Photos: First Look At MANIC STREET CREATURE By Maimuna Memon at Southwark Playhouse Borough

After a barnstorming and sell-out world premiere run at Edinburgh Fringe 2022, the multi -award winning Manic Street Creature by Maimuna Memon (Standing at The Sky’s Edge, Electrolyte) makes its London debut at Southwark Playhouse Borough during October and November.

A fresh and thrilling take on a modern love story from Olivier nominee Maimuna Memon (“undeniable star power” The Independent). Love, lust, and late nights collide in a musical roller coaster, taking the audience through the euphoria and distress of two people dealing with their own and each other’s mental health.

Ria is working with her band to complete a new album- songs charting the rise and fall of a recent relationship. But the more Ria progresses, the more she’s drawn back to the darkness of her troubled past, until we’re not sure where memory ends and reality begins.

From its multi award-winning run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, including The Fringe First Award, The Mental Health Award and The Stage Award, Manic Street Creature now transfers to Southwark Playhouse Borough for a strictly limited run.

Creator of the show Maimuna Memon, says: “I have always wanted to bridge the gap between the music industry and theatre, and with ‘Manic Street Creature’ I have tried to bring songs you might hear on record to the stage. This, alongside a deeply personal story makes this show the most important I have ever written. Mental Health has played a big part in my life, and I hope that people can watch this show, be brought on a journey and feel like they aren’t alone. I am so excited to be bringing this show to London and to a venue that has such an incredible reputation for innovative and new musical work.”

Chris Smyrnios, Artistic Director of Southwark Playhouse says: “We are so pleased to be a part of presenting the amazing Manic Street Creature in London for the first time.  The run of the show will fall on the theatre’s 30th anniversary (on the 9th November) and we couldn’t have hoped for a more apt production than this to highlight the theatre’s work over the last 30 years, showcasing innovative and engaging work by talented new and emerging theatre artists.”

A multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer and writer, Maimuna Memon so often gets asked the question: “where do you place yourself?” In a world where creative industries so often wish to separate artists into categories, Maimuna has decided to marry two together. With her new concept album show Manic Street Creature  playing at The Southwark Playhouse Borough in October and November, she has brought her background as a recording artist into the theatre sphere, tackling the challenging subjects of co-dependency and mental health. Ebbing and flowing between underscored spoken word and emotion- filled songs, she takes the audience on a musical journey both entertaining and insightful, leaving them with the songs in their head, and wanting to book in a session with their therapist. 

Over the past year, Maimuna has been releasing music alongside the build-up to the London debut of Manic Street Creature. Three out of the four tracks on her upcoming EP, More Than I Bargained For,  were originally conceived for the show, including the final track Father Of Mine which didn’t make the final cut of the show, but its themes are ever present.

Throughout theshow Maimuna talks about a tricky relationship with her father, and the constant battle between trying to reach out to him and trying to protect herself. The show reflects on mental health from a new perspective; that of the carer. And with this show, Maimuna hopes that others won’t feel alone.

Maimuna first made her mark in the theatre world when she wrote music and lyrics for the sell-out gig theatre show Electrolyte which took the Edinburgh Fringe by storm in 2018 and 2019. Since then she has been nominated for an Olivier Award for her knockout performance in Standing At The Sky’s Edge,  and has continued to write music for theatre in tandem with her recording and acting career. This is where she has found her niche. Her goal is to bring music you can hear on record to the stage, and this is perfectly encapsulated in Manic Street Creature. Following on from its sell out and multi-award winning Edinburgh run, Maimuna brings this explosive show to Southwark Playhouse Borough for a limited run.

Photo Credit: Ali Wright

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