
how to keep up with the kardashians

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.
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:
"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."
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.
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.
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'.
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
DIRECTION & MOVEMENT DIRECTION
LUCY LAVERTY & SCARLETT SPICER
CHOREOGRAPHY
SCARLETT SPICER
DRAMATURGY
LUCY LAVERTY
PRODUCER
PJ CUNNINGHAM
SONG ARRANGEMENT
ELIZA LEWIS
SOUND DESIGN
HTKUWTK CREATIVE TEAM
SOUND EDITING
PJ CUNNINGHAM
LIGHTING DESIGN
HTKUWTK CREATIVE TEAM
COSTUME & MAKE UP
HTKUWTK CAST
POSTER & PROGRAMME DESIGN
PJ CUNNINGHAM


HTKUWTK review: