Criminal Minds Star Kirsten Vangsness Brings Her Show To The Edinburgh Fringe

Come on ladies - let's get in formation. Reimagining a line-up of all-powerful women from the ancient past, Cleo, Theo & Wu is about one woman's quest to reach self-realisation, aided by a host of forgotten sisters from yesteryear. Spoiler alert: they are so much more than the HIStorians would have you believe - this won't have been learned in any classroom...

Lucy (written and performed by powerhouse storyteller Kirsten Vangsness) is figuring out how to be the best cool girl, lady boss, and all-round woman she can, when suddenly she finds the fate of the universe in her hands. Our heroine's journey takes her careening through time and place, teamed up with all manner of space creatures and history's oft-overlooked superwomen. Together with her celestial helpers she is on track to save herself, and who knows, maybe even the cosmos itself.

Known back home in LA for her energetic, eccentric and deeply personal plays, Cleo Theo & Wu is Kirsten Vangsness on her best and wildest form. Written in the shadow of the fateful last US election, Vangsness was listening to an audiobook on ancient history whilst her mind whispered lies about Hillary (she probably IS in a weird Pizzagate sex cult, I sure hope not, but maybe?). The voices of Cleopatra, Theodora and Wu began speaking inside her, insisting she pull the car over, or stop making dinner and scribble down what they were telling her.

Always female-driven, Cleo, Theo & Wu takes Vangsness' work championing women to inspiring new heights. Galvanising and empowering audiences to see there is no one right way to be a woman, perhaps the biggest takeaway from this surprisingly poignant production falls along the lines of what Chaka Khan was saying all along: you are every woman. Take care of each one. You are the one, no question.

Kirsten Vangsness started writing in fifth grade after she read Harriet the Spy, developed a huge crush on Harriet, and reasoned that the only way to win her heart would be by learning to write. After college, she began writing her own monologues for casting director workshops which bloomed into writing plays. The 2012 production of Vangsness' Potential Space earned her a nomination for the Los Angeles Weekly Award "Best Playwright of the Year". She is best known for her portrayal of FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia on the CBS drama series Criminal Minds. She has co-written four episodes of the hit show and is currently finishing her third pilot for ABC with her writing partner, Phinny Kiyomura. She has been awarded the Open Fist Excellence in the Arts Award and the Human Rights Campaign Visibility Award. Vangsness has been published in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, and AIRMAIL: taking Women of Letters to the World. Acting credits include Everything You Touch (Boston Court), I Wanna Hold Your Hand, A Mulholland Christmas Carol, Spider Bites, Potential Space (NOTE) and Fat Pig (Geffen). On film she is found in Kill Me, Deadly, Dave Made a Maze, Dani and Devine Meet the Apocalypse.

Kirsten Vangsness performs 'Cleo, Theo and Wu' at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 1st - 23rd August (in rep with 'Mess'). For tickets and more information: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/fempire-cleo-theo-wu-by-kirsten-vangsness

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