Photographer Credit: Romany Gilmour
By Grace Hatchell at Boulevard Soho
Following a sell-out Edinburgh Fringe run and Irish tour, Don’t Tell Dad About Diana comes to Underbelly Boulevard Soho for two nights only this May. The acclaimed queer coming-of-age comedy blends drag, friendship, grief and 90s Dublin.
Now this is exactly the sort of post that rustles loudly in the satchel before you’ve even opened it.
Don’t Tell Dad About Diana is heading to Underbelly Boulevard Soho for two performances only, on Tuesday 26 May and Thursday 28 May 2026 at 7pm, after a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe and an Irish tour. It’s already arriving with plenty of word-of-mouth behind it too, having been named one of Rolling Stone’s 10 Standout Fringe Shows, Theatre Weekly’s Best LGBTQ+ Show of Edinburgh Fringe, and nominated for the BBC Writers Popcorn Award.
Set in 1997 Dublin, this queer coming-of-age story follows two Irish teenagers who are utterly obsessed with Princess Diana — not in a passing, poster-on-the-wall sort of way, but in that full-hearted, world-building, she’s-our-patron-saint-of-misfits kind of way. As they secretly prepare an outrageous Princess Diana drag act to compete for the crown of Alternative Miss Ireland, they do it beneath the watchful eye of hardline nationalist families and on the cusp of major change in Ireland ahead of the Good Friday Agreement.
And honestly, what a set-up that is.
Because beneath the glamour, the drag and the glorious whiff of 90s nostalgia, there’s something deeper tucked in here too. The show explores friendship, identity and grief at that awkward, electric crossroads between being young enough to dream wildly and old enough to realise the world can break your heart. Diana’s sudden death shifts the story from fantasy into something much more painful, unravelling the pair’s secret, their friendship and their plans to leave Ireland.
The show is created by Hannah Power and Conor Murray, who are real-life best friends as well as performers, and that closeness seems to be stitched right into the fabric of the piece. It’s drawn from lived experience, inspired by their own lives, friendship and questions of identity, home and belonging. Both studied at Trinity College Dublin and later trained at drama school in London, and the show carries that tug between leaving home and trying to work out whether you should stay and make something there instead.
There’s also a lot of texture in the world around it. We’re in a year of Ireland’s first gay kiss on Fair City, Eurovision on home soil, and Boyzone dominating the charts. Add in Spice Girls posters, chokers for every mood and the sound of Now That’s What I Call Music 38, and it sounds like the kind of production that doesn’t just revisit the 90s — it grabs the era by the scrunchie and gives it a queer, working-class Irish heartbeat.
The piece blends drag, melodrama, ceremonial flair and cinematic narration, and it clearly hasn’t just charmed audiences — it’s picked up serious recognition too. Following its acclaim, the show won the Fishamble New Writing Award 2025 at Dublin Fringe Festival and the Bewley’s Little Gem Award 2025, and it was also shortlisted for the Holden Street Theatre Award 2025.
Behind the scenes, the creative team includes director Emma Finegan, producer Rua Barron, dramaturg and assistant director Austin Hughes, set and props designer Gabe Gilmour, lighting designer Ferdy Emmet, and sound designer Theo Foley.
As for the London dates, they’re taking place at Underbelly Boulevard Soho, 6 Walker’s Court, Soho, London, W1F 0BT. The show is listed as 14+ and includes sexually explicit content.
And I’ll say this — there are some shows that sound polished, and some that sound alive. This one sounds alive.
A bit messy, a bit heartfelt, a bit fabulous, and probably carrying just enough mischief to make it dangerous in the very best way.
It sounds like a love letter to friendship, to growing up, to queer identity, to home, and to all the strange, glittery ways we try to become ourselves while the world is busy telling us not to. And if it’s doing all that with Princess Diana drag in 90s Dublin, then frankly, I’m listening.
Title Don’t Tell Dad About Diana
Dates Tuesday 26th May and Thursday 28th May 2026, 7pm
Location Underbelly Boulevard Soho, 6 Walker’s Court, Soho, London,
W1F 0BT
Box Office https://underbellyboulevard.com/tickets/dont-tell-dad-about-diana/
Writer and Performer Hannah Power (she/her)
Writer and Performer Conor Murray
Director Emma Finegan (she/her)
Producer Rua Barron (she/her)
Dramaturg/ AD Austin Hughes (they/them)
Set & Props Designer Gabe Gilmour (he/they)
Lighting Designer Ferdy Emmet (he/him)
Sound Designer Theo Foley (he/him)
Notes 14+, sexually explicit content
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