Aim

Help our clown solo show get to fringe! Seen at: The Pleasance, Soho Theatre and now Edinburgh.

A 5 year old pageant contestant, an ex-Etonian-turned-delusional-DJ and a mute schoolgirl whose entire personality is her ginormous rucksack. The link? Pending. But they’re all played by a girl. She’s 25 but she’s got no tits.

Plaything is a “masterfully crafted” hour of clown and character comedy. Satirical, infantilising, absurd, this is what happens when you combine spectatorship, a youthful appearance and existential dread. With ‘girl’ written all over her body, This Womans’ Work is yet to be taken seriously.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Masterfully crafted" - Operation Live Theatre (WIP review) 

Your support would ensure the survival of the show and the artists involved. It is no exaggeration to say that funding for this show will be life changing, and genuinely save us both financially and creatively. Plaything will speak for itself, we just need to get it to Fringe.

WATCH HERE: WIP HIGHLIGHTS

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP 

Edinburgh Fringe would platform this show and the artists involved on a scale that would be instrumental for our careers.

This is an unfunded production, meaning all costs have been swallowed by our creative team of 2. We don’t have donors, commercial backing, or ties to a big production company. The Keep It Fringe Fund has gone from funding shows to 16 - we are not one of them.

To break down the costs at Fringe, marketing (flyers, flyerers, posters) costs ~£600, Fringe registration fee is £393.60 and our venue fee is £630 plus 20% of the ticket sales, accommodation costs at least £1000 per person (which is considered very cheap), we are also budgeting £500 minimum per person for artist stipends (travel, food) for the month. On top of this, we may have to spend another large sum for a technician, the cost of which can vary greatly. This is us doing Fringe on a budget: without PR, without a big team and by relying on the kindness of fellow artists. We are determined to pay honorariums for the creatives who have given their time and expertise to the project thus far. As you can see, this total exceeds £3000, so the producers are working double to cushion the potential financial blow.

Since the R&D at BOLD Theatre, we have staged a successful WIP at The Cav (Stockwell), and are having further WIPs and previews at The Omnibus, The Glitch and The Pen Theatre (more to be confirmed!) We are surrounded by an exceptional creative team: our collaborators include Woodhouse and Roderick, Full Frontal Theatre, The Mango Ensemble, clown facilitator Claire Parry, playwright and Women's Prize for Playwriting contestant Sadie Pearson, directors whose work has been shown at Soho Theatre, The Pleasance, Riverside Studios and The Arcola, and producers including Stage One Award winner Layla Chowdhury. This is not a show being made in isolation - it is being held and shaped by some of the most exciting emerging and established talent working in theatre today.  

So far, Plaything has been built entirely without funding. Every cost: sound, venue hire, photography, marketing, costumes and props, rehearsal space has been absorbed by the artist or donated in kind. Every hour spent on this show comes at a real financial cost.

The work is strong, the team is exceptional, and the show is at a pivotal moment following its development thus far. What we need now is resource to make Edinburgh Fringe happen for us. 

Marketing a solo show without institutional backing is hard. Building an audience falls entirely on the artist, and doing it properly costs money. Paying our creatives fairly has been the hardest cost to meet. The artists who have given their time and talent to Plaything deserve proper compensation, and we won't stop until that's possible. In addition to this, travel and Edinburgh accommodation are notoriously expensive, making the whole prospect feel impossible without financial help. 

ABOUT THE SHOW:

Plaything is an uproarious show born from the pervasiveness of a woman’s infantilisation. Through the lens of four distinct characters: Boo, DJ Charlie, Boo’s mother Sarah, and a General who peaked in 1995, Thompson subtly navigates the complex intersection of a youthful appearance and the need for adult approval through clowning and character comedy. 

Thompson has taken from her experience in the Queer performance space and embraces traditions of storytelling that have been pioneered by this community. Utilising clown, AFAB drag and real voiceovers from characters in her own life, Thompson has created a show that is riotously playful and unconsciously hard-hitting.

Not convinced? Here’s what people say:

"Excellent comedic timing with some really heartfelt moments showcasing incredible acting range. A very strong performance."

– Natalie Denton (Development Producer, The Pleasance)

“Plaything is a stellar example of character comedy - intricate, precise, laugh out loud and leaves you gagging for more!”

– Sadie Pearson (Literary Associate, The Arcola)

"Exciting, original and moving in equal measure. Clowning and character comedy like you've never seen. Isabella Thompson is a force to be reckoned with."

– Layla Chowdhury (The Lyric Hammersmith, Stage One, Theatre Peckham)

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 9th June 2026 at 10:15am