Wedding Fayre, a new folk-punk musical from the disabled-led company Graeae and Derby Theatre, opens in Derby next February before a UK tour to six more venues.
A new musical set in an England where the state decides who may marry opens at Derby Theatre next February. Wedding Fayre is a co-production between the disabled-led company Graeae and the Derby producing house, and it runs from Friday 5 to Saturday 13 February 2027 before touring to six more venues.
The book and lyrics are by Paul Sirett, the score is by Max Runham, and Jenny Sealey, Graeae’s artistic director, directs. Joey Hickman is music director. Casting has not been announced.
The premise is a near future in which the authorities have declared that any adult who does not meet newly minted English standards of “normal” must be married to somebody who does by midnight. Tom and Ned are running out of time, and the show turns on whether they find a wife at the Wedding Fayre or fight back. Graeae describes it as a rebellious folk-punk musical about love, belonging and what happens when the state decides who belongs.
Access is designed into the production rather than added to a handful of dates. In Graeae’s own words, all performances “creatively integrate British Sign Language, captions and audio description”. Derby Theatre lists every performance of its run as BSL integrated, BSL interpreted, live audio described, captioned and relaxed, and each venue on the tour lists relaxed, audio described, signed and captioned performances.
Previews at Derby begin on Friday 5 February, with press night on Tuesday 9 February 2027. Standard tickets are £20, with £5 off for Friends on bands A and B, and both the press night and the matinee on Saturday 13 February are pay what you can from £5. A post-show discussion follows the evening performance on Thursday 11 February. Evening performances are at 7.30pm and matinees at 2.30pm.
Derby Theatre has released a short film in which Sealey introduces the production.
After Derby the production visits:
- Tuesday 16 - Wednesday 17 February: Leeds Playhouse
- Friday 19 - Saturday 20 February: Queens Theatre Hornchurch
- Thursday 25 - Saturday 27 February: Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry
- Tuesday 2 - Saturday 6 March: New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich
- Tuesday 16 - Saturday 20 March: Watford Palace
- Wednesday 24 - Saturday 27 March: Perth Theatre
Tickets for the Derby run are on sale now. Queens Theatre Hornchurch goes on sale on 5 October, Leeds Playhouse and Perth Theatre in November, and Warwick Arts Centre and the New Wolsey Theatre have yet to name an on-sale date.
The age guidance is 12+, and Derby Theatre’s advisories list strong and ableist language, references to violence and racism, and depictions of murder. Full dates and access details are on Graeae’s website.
