The Thelmas gear up for Coliseum double swoop

Female-led theatre company, The Thelmas, are staging a takeover of Oldham Coliseum's studio theatre next week, with two brand-spanking new shows.

The first is the world premiere of a jet-black comedy about a hotel chambermaid on the edge - 'Ladykiller' - by Madeline Gould.

This will be the first performance of the full show after it was first staged as a 15 minute monologue during London's Camden Fringe Festival back in 2015.

Described as 'a blood-soaked morality tale about social responsibility, zero-hours contracts and tearing up the gender rule book on psychopathy', 'Ladykiller' is bound to make you laugh, squirm, feel more than a little bit afraid, and make you reconsider your perceptions of who we see as 'victim' and 'perpetrator'. 

The Thelmas are extremely excited to see how audiences react to a character who is so terrifyingly complex; they will also be previewing in London before taking Edinburgh Fringe Festival by storm for the month of August. 

The second, is hit show 'Coconut' by Guleraana Mir, which is embarking on a tour of the UK after its critically acclaimed run at London's Ovalhouse Theatre. 

'Coconut'  is about a young British Pakistani woman, Rumi, who although born and brought up a Muslim is more interested in enjoying fine wine, bacon butties and dating white boys.

'Cocinut' tells the story of how Rumi meets Simon, a white guy, who converts to Islam to be with her and keep her family happy.

However, when Simon begins to explore his faith in a deeper way than expected, Rumi begins to realise that her idea of 'hiding in plain sight' might be harder than she first thought.

'Coconut' has wowed audiences in London and won two nominations for OFFIE awards for Most Promising New Playwright for Guleraana Mir and Best Female Performance for Kuran Dohil (Rumi).

It is now on a UK tour in May and June 2018.

The Thelmas are a female-led company founded by Director Madelaine Moore and is co-lead with writer Mir.

It was set up to redress the gender imbalance of British female playwrights, and disrupt stereotypical female and BAME narratives.

The Thelmas are proud to be a New Diorama Theatre Emerging Company; supported by In Good Company, the East Midlands Artist Support Network, and funded by Arts Council England. 

Ladykiller is featured at the Coliseum on Wednesday, May 23, from 7.30pm.

Coconut features the following evening, May 24, again from 7.30pm.

All tickets cost £8.00. To book yours, log on to: www.coliseum.org.uk