An all-new version of this beloved Fringe show that you won’t want to miss!
All photo credits: Zoe Knowles @zoekphotographyy unless otherwise stated
In this eclectic cabaret hour filled with vocal impersonations, live music, and bluesy banter, drag king Mr Brake Down and his brand new band pay tribute to the wit and wonderment of the iconic Tom Waits. Gloriously odd and experimental, the show takes audiences on a musical journey through some of Waits’ seminal works, whilst Brake expounds on just how much a drag king from South Wales might have in common with the California-born performer. Expect to be bemused in a highly enjoyable fashion by a show that must be seen to be believed!
Help us make the full run with a bigger and better team than ever!
The all-new Doom & Glitter band features Sophie Siobhán and Steve Lincoln on live instruments with original arrangements and compositions from the band created, led, and operated by Sian Peters. For the past three years, the show was just Brake, a couple of backing tracks, and a revolving crew of techs based on who was kind and available at the time, but now we finally have an outfit of musicians and dedicated tech to support the show and help it grow in audiovisual ways it's never had before! We have our dates booked at Paradise Green, in the Augustine church in the intimate Snug venue, and we need your help to make the show possible!
About The Team
Mr Brake Down is a proud trans man with a passion for the blues, and he's been bringing Doom & Glitter to the Fringe as a solo show for the last three years, slowly building a small but mighty base of fans that ranges from local Edinburgh musos through to underground drag performers and international visitors keen on his smoky gravel tones. Outside of Fringe, he's a cabaret host, producer, and performer best known for the Upside Down Cabaret variety show, and an actor and television personality, most recently on the Channel 4 docuseries 'Narrow Escapes'. @mrbrakedown
Sophie Siobhán is a multi-talented instrumentalist and vocalist lending her sultry sounds to the all-new Doom & Glitter live ensemble. A budding actress in the making and recent cabaret debut artiste, Sophie's relationship with music goes back as far as she can remember. Having worked with bands and released music on and off throughout her life, she's taking the leap for her very first Fringe with an entire month of shows playing the keys, sax, and guitar in all her finery. We can't wait for you to hear her unique riffs and improvisations that give new life to Waits's seminal tunes.@the.madness.of.frills
Steve Lincoln is the diversity hire of Doom & Glitter as a cis man who's earned his stripes as a loud and proud ally on the cabaret scene. He's a tech wizard with years of sound engineering and composition under his belt, and a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who has toured the world with some amazing bands over the decades, and now he's all ours! He brings a unique flavour of weird and wonderful sounds to Team D&G for 2025 with a keen ear for the beat, and he'll be leading our audience percussionists in their attempts to keep up with Brake's Waitsian melodies and off-beat rhythms! @stevelincoln42
Sian Peters has been making waves on the electronic music scene for several years with her own original tracks, festival performances, and live local sets that get the room going. She's also a brilliant audiovisual technician who has worked with some of the brightest stars in the burlesque and cabaret world, and is thrilled to hold the title of the musical brain behind the all-new arrangements for Doom & Glitter. Sian has mixed and arranged brand-new backing tracks, adding her own instrumental talents to those of our brilliant on-stage talent, all developed to suit Brake's eccentric stage persona and storytelling ways. @sianp78
Where Your Funds Go
It's a massive target this year, we know.
Fringe is expensive at the best of times, and unfortunately, in the same year that Brake made the leap to make Doom & Glitter the biggest and best it's ever been, he also lost a major funding source responsible for £2500 of up-front money. The team is on the hook for a big price tag, and this target of £5000 only covers the basics that you need to get a show to Fringe these days: that's venue hire, registration fees, and accommodation for 4 people.
Advertising, travel, sundries, merchandise, and assistance will cost anywhere between £1000-£3000 on top of this initial goal, and as Fringe becomes more and more competitive, it matters more than ever to be seen on the scene and have a team supporting you whilst you're there. Our fundraiser is set to keep whatever we raise, because every penny matters, but whatever we manage to make here on Fringemakers and from our in-person fundraiser gigs will quite literally help the team lessen the debt in September!
We have some fantastic rewards for you, whether you're local to the band or a far-off fan supporting us in the digital world, so please dig deep and give what you can to keep live music and trans artistry at the Fringe where it belongs.
Big love,
Team Doom & Glitter