BASIC BALD B*TCH to Make Edinburgh Fringe Debut at Underbelly Cowgate
Writer and performer Emily Glaze brings her alopecia and trauma story to the Jelly Belly stage.
Based on writer and performer Emily Glaze's experiences of losing all of her hair to alopecia when she was 21 and surviving sexual assault, BASIC BALD B*TCH uses comedy and drag to explore identity, desire, sexuality and the lengths we go to hide who we really are. Amy is the person everyone wants to be until her life is knocked off course when she comes home to find a man hiding behind her bedroom door. Then her hair stars to fall out and her world is turned upside down for the second time. What follows is a rollercoaster of hats, wigs and lip syncing to Britney Spears as Amy starts to build a different life by reclaiming the words used against her and taking ownership of who she really is.
BASIC BALD B*TCH is a rallying cry for anyone who feels different and afraid to be seen as they really are. The show was part of the Housemates Theatre Festival at London's Brixton House in 2024 and was also longlisted for the Victoria Wood Prize for Comedy.
Performances will run 5 – 30 August at Underbelly Cowgate, Jelly Belly, 66 Cowgate, EH1 1JX.
Emily said, “If you'd have told me when I first lost all of my hair, I'd be performing at the biggest arts festival in the world completely bald, I'd have said that sounds like my absolute worst nightmare. It's ironic I spent so many years hiding something I now want everyone to see. The show is a celebration of finding your identity and I'd love for audiences to leave feeling empowered in their own skin.''
Emily is an actor and writer from Telford, West Midlands. A 2025 graduate of Oxford School of Drama, recent acting credits include: Nostos: After The Odyssey (Southwark Playhouse), Table (Oxford, The North Wall) and Night Shift (Short Film). Writing credits include: In the Room (Jack Studio Theatre), The Condition (Short Film), I'll Leave In The Morning(Short Film) and Mute (The Questors Theatre) which also won the Popelei Seed Commission Award. Emily was a PentabusYoung Writer and previously worked as the Literary Associate at London Playwrights. This is her Edinburgh Fringe debut.
Sarah Stacey is an award-winning director specialising in new writing. She is a Fringe First Award winner for Beasts: Why Girls Shouldn't Fear the Dark (2023, ZOO Playground), a 2023 JMK finalist, and is currently nominated for a Fringe Theatre Award (Best Director, Best Production). Her work as a director includes 1.17am, or until the words run out (Finborough Theatre), lenny. (Omnibus Theatre). She was recently the Associate Director on Midsomer Murders (UK Tour) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (RSC / Barbican).
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