Emma Frankland: No Apologies

Was Kurt Cobain trans?

Was Kurt Cobain a trans woman?

What if?

No Apologies delves deep into internet discourse and classical mythology; radically mis-remembering Nirvana’s iconic 1993 MTV Unplugged concert.

Performed with a live band, it fights back against the pressure to mould ourselves into images that are acceptable to society and the danger that lies when we are not able to live as our full, vibrant selves.

Commissioned by Marlborough Productions. Supported by Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, Northumbria University and Arts Council England.

About Emma Frankland

‘Emma Frankland is the punk rock angel of your dreams and nightmares’ The Stage.

Emma is an award-winning writer, theatre maker and performer, whose work is often playfully destructive, and gloriously irreverent.

Over the past decade, Emma’s status has been established as a prominent and innovative English theatre artist, whose work has often focussed on issues around gender identity and politically motivated performances.

Her collection of five solo performances are published by Methuen – None of Us is Yet a Robot – Five Performances on Gender Identity and the Politics of Transition. In 2023 she co-adapted John Lyly’s classic play Galatea which was performed as part of Brighton Festival and is published by Bloomsbury.

Her work has been performed internationally in Indonesia, Brazil, Canada and across the UK and Europe and she was featured in the 2013 British Council Showcase with an anarchic adaptation of Don Quijote. In 2019 she created We Dig which physically demolished the iconic OvalHouse theatre with a cast of trans femmes from around the world.

She is an Associate Artist with Marlborough Productions and has written several episodes for Channel 4’s iconic continuing drama Hollyoaks. She currently has a full length play, TRAP, in development.

Accessibility

This performance will be audio-described and captioned. A touch tour is available from 7pm-7.30pm.

Trigger warnings

This performance contains haze and smoke, flashing lights, loud noise/music, non-graphic mentions of suicide, violence, drug addiction, transphobia and homophobia including the quoted use of historic slurs.