Lauren Hance's HOLY O to Make Its Australian Debut At Adelaide Fringe

Award-winning Texas playwright and performer Lauren Hance will bring her acclaimed solo comedy-drama Holy O to Australia for the first time this February as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival. 

In Holy O, audiences become part of the play by stepping into the role of advice-giving "saints" as they guide Vera, a woman who wants to be a nun but can't let go of her past or her vibrators. When rapturous prayer episodes begin, the spiritual and physical collide in hilarious and heartfelt ways.

Blending storytelling with choose-your-own-adventure moments, the show explores the connection between body, spirit, and sexuality, creating a different experience at every performance. Critics have praised the show as a brave and joyful exploration of spirituality and sexuality that feels both deeply personal and universally relatable.

"The show is a cross between Fleabag and The Vagina Monologues. It's playful, heartwarming, and experimental," says director and developer Amelia Peterson.

Hance created the show after reckoning with growing up in purity culture and the pressures women face around desire, faith, and body image. "I wrote the show I needed," she shares. "I wanted real conversations about the messy, beautiful parts of life - and audiences have said, 'me too.'"

Co-director Cathy Lam-Patrie adds that HOLY O "offers a safe space to hear women's stories and imagine a world built on honesty, intimacy, and hope."