Tomorrow evening we are excited to host Fixing, a show about family breakups and trying to make things better, about learning car maintenance and choosing the right shade of lipstick to do it in.

When Matt was little, their dad bought a classic car. A 1954 Sunbeam Talbot Mark II. Dad had ideas that he and Matt would do it up, repair, rebuild together. They never did, and the car festered in a garage. I mean, Dad had just been through a divorce. Now in their 30’s, Matt would like to learn how to fix a car engine. They’d like to learn a bit more about Dad, and that time, when Dad and Mum split up. The time when Matt and Dad were closest. Matt can’t do this alone, which is tricky for a solo show. That’s where Matt’s drag alter-ego Natalie Spanner comes in. She knows all about things that girls like Natalie know about. Like how to build an engine. About maintenance, care and repair. Together, Matt and Natalie will try to ask, in an increasingly broken world, how might we repair ourselves, together?

At a time when connections in the world seem to be breaking down more than ever, through global divisive politics, but also on a one-to-one level; Fixing seeks to initiate conversations around care, nurture, rupture and recovery. Fixing invites audiences to consider what maintenance means to them in the context of personal relationships.

“The power is in the reflective element as the audience consider their own situation and relationships. There’s no big unnecessary gear changes in the story for shock value here. Instead there’s a grounded fable that feels authentic.  The show feels light thanks to Natalie’s rapport with the audience from the off. It is also a moving story that is one the audience can relate to.” – North East Theatre Guide, Stephen Oliver

This is the third full length show that Matt and Peader. Matt Miller is a theatre maker, director and poet based in Nottingham who makes work about place, identity and ways of belonging. Peader Kirk is an Artist and Director working internationally in the fields of Performance and Sound Art.

Throughout their work, Matt and Peader combine personal stories and bigger social questions to create work which is entertaining and thought provoking for a range of audiences including poetry, theatre and LGBTQ+ audiences. For the first time, they are moving into the world of drag, whilst also increasing their access offer for Disabled and Neurodiverse audiences. Longer term, they aim to tour nationally with this work.

Fixing has been previously developed at Upstairs at the Western, Leicester, and White Rock Theatre, Hastings and a work in progress was shown at Queen’s Hall Hexham for Hexham’s inaugural Pride Festival in June 2023. In 2024, Fixing secured Arts Council England funding for full development.

Get your ticket by clicking here showing Friday 17 April, 7pm – 8pm. Pay what you can tickets.