Our work
Vanilla
(2023-2024)
"Their best piece of work to date"
"Sassy, funny and important"
"It should be seen and heard by the world"
Unexciting, Uninspiring, Unadventurous. Did you even watch Fifty Shades of Grey? Vanilla is a testimony of young womanhood as we try to navigate our way in the land of the (sexually) free, walking the fine line of pleasure, pain, and the fear of being boring. Through spoken word, song, and verbatim we explore the performance of sex, from our influence of porn to the blurred lines of consent, and the difficulty of setting boundaries. Is being Vanilla really an insult, or are we just afraid of the ordinary?
We performed our first-ever sharing of this work-in-progress at A Pinch Of Vault in June 2023, The Glitch - Spacement. Since then we have gone on to perform this work at The Royal and Dergate's GenFest and at Milton Keynes Queer Arts Festival both in November 2024.
We always ask for audience feedback and have gathered exciting and thoughtful responses. We're working towards developing this show and taking it onto other festivals & events so keep your eyes peeled for this one!
How are you feeling? Digital showcase
August 2024
We stood in a pub talking about life and realised, "How are you feeling?" is sometimes a more difficult question to answer than it seems.
There's a lot that we brush off and hide and ignore for ease of conversation.
So, we made a call out offering an opportunity for people to open up and be creative and to answer the question, how are they really feeling?
Submissions were in the form of a short films, self-tape monologues, and written submission.
All submissions were then published as part of a digital showcase on our website, those videos are now available to watch on youtube through the link here.
With the support of the Royal and Derngate, and the Vulcan Works space, we hosted quarterly sessions of Throw It At the Wall! These sessions were designed to offer a safe, welcoming space for artists to present rough drafts, early ideas, or simply to listen and find inspiration. Our goal was to support writers, artists, and theatre makers by creating an environment where ideas could be shared freely, without judgment, encouraging everyone to embrace their creativity and share their work with confidence.
An evening with fur coat - fundraiser April 2024
Vulcan works, Northampton.
In collaboration with The Royal & Derngate we put on a showcase of all
our best work, inviting the public to join us.
The aim was to raise funds for a future version of, 'Vanilla'
We performed Wandering Wombs first, a show that explores medical neglect of women, rooted in misogyny and racism.
VANILLA was the final show of the evening, followed by a live Q&A about the future of the show. With the funds raised from the evening, we plan to host a series of workshops with Northamptonshire-based support groups for young adults, exploring what consent is and identifying personal boundaries.
THE WANDERING WOMBS OF HYSTERICAL WOMEN
(Feb 2024)
"Hilarious"
"Thoroughly thought provoking"
"Absolutely genius!"
Are you suffering from nervousness? A loss of appetite for food or sex? Fluid retention? Don’t worry dear, take a seat in our office, we’ve got just the thing.
The Wandering Wombs of Hysterical Women tells the story of three male doctors, on a search for the cure for female hysteria. An illness created by men, treated by men, and now being explained by men. From hysterical suffocation, a gentle massage from a very eager doctor, or even a full hysterectomy, join us as we explore how far these men will go to maintain their medical pride.
This work-in-progress production was performed at the Glitch, London, in February 2024.
THE WANDERING WOMBS
OF HYSTERICAL WOMEN
FUR COAT NO KNICKERS THEATRE
Roast Beef
(January 2023)
Fur Coat No Knickers' "Roast Beef" photography installation in partnership with photographers Anaya East and Katie Fisher was
featured as a pop-up during the Vulvaplicity event.
"Vulvaplicity is a queer-led platform that explores feminism, gender, sexuality, and body politics. We use creative expression as a mode of destabilising heteronormative and cis-normative behaviour as well as to give space to topics that are often taboo within cultural and social parameters."
We also featured our short film "Sour Cherries" alongside this work which provided another layer of commentary into the point we were making with this project.
"Roast Beef" is an exploration into the persistent judgment of people with Vulvas. Exploring how and why they are made to feel embarrassed and worthless solely based on the shape, size, and composition of their vulvas.
We aimed to confront this immature ridicule by articulating through photos the vulgar nature of the stereotypes, myths, and “jokes” intended to shame and belittle a woman’s self-worth in relation to her body.
Waking The Witch
(May/October 2022)
Lisa Lapidge, brad high & Fur Coat No Knickers Theatre
Waking The Witch addresses contemporary violence against women, evoking the witch trials of Early Modern England. It uses principles of shape-shifting, time walking, and saturated resonance in its invocations and incantations.
These work-in-progress performances formed part of the practice as a research component of Lisa Lapidge's Ph.D. which focused on physiologically effective responses to voice in performance. Fur Coat No Knickers worked in partnership on this project to develop work that was thought-provoking and vocally visceral.
We hoped to leave our audience in a state of discomfort, anger, and curiosity. Inviting them to consider the challenges women still face as a result of a long line of violence against women throughout history.
The first phase of development was in May at East 15, Southend-on-sea, the second in mid-October in the church space of East 15, Southend-on-sea, and the most recent version was developed for Royal and Derngates GenFest in Northampton.
Sour Cherries
(August 2022)
Sour Cherries is a short film produced at the Au Brana Creative Development Residency (ABCD Residency, 2022) in France, which took place in mid-August.
We wrote, devised, and filmed Sour Cherries within 10 days, collaborating with the other company in residence at Au Brana. We held a digital premiere through our youtube channel for audiences to watch at home.
Sour Cherries is an exploration of virginity – as a social construct, a set of rules, and an insult. We investigate its regular comparison to all that blooms and ripens, such as fruit and flowers. We used the ten days at Au Brana to explore these themes through practical research stimulated by real-life experiences.
This work not only served as a vehicle to discuss a thought-provoking topic but also developed our collaborative working style. This project brought us closer as a company and tested our ability to produce quality work under time pressure.
Not All Men
(May 2021)
"A thought provoking production."
Fur Coat No Knickers Theatre, UON
Not All Men was a short film created for the Flash Fringe Theatre Festival 2021. The film focuses on three women trying to navigate their bad experiences - not as easy as they first thought. The Virago group goes through a journey of anger, alcohol, and bad decisions while searching for a way to cope.
In this explorative film, we spoke on the topics of gender, empowerment, sexual harassment, self-blame, and how the responsibility to prevent harassment lies on all people regardless of gender.
