No Apologies

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SHOWS Fri 28 August - 20:00 Sat 29 August - 20:00 Doors: 19:15 Seated (unreserved) Tickets: £16, concessions £13 Plus £2 venue levy Age: 16+ only Please note: Both performances will be captioned, and audio described introductory notes will be available here soon Duration: 90 mins

Content Warnings - Click here to view

Contains haze and smoke, flashing lights, loud noises/music and distressing themes including: non-graphic mentions of suicide, violence, drug addiction, transphobia and homophobia. A freesheet with support services will be available from the artist’s website.

Presented by Marlborough Productions

No Apologies is a radical mis-remembering of Nirvana’s iconic 1993 MTV Unplugged concert. After a critically acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Festival in 2025 (winning the Bragi Award for creativity and artistic excellence and a Besties Award for new writing) this brilliantly witty and emotionally powerful show comes to TOM this August. Urgent and politically sharp, No Apologies is a spectacular collision between theatre and grunge, autobiography and alternate history, weaving together threads of pop culture with mythology and ritual, fuelled by the experience of coming-of-age in the nineties. For these special performances, the show will be performed with a six piece live tribute band, showcasing an emotional and electric display of Nirvana’s most loved songs. POST SHOW DISCUSSION: After the performance of No Apologies on Friday 28 August, Everett True (aka: Dr Jerry Thackray), the author of Nirvana: The True Story (2006) will join us for a very special post show discussion. Known as “the man who invented grunge” and “the journalist who introduced Kurt to Courtney”, Kurt Cobain once called Dr Thackray “the biggest rock star journalist in the world”. ★★★★★ "A magnificently furious spectacle that deserves to be seen and celebrated. Our #1 pick of the fringe. Unplugged, raw and unstoppable" - To Do List ★★★★ "This ruddy gorgeous show is a call to live your life on your own terms and to the very full, and whether you are trans or not, that’s a lifesaver in every way" - Lyn Gardner, The Stage "Heartfelt, funny, dazzling, but also seamed with pain. There’s something uncanny about how her voice moulds itself to Cobain’s, bringing a crackle of vulnerability to the stage" – Exeunt Magazine "This is precisely the kind of fearless, formally inventive, emotionally devastating theatre the medium needs" - The Theatre Times

Watch the trailer for No Apologies here. Trailer by Rosie Powell.

CREDITS Writer & Performer: Emma Frankland Director: Harry Clayton-Wright Sound Designer & Original Music Composition: Keir Cooper Lighting Designer: Simon Booth Dramaturgy: David Sheppeard Captions: Subira Joy Costume & Curtain Design & Construction: Philip J Shaw Set Dressing: Tamara D’Silva Photographer: Matt Crockett Access Advisor: Laura Edmans Flyer & Logo Design: Charlie Wood Trailer Filming & Editing: Rosie Powell Produced by Marlborough Productions and Emma Frankland MUSICIANS Robin Squirrel – Cello George Hannington – Cello / Drums Kate Shields – Electric Guitar Effie Fowler – Guitars Siobbhan Sarelle – Bass Keir Cooper – Drums No Apologies is commissioned by Marlborough Productions. Supported by Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, The Old Electric, Northumbria University and Arts Council England.