Taylor Mac's HOLIDAY SAUCE Will Come to the Soho Theatre Walthamstow
Tony nominee and Pulitzer Prize finalist Taylor Mac brings the festive extravaganza to London's Soho Theatre Walthamstow.
Soho Theatre has announced Ibsen Award winner, Tony nominee and Pulitzer Prize finalist Taylor Mac will perform festive extravaganza Holiday Sauce, produced and co-presented with Pomegranate Arts, live in-person for the first time in the UK, at Soho Theatre Walthamstow this Christmas from 17 - 23 December 2026. Tickets are on sale now at www.sohotheatre.com
Holiday Sauce is a work exploring Christmas as calamity. Acclaimed New York theatre-maker Taylor Mac (A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, Hir, Bark of Millions) blends music, film, burlesque and random acts of fabulousness in the most subversive and cathartic event of the season. There is more to the holidays than rampant gift giving – in Taylor's world, creativity and imagination are their own spirituality.
With costumes by long-time collaborator Machine Dazzle and a spectacular band led by music director Matt Ray, Taylor Mac reframes the classic songs you love and the festivities you hate.
Steve Lock, Soho Theatre's Head of Comedy, said: ‘‘We first saw the remarkable Taylor Mac perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006 and presented Taylor's London debut at Soho Theatre the following year. Almost 20 years later, with Taylor having blossomed into one of the most acclaimed and exciting theatre artists in the world, we are bringing Holiday Sauce to Soho Theatre Walthamstow – a brilliant and very Soho way to celebrate the end of the year.'
Taylor Mac is a MacArthur fellow, Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Tony nominee for Best Play, and the recipient of the International Ibsen Award. Known for ambitious works that combine music, queer history, political critique, and participatory performance, Taylor Mac creates theatrical experiences that are as celebratory as they are subversive. Previous work includes A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (which Taylor will perform in abridged form accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra at the Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall on 26 November 2026), Hir, Bark of Millions (which will be performed in concert form on 12 and 13 June 2026 at Schwarzman Centre, Oxford), Joy and Pandemic, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, The Walk Across America for Mother Earth and The Lily's Revenge. Films include Whitman in the Woods (directed by Noah Greenberg) and Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music (a concert documentary directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, screened at Schwarzman Center, Oxford 5 – 13 June 2026).
Machine Dazzle designs intricate, unconventional wearable art pieces and bespoke installations and has created bespoke looks for fashion icons including designer Diane Von Furstenberg and model Cara Delevingne for the 2019 Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala. Recent collaborations include Bassline Fabulous with the Catalyst Quartet (Metropolitan Museum of Art); Treasure, a rock-and-roll cabaret of original songs and accompanying fashion show; and the historic premiere of the never-before-seen Rameau comedic opéra-ballet, Io (Opera Lafayette). Machine is recipient of the TDF/Irene Sharaff Kitty Leech Ascending Artist Award and a 2024 EMMY for “Outstanding Costume Design for Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Programming” for his work in the HBO documentary Taylor Mac's 24 Decade History of Popular Music.
Matt Ray is an Obie Award-winning theatre-maker, composer, pianist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and music director. For his work on Taylor Mac's show A 24-Decade History of Popular Music he and Mac shared the 2017 Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired By American History. He and Mac's jazz-based theater piece The Hang won Matt a 2023 Obie Award for Music Direction and Composition. The show also received four Drama Desk and two Drama League nominations including a Drama Desk nomination for Matt Ray for Best Music. His show Matt Ray Plays Hoagy Carmichael featuring Kat Edmonson premiered at Lincoln Center's American Songbook series in 2018. He has performed worldwide, including as a US Department of State Jazz Ambassador.
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