As SHE Likes It is coming to Blackpool

In 1937, 20-year-old Patricia Douglas was brutally attacked and sexually assaulted at an MGM party. Taking on Hollywood’s most powerful institution, the dancer filed charges which were swiftly dismissed and silenced. Three generations later, through a fusion of live theatre and filmed footage, As SHE Likes It exposes the cultural legacy of sexism and exploitation that still haunts the industry today.

Combining multimedia, verbatim, cabaret and drag, As SHE Likes It peeks behind the sepia cigarette smoke and passionate embraces of Old Hollywood through the eyes of its archetypes.

Join Damsel in Distress, or as she prefers to be known - her own knight in shining armour - as she removes the rose-tinted filter to reveal the truth behind the romanticised facade. A Leading Lady who’s hiding her sexuality. A Sex Symbol who’s suppressing her appetite. A Comedy Queen who’s disguising her sadness with humour and a starry-eyed Girl Next Door who’s discovering what it really takes to make it in Hollywood.

Created by writer and actress Chloe Wade, As SHE Likes It is a darkly comedic, queer, contemporary Brechtian-style play that uses live theatre and filmed footage to pose the question: How much has changed between the Hollywood of yesteryear and now?

It’s time that the story of #MeToo pioneer Patricia Douglas and the stories of the many women whose voices have been silenced are told in all their intersectional complexity and fullness.

Be prepared to kiss the Hollywood happy ending goodbye!

As SHE Likes It is created with support from Olivier award-winning playwright Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emilia, Obsession, The Wasp), directed by Tilly Vosburgh (A Better Woman, The Man from Clare) and produced by Danica Corns (Edith, Still Floating, A Womb of One’s Own).

The play will embark on a nationwide tour from Jan 2024 and is supported by Charity Partners, Solace Women’s Aid & LGBTQ+ charity Out In The Bay, along with School of Stage and Screen at the University of Greenwich, Sheffield Theatres, Greenwich Theatre & The Space Theatre. A number of venues will also be running Empowerment Workshops alongside the show that are designed to empower womxn using mental health and drag and comedy techniques.

As SHE Likes It will be performed at The Old Electric on Saturday 9 March at 7pm. Tickets are £8 each and can be purchased at theoldelectric.co.uk.

‘Incredibly powerful and also really funny. This is the #MeToo play I want to see. It has given me hope.’ - Morgan Lloyd Malcolm on As SHE Likes It.