Well Behaved Women at Edinburgh Fringe – Hilarious New Victorian Farce

Grace Delivers: Well Behaved Women? Not on My Watch!

Oh honey, if you thought Victorian women were all corsets and crochet, think again. The fabulous duo behind sell-out smash Crash and Burns are back at the Gilded Balloon this Fringe — and this time they’ve brought a séance, some scandal, and a lot of gin.

WELL BEHAVED WOMEN is the riotous new farce from playwright Amy Yeo and director Hannah Rogerson — and before you ask, yes, they were awarded Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Keep It Fringe fund, and yes, that’s as posh and powerful as it sounds. These two aren’t just making waves, they’re making wonderfully chaotic theatre history.

So what’s it all about? Three besties — Marianne (desperate to be taken seriously), Emma (desperate to find a husband), and Hattie (desperate for a drink) — decide the best way to deal with a snooty aristocrat named Chester is to throw a fake séance in Hattie’s front parlour. Because what could possibly go wrong when cocktails meet candles and the living try to contact the dead?

Spoiler: everything.

But beneath the belly laughs and brandy-fuelled mishaps is a smart, sharp retelling of what life really looked like for women in the late 1800s. Forget what your old history textbook said — Victorian society wasn’t all stuffy morals and starch. It was vibrant, diverse, queer, chaotic, and full of women making mischief together. In other words: just like the Fringe.

Playwright Amy Yeo says she’s fascinated by the echoes between their world and ours (tech, social change, and a nagging voice saying “maybe just settle down and behave”). But why behave when you can make a beautiful mess instead?

Director Hannah Rogerson adds, “Comedy captures real life better than any corseted costume drama ever could.” And with this show, she proves it.

WELL BEHAVED WOMEN is a love letter to friendship, freedom, and finding yourself — even if that self is half-drunk and halfway through summoning the spirits.

👗 Where? Gilded Balloon Patter House, Doonstairs
📅 When? 30 Jul – 25 Aug (not 13th — even chaos needs a rest day)
🕑 Time? 14:20 sharp
🎟 Tickets from? £13 (what a bargain)
🔗 Book here
⏱ Running Time: 70 mins
👩‍👧 Ages: 12+
📢 #WellBehavedWomen.

Yours in mischief,
Grace Hatchell
Theatre Village’s resident gossip, giggle-getter, and ghost-buster (in training)

About the Author

TheatreVillage

Administrator

Who Is Andrew “The Guvnor” of Theatre Village? (As delivered by Grace Hatchell, 2nd Act Couriers, First Class & Slightly Nosy Service) Now then… if you’ve spent any time wandering through Theatre Village, you’ll have felt it. That hum. That buzz. That sense that somewhere, behind the curtain, someone’s pulling the strings, brewing the tea, and making sure the spotlight actually turns on. That, my lovely lot, would be Andrew. Or as I’ve taken to calling him… The Guvnor. I

Visit Website View All Posts