Smalltown Boy by Brenda Callis, is a heartbreakingly joyful play about grief, community, and growing up queer in a rural town, explored through the explosive storytelling medium of drag.
In the wake of their boyfriend Leo’s unexpected death, Edie – a drag queen from Bristol – travels down to Cornwall to meet the family they never knew of. Expecting small-town homophobia, Edie instead finds a community they didn’t expect. As Edie’s arrival awakens new emotions and old tensions, drag begins to trickle through this seaside town, and truths begin to pour out.
How do you piece together a person who didn’t have time to find those pieces themself?
Smalltown Boy was given a seed grant and support from Bristol Old Vic’s Ferment Scheme in 2023/24. It had a sold-out work-in-progress sharing at Bristol Old Vic in March 2024, and had further script development with their Literary Department.
Smalltown Boy is currently on tour across South West and London. It had a sold-out run at Bristol Old Vic and The Poly in Falmouth, before going to Theatre Royal Plymouth, Exeter Northcott and now finishing with a week run at Pleasance Theatre in Islington.
Brenda Callis - Playwright 