Need Me, Gideon Reeling, One Tenth Human, Beady Eye as well as being a member of Weimar operatic glam band Temper Temper and punk music hall act Underbling & Vow. In 2012, he worked with Caroline Horton & Co to create and score Mess, which won The Stage Award for Acting Excellence and an Argus Angel. He is currently writing a musical called Scroungers for Boundless Theatre and Ice & Fire, and developing sitcoms for radio and television. The follow-up to How to Win, Milky Woods, inspired by Under Milk Wood and Twin Peaks, is currently in development.

Director Alex Swift's recent work includes Me and Mr C by Gary Kitching, Error 404 by Daniel Bye, Fat Man by Martin Bonger, Mess by Caroline Horton & Co, Puffball by Caroline Williams, and I Told You This Would Happen by Kathryn Beaumont. He developed his solo show, Travesty, at Theatre in The Mill, Bradford, is currently developing Kieran Hurley's An Injury, and has co-directed Kieran Hurley's Heads Up which will be playing at Summerhall. He is also Artistic Director of permanent red Theatre Company and an Associate Artist with Daedelus Theatre Company.

Áine Flanagan Productions produces Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho and its sister show Margaret Thatcher Queen of Game Shows by Jon Brittain and Matthew Tedford. Margaret Thatcher has now sold out three Edinburgh Fringe Festivals (2014 - ­2016), has been programmed twice at Leicester Square Theatre for another two sell out runs and has toured the home and abroad to sell out audiences. For Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017, she is also producing Prom Kween by Rebecca Humphries and Hear Me Raw by Daniella Isaacs.

The Young Vic produces new plays, classics, forgotten works, musicals and opera. It co-produces and tours widely in the UK and internationally while keeping deep roots in its neighbourhood. It frequently transfers shows to London's West End and invites local people to take part at its home in Waterloo. In 2016 the Young Vic became London's first Theatre of Sanctuary. Recent productions include Simon Stone's multi award-winning new version of Lorca's Yerma which returns to the Young Vic with Billie Piper reprising her performance in July, the premiere of Charlene James' multi-award-winning play Cuttin' It and Ivo Van Hove's multi award-winning production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge (West End & Broadway transfers), as well as Horizons, a season of work exploring the lives of refugees. David Lan is Artistic Director, Lucy Woollatt is Executive Director. www.youngvic.org

 

@HowToWinAgainst | @seirioldavies | #HowToWinAgainst

www.seirioldavies.com | www.aineflanagan.com

 

Listings information

3 - 27 Aug Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Assembly George Square Gardens

George Square EH8 9LH

www.assemblyfestival.com | 0131 623 3030

 

5 - 6 Oct Pontio, Bangor

College Road, Bangor LL57 2TQ

www.pontio.co.uk | 01248 382828

 

10 - 11 Nov Northern Stage, Newcastle

Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear NE1 7RH

www.northernstage.co.uk | 0191 230 5151

 

13 Oct Derby Theatre

Theatre Walk, Derby DE1 2NF

www.derbytheatre.co.uk | 01332 593939

 

14 - 15 Oct HOME, Manchester

Number 1 First Street, Manchester, M1 5DE

homemcr.og | 0161 200 1500

 

19 Oct The Dukes, Lancaster

 Moor Lane, Lancaster, LA1 1QE

www.dukes-lancaster.org | 01524 598500

 

20 Oct Lincoln Drill Hall

Free School Ln, Lincoln LN2 1EY

www.lincolndrillhall.com | 01522 873894

 

1 Nov Aberystwyth Arts Centre

Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3DE
www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk | 01970 62 32 32

 

2 - 3 Nov The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol

The Old Market Assembly, 25 West Street, Old Market, Bristol BS2 0DF

thewardrobetheatre.com | 0117 902 0344

 

4 Nov Swansea Pontardawe Arts Centre

Herbert St, Pontardawe, Swansea SA8

Npttheatre.co.uk/pontardawe | 01792 863722

 

6 - 11 Nov The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol (as above)

 

14 - 18 Nov Sherman Theatre, Cardiff

Senghennydd Rd, Cardiff CF24 4YE, UK

www.shermantheatre.co.uk | 029 2064 6900

 

23 Nov South Street Arts Centre, Reading

21 South St, Reading, RG1 4QU

www.readingarts.com | 0118 960 6060

25 Nov Galeri Caernarfon

Doc Victoria, Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Caernarfon LL55 1SQ

www.galericaernarfon.com | 01286 685 222

 

30 Nov -23 Dec Young Vic, London (The Maria)

66 The Cut, Lambeth, London SE1 8LZ

Mon - Sat 7.45pm, Weds & Sat matinee 2.45pm (except 2 & 6 Dec) | £25 - £10

www.youngvic.org | 020 7922 2922

 

Supported by Stage One. The Welsh leg of the tour is proudly in association with Pontio Bangor.