How To Keep Up With The Kardashians is a collectively devised theatre performance that was first performed in March 2020 and was the birth of So La Flair.

 

HTKUWTK focuses on the harmful effects of advertisements that promote the concept of the ‘perfect body’ on our mental and physical health. The project aims to perform a celebratory rebellion against the templates women are suffocated with and instead celebrate how each individual woman has something no one can keep up with.

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Part of our initial research for this project was conducting over 30 interviews with a diverse group of female identifying individuals across the UK. The interviews ask women about their relationship to their body and how this affects their life and health. We mapped the ideas and themes significant in these interviews and collectively created a performance that explores the connection between ‘keeping up’ culture and mental health in a true, honest and humorous way. The performance takes inspiration from these recordings as well as the personal experiences of those in the cast; discussing mental health, body dysmorphia, disordered eating, race representation and its entanglement in our everyday existence.

 

Best described by one reviewer:

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"despite its difficult exploration of these often triggering subjects the performance never felt heavy or like a manifesto (or at least not a traditional one)...it seamlessly weaved humour, trauma and the confrontation of feminist issues together."

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Multiple people in our cast, creative team and our recorded interviews are creatives of colour, creatives from the LGBTQ+ community and working class creatives. As a diverse company, race, sexuality and class are central aspects to our exploration of the many different shared experiences of Western beauty standards on women’s mental health. All of which are explored and dealt with sensitively in HTKUWTK.

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The performance follows a cabaret structure, narratively guiding the audience on the journey of a night out. The show includes the original recorded interviews, movement, verbatim, dance, sketches and monologues. It is a dance party protest and fearless expression that demands you not to keep up with anyone else, but rather open up; the community, solidarity and honesty that is built in this project is more powerful than any Kardashian will ever be.

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We first performed the show in March 2020 at TriBeCa Bar in Gay Village, Manchester as a part of the 'Manchester In Fringe Theatre Awards'. 

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We received multiple awards at the MIFTA ceremony including; Best Show, Best Ensemble, Best Movement, Best Comic Actor, Best Newcomer and Judges Commendation for Sound Editing.

 

Following this success, we were granted funding to take the production to Edinburgh Festival Fringe but due to the global pandemic the festival was cancelled and the funding had to be revoked.

 

Yet, the flame still burns on. We now look forward to an exciting relaunch of the project in early 2022 with both a Manchester and  London showcase. We can't wait to see you there!

HTKUWTK - MARCH 2020

 

CAST

LAE CARBON-WILSON

IMOGEN CHILLINGTON

ELEANOR HAIGH

ROSA HALLAM FRYER

ELIZA LEWIS

MILLIE LOVEDAY INGLIS

MONTANA ROSE AGUELO DE GUERO BARRERA

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DIRECTION & MOVEMENT DIRECTION 

LUCY LAVERTY & SCARLETT SPICER

 

CHOREOGRAPHY 

SCARLETT SPICER

 

DRAMATURGY

LUCY LAVERTY

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PRODUCER

PJ CUNNINGHAM

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SONG ARRANGEMENT

ELIZA LEWIS

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SOUND DESIGN

HTKUWTK CREATIVE TEAM

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SOUND EDITING

PJ CUNNINGHAM

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LIGHTING DESIGN

HTKUWTK CREATIVE TEAM

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COSTUME & MAKE UP

HTKUWTK CAST

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POSTER & PROGRAMME DESIGN

PJ CUNNINGHAM

HTKUWTK review:

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