BODY OR SOUL is the story of one woman’s choice: to accept a job with an ethically ambiguous online fashion chain, or to reject the offer and find other ways to make money and fund her creative ambition to play guitar. The way she finds is to start camming for the online sex industry, making money on her own terms. Neither solution is without its challenges, and the play considers the negative effect of trolls and online abuse for both women.

But specifically it explores the judgement that is put on woman who make money from their bodies, compared to the way someone who works for a big corporate company (even if they use child labour and flout modern slavery laws) will be applauded. To dramatise this choice, the play explores both parts of the character Jessie’s life, using a Sliding Doors concept to show the consequences each decision has on her life, her relationships, and her sense of self. We feel the end of the play gives a pretty clear indication of our feelings about which path is “better” - but it’s a complex issue, and we hope the ending invites audiences to ask themselves what they would do, and to reflect on the key tension at the heart of the play: that women are criticised by society whatever choice they make.

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BODY OR SOUL’s first iteration was developed at the start of 2024, supported by seed funding from Chronic Insanity Theatre and premiered at the Durham Fringe Festival in July 2024. Based on feedback and our own learnings from this process, we revisited the script and amended certain scenes, growing the narrative and character journeys. This was supported by Nottingham Playhouse as part of the 2024 Amplify Festival of New Writing from the Midlands, and we performed the new version of Body or Soul at Nottingham Playhouse in October 2024.

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From the end of 2024 into the start of 2025, we further developed the script, leading to a performance at Omnibus Theatre in January 2025.

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We are currently looking for future performance opportunities for this show, so please do get in touch if you are a venue or company interested in chatting with us!