HEAD SET Will Embark on UK Tour Next Month

Head Set is heading out on tour! Delving into amateur stand-up culture and trying to make peace with a messy brain, this joyful and mischievous documentary-theatre show from Victoria Melody is a celebration of neurodiversity and an exploration of the social model of disability.

 Fed up with theatre-making after a hard tour, Victoria Melody fell back onto her plan b: she decided to try and crack stand-up comedy. But what sounded like genius in her head came out of her mouth as garbled mess, so she sought the help of a speech and language therapist which led to her eventual diagnosis as neurodivergent. Always the experimenter, she took her late age diagnosis of ADHD and autism to neuroscientists and started working with them to examine the scientific potential of stand-up as self-medication for ADHD, using wearable tech to scan her brain while she delivered jokes. Head Set follows Victoria’s strange journey into finding one’s authentic self while trying to succeed in the mainstream.  

The tour follows a hugely successful run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 and has been updated and restaged with the help of Bryony Kimmings to reflect on Victoria’s recent life changes.  

A social chameleon by trade, Victoria Melody is a documentary-theatre maker who embeds herself in niche communities and topics for several years: in Northern Soul, she becomes a pigeon fancier and a northern soul fan, Major Tom (Argus Angel Award, Total Theatre Award and Arches Brick award) was about becoming a beauty queen and a championship dog handler (getting to Crufts). She followed up with Hair Peace to find out where her human hair extensions came from, and Ugly Chief performed with her dad about his terminal diagnosis and giving him a living funeral. They later found out he had been misdiagnosed.  

Victoria Melody said, “I’m delighted to be taking Head Set out on tour and sharing its important themes with audiences across the country and connecting with neurodivergent audiences. Women are often underdiagnosed with ADHD and autism because we are so good at masking our differences to try and fit in. I was taught by a comedy teacher that there are rules and formulas to writing jokes and whilst I was conforming to this structure, I was dying on stage. Head Set shows us that there is the way we present ourselves but then there is also what makes us spontaneously and uniquely funny. It’s about capitalising on our particular strangeness.” 

The research and development for this project has been supported by the Watershed’s Winter Residency, Farnham Maltings, South Street, University of Sussex and Arts Council England.  

Tour Dates

3 October    The Theatre Chipping Norton, Chipping Norton 

2 Spring St, Chipping Norton OX7 5NL 

7.30pm | £25 - £5 (Pick A Price Scheme) 

chippingnortontheatre.com/ | 01608 642350 

5 October    Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford 

Millbrook, Guildford GU1 3UX 

7.45pm | £18 - £12 

yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/ | 01483 440000 

6 October    Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham 

Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH 

7.30pm | £16.50 - £12.50 

macbirmingham.co.uk/ | 01214463232 

7 October    Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate 

Oxford Street, Harrogate HG1 1QF 

7.45pm | £14 

harrogatetheatre.co.uk/ | 01423 502116 

10 October    Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham 

Queen's Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham NE46 3LS 

7.30pm | £12 - £10 

queenshall.co.uk/ | 01434 652477 

11 October    Brewery Arts, Kendal 

122A Highgate, Kendal LA9 4HE 

8pm | £12.50 

breweryarts.co.uk/ | 01539 725 133 

12 October    The Old Woollen, Leeds 

Sunny Bank Mills, 83- 85 Town Street, Farsley, Leeds, LS28 5UJ 

8pm | £12.50 

oldwoollen.co.uk/home | 0743 488 1359 

13 October    The Civic, Barnsley 

Hanson Street, Barnsley, S70 2HZ 

7pm | £12 - £6  

barnsleycivic.co.uk/ | 01226 327000 

17 October    The Garage, Norwich 

14 Chapel Field North, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 1NY 

7.30pm | £15 - £10 

thegarage.org.uk/ | 01603 283382 

19 October    The Edge, Manchester 

Manchester Road, Chorlton, Manchester, M21 9JG 

7.30pm | £15 - £13 

edgetheatre.co.uk/ | 0161 282 9776 

20 October    Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton 

Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton,West Midlands, WV1 1SE 

7.30pm | £12 

wlv.ac.uk/arena-theatre/ | 01902 321 321 

24 – 25 October   Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Brighton 

University of Sussex Gardner Centre Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9RA 

8pm | £12- £10 

attenboroughcentre.com/ | 01273 678822 

30 October    Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff 

Market Road, Canton, Cardiff, CF5 1QE 

7.30pm | £15 - £12 

chapter.org/ | 029 2031 1050 

1 November    The Spring Arts & Heritage, Havant 

56 East Street Havant, Hampshire PO9 1BS 

7.30pm | £15 - £5 

thespring.co.uk/ | 023 9247 2700 

2  November    Jackson’s Lane, London 

269a Archway Road, London N6 5AA 

7.30pm | £15 

jacksonslane.org.uk/ | 020 8340 5226 

3 November    South Street, Reading 

21 South Street, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 4QU 

8pm | £12 - £10 

whatsonreading.com/venues/south-street/whats-on | 0118 9606060 

7 November    Exeter Phoenix, Exeter 

Gandy Street, Exeter, Devon, EX4 3LS 

7.30pm | £12 - £10 

exeterphoenix.org.uk/ | 01392 667080 

8 November    Front Room, Weston-Super-Mare 

13 Central Walk, Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom, BS23 1FF 

7.30pm | £12 

frontroomwsm.com/ | frontroomwsm@gmail.com 

9 November    Landmark Theatre, Devon 

The Landmark, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 9BZ 

7.30pm | £13.50 

queenstheatre-barnstaple.com/ | 01271 316523 

10 November    Barbican Theatre, Plymouth 

Castle Street, Plymoluth, PL1 2NJ 

7.30pm | £15 - £12 

barbicantheatre.co.uk/ | info@barbicantheatre.co.uk 

11 November    Key Theatre, Peterborough 

Embankment Road, Peterborough, PE1 1EF 

7.30pm | £13.50 

keytheatre-peterborough.com/ | 01733 852992 

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