Call Me Vicky, charting a transwoman’s challenges in 1980s London, is written by sisters and debut playwrights Nicola and Stacey Victoria Bland, inspired by their true-life godmother’s experience. Wendi Peters stars in the world premiere production. Time to get booking!
“For the last time, it’s not Martin… It’s Vicky!”
Call Me Vicky receives its world premiere at London’s Pleasance Theatre, running from 19 February to 9 March 2019, with a press night on 21 February and a post-show Q&A chaired by MyTheatreMates co-founder Terri Paddock on Sunday 24 February. This powerful production is part of the Pleasance’s #YouWillKnowTheirNames season, a game-changing line-up of new writing that showcases the most daring and original new voices.
Written by sisters Nicola and Stacey Bland, who also feature in the cast alongside Wendi Peters, Call Me Vicky is a debut play based entirely on a true story. This hard-hitting, comic production charts Vicky’s transition from male to female in a time that was far less understanding than the world we live in today.
It’s 1980 in Elephant and Castle. Martin and best friend Debbie are getting ready for another night out at Martin’s favourite night spot, The Golden Girl, one of Soho’s premier drag clubs. However, tonight is not a regular night out. Tonight is the night that will change Martin’s life forever.
Sister-playwrights Stacey & Nicola Bland
Call Me Vicky is an honest, frank and revealing insight into an important struggle that has been relevant for generations. Having grown up on a council estate in south London and worked in the back streets of Soho, drinking, drugs and violence were commonplace when Vicky was overcoming all the adversity and ostracism that surrounded her transitioning.
Will the love of Vicky’s friends, family and drag queens be enough to get her through the toughest of times? Call Me Vicky charts Vicky’s journey to become the person she knows herself to truly be.
Stacey and Nicola comment:
“Call Me Vicky is very personal to us and we are thrilled that this incredible true story is being told. We like to think it has something for everyone. It will make you laugh, cry and gasp in disbelief. In the 1980s, it was almost unheard of for someone to transition. Yet Vicky’s story is still so relevant, and we feel it is important to see how her struggles paved the way for the 21st-century trans community.”
Stacey and Nicola play sisters Gabby and Debbie, with Wendi Peters as mother Sylvie. Matt Greenwood (recently seen onscreen in Freddy Mercury film Bohemian Rhapsody and TV’s The A Word) takes the title role as Vicky. They’re joined in the cast by Adam Young as Sid and Ben Welch as Fat Pearl.
Wendi Peters & Matt Greenwood
Wendi Peters became a household name for her long-running role in Coronation Street. Her many stage roles include Salad Days, Quartet, Wonderland, State Fair, Hatched ‘n’ Dispatched, Oh What a Lovely War, White Christmas, Rutherford & Son, Our House and April in Paris. Her other TV credits include Hetty Feather and Bad Girls.
Call Me Vicky is supported by Arts Council England and was developed through workshops at Theatre Royal Stratford East. The 70-minute premiere production at the Pleasance is directed by Victoria Gimby, with set and costumes by Martha Hegarty (assistant Kerrie Woods), lighting by Holly Ellis and sound by Jac Cooper.
