Photos by Ashley Garrett Photography
BLOODY MARY: LIVE!
Written & performed by Olivia Miller
Directed by Olivia Munk
Lighting Design by Rachel Sampley
There’s teenage angst, and then there’s #queenage angst.
After 500 years of being known as “Bloody Mary,” Mary Tudor takes to the mic to rehab her so-called "bloody" legacy in a gleefully vicious stand-up comedy special. In this highly theatrical and interactive set, Mary tackles the drama every #queenager deals with: divorced parents, sibling rivalry, and religious purges (...oops). Join the court of Mary as she attempts to revise her reputation, talking about everything from boys to burnings at the stake.
Production History
Bloody Mary: LIVE! was written as part of Olivia Miller’s thesis show for her Master’s in Acting at Brown University/Trinity Rep in 2019. Immediately following the show’s workshop at Brown/Trinity in May 2019, the American Repertory Theater (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) offered Bloody Mary: LIVE! a slot in their Club OBERON performance space (August 2019).
After a work in progress in New York City at the People’s Improv Theater in January 2020, Bloody Mary: LIVE! was selected for programming at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2020 (Part of the Night, Assembly Festival). Subsequently, the show was shortlisted for the prestigious Les Enfants Terribles Award in 2020.
Since the 2020 EdFringe was cancelled due to COVID-19, Bloody Mary: LIVE! finally had its UK premiere at the City of Culture Festival 2021 (Part of the Night, Assembly Festival). It opened to rave reviews from The Guardian, West End Best Friend, Elementary WhatsOn, Behind the Arras, and more.
Since November 2021, Bloody Mary: LIVE! has been popping up across venues in New York City, performing with Club Cumming (Alan Cumming’s nightlife space), The Duplex Cabaret Theater, Pete’s Candy Store, and most recently, Caveat.
The show enjoyed a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022, having been placed on the Guardian’s top twenty list for must-see theatre at the Festival.
Bloody Mary: LIVE! performed at VAULT Festival 2023, opening the festival’s new late-night performance space, the Flair Ground. The show was one of the Evening Standard’s top shows to see at VAULT Festival, and was featured on BBC London Live. After VAULT Festival, the show toured to the Old Joint Stock Theatre in Birmingham, Harlow Playhouse, and Crewe Lyceum.
Our 2024 Arts Council Funded UK Tour travelled to Exeter Phoenix, Gala Durham, Acorn Penzance, MAC Birmingham, Pleasance London Main House, Proteus Basingstoke, Theatre Deli Sheffield, and HOME Manchester.
Critical Praise
OffFEST Nominated at VAULT Festival 2023
OffComm Award 2024
Shortlisted for the 2020 Les Enfants Terribles Award
Listed as one of the Guardian's Top 20 Edinburgh Fringe 2022 shows not to miss
Listed as one of the Evening Standard’s Top VAULT Festival shows of 2023
"Olivia Miller dazzles in this tart and punky solo show." THE GUARDIAN
"What a brilliant one-woman show!... Olivia does a fantastic job of getting across how it was being a young woman in the 1500’s. She manages to compare her life with what’s happening in the world today in a way that is captivating, emotional and hilarious." ELEMENTARY WHATSON
"Olivia Miller, as researcher, writer and brilliant performer does a neat PR job from the 1530s...As a performer, Olivia Miller is brilliant. She drags us through an emotional repertoire from tears to mirth and back again." ★★★★★ BEHIND THE ARRAS
“Bloody Mary Live! is an entertaining evening of performance. You learn a bit of history, have a few unexpected laughs and form an alliance with a dead murderous Queen! What more could you ask for?" ★★★★★ WEST END BEST FRIEND
"Miller gives us a punky, spiky teen queen in waiting... This is unquestionably stand up but also an awesome feminist (if that were a thing in Tudor times) insight into a little slice of English history at the same time. Grab a beer, a handful of friends and hold on tight." ★★★★ THE WEE REVIEW
"Miller has created something completely unexpected. Challenging male narratives about one of history’s bloodiest figures, in this show, Miller gives Mary Tudor a second life and second chance." ★★★★ BROADWAY BABY
“It’s also bloody good fun, and well-paced. My cheeks hurt from smiling. I’ve never seen a historical figure portrayed as a stand-up character before. The production is heading on tour shortly around the UK and I can strongly recommend it to anyone looking for something innovative, creative, and impactful, not to mention very funny.” ★★★★ ALL THAT DAZZLES
“Bloody Mary: Live! is a joy to watch. The influence of Six is clear as day from looks to sass, but Miller is unapologetic about it - a trend that continues throughout the hour-long piece. Giving a historical figure the Hamilton treatment isn't new, but it's a gift that keeps on giving. "I refuse to be small" Mary says. And, by God, Miller is anything but.” ★★★★ BROADWAY WORLD
“Miller maintains an effervescent energy throughout, clearly at ease in coaxing audiences into play and riffing off the mad variety of their responses. And Olivia Munk’s direction keeps things taut as the gobby teenager we first meet gradually transforms into a (still gobby) queen and the shadows that accompanied many of those earlier laughs solidify into something much more menacing.” THERE OUGHT TO BE CLOWNS
“Miller has done her homework and wants to present complexity. As well as tackling that bloody reputation, there’s a feminist perspective, highlighting that Mary’s romantic life was not her own and bringing out lots of details that kids would call icky…The line between teenage dirtbag and young psychopath blurs to dramatic effect. Laughs stop and start suddenly. Miller manages to create a chill in the air and that is to her credit.” ONCE A WEEK THEATRE
“With plenty of audience interactions and punchlines that hit with full force, it’s a hilarious show bringing a new context and fresh view of the queen with the bloodiest image. Sharp and clever, and extremely entertaining, I absolutely loved this show!” ★★★★ SHINY LIFE
“Witty, dark, angst-ridden comedy all from the perspective of a teenage Mary Tudor… What more could you want?”★★★★.5 A YOUNGISH PERSPECTIVE
“The very charismatic Olivia Miller, never once breaking character, took us on a very human journey, balancing edgy, ‘hit you between the eyes’ comedy (both scripted and improvised) and, pathos. Taking no prisoners, so to speak, strong themes such as life, death, religion, misogny, abuse and murder were interwoven through a tale of events 500 years ago, but brought bang into the present to a gathered audience, in a theatre space in Manchester in 2024. A horrible history indeed, but a bloody good show.” HONORARY MANC BLOG