Writing & Performance | King Hoberon

Writing

Shortlisted for Dartington Hall Poet in Residence 2022

Shortlisted for Riddler-in-residence at Exeter Cathedral 2022

Longlisted for Royal Court Playwriting Group 2021

Longlisted for VAULTFIVE 2021

Rust (co-writer, book and lyrics) - current

This original musical, based on Helena’s own experiences, follows 20-year-old Evie over a month in rehab following a mental health crisis. Candid, moving, and joyful, the musical explores her relationships with the other patients and staff. The audience joins them in the immensely difficult but inexpressibly worthwhile process of recovery. Rust played to sell-out audiences and five-star reviews at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe.

The show was longlisted for the Stiles + Drewe/MTI Award 2021 and selected to be part of the inaugural Overture development scheme 2023.

A band and three singers on stage singing.

Courtney Stapleton, Julian Ovenden, Mared Williams performing Rust at the Overture concert, The Other Palace, December 2023

Photo by Steve Gregson

Blue poster reading 'Rust' with a bronze, rusting silhouette of a head.

★★★★★ - BroadwayBaby, Musical Theatre Review, The National Student, Derek Awards, The Tab, TCS

Winner of the Derek Awards Best Musical of the Fringe.

Shortlisted by Broadway World and Musical Theatre Review.

“The pace and balance of Helena Fox’s writing is close to flawless… Occasionally, there is a show that stands out on every single level. This is one.” - Musical Theatre Review

“This musical could follow in the footsteps of Tony Award Winner “Dear Evan Hansen”’- Fringe Review

Ethereal waves in the image of a womb, with two glowing figures hugging at the centre.

Blue & Pip - 2022

Helena's play for the Edinburgh Fringe 2022, in partnership with theSpace. Blue & Pip explores endometriosis, the patriarchal health system, and the ebbing of the tides.

★★★★ "achingly real and authentic... Its conclusion... [is] simply wonderful." - Liam O'Dell

A vibrant image of the sea, with a figure leaping out and creating splash.

Astrid (co-writer, book and lyrics) - 2021

Helena is the co-writer (with Georgia Rawlins) of this new musical about the first baby born in space. With a score that blends modern musical theatre with folk influence, Astrid and the others travelling on the spaceship Mara grapple with life, friendship, and loss, discovering that, when it really matters, we risk everything to make it back to the only home we truly know: Earth. This show takes the most human of dilemmas - growing into yourself and knowing who you are - and places it in the most hostile of environments.

Astrid was longlisted for the Stiles + Drewe/MTI Award 2021.

A black poster reading 'Astrid', with a purple and blue, wistful space scene in the centre.

Play and click 'f' to enlarge video

Four performers onstage in front of a star curtain, in space suits, singing out.

Photo by Maria Woodford

★★★★★ - Varsity, TCS

"A soaring success and a must-see" - TCS

Ignite Radio Project - 2020-1

Helena was commissioned to write a short radio drama about climate change, in partnership with The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and The Royal Society of Chemistry. She turned Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of The Little Mermaid on its head, and received mentorship from creatives including Barbara Kingsolver, Fehinti Balogun, Katie Bonna, and Kate Mcall.

Illustration of a mermaid covered in words and chained by the tail.

Listen here

Winner of a Bronze British Podcasting Award 2022

Journalism - 2017-present

Helena has written a number of articles about drag and mental health for publications including Blueprint Zine and Varsity. Click the images below for examples:

Performance

Mulan Rouge - 2022

Helena appeared in the drag/cabaret/burlesque theatre show at The Vaults as Private Dancer/Alternate General Lee.

Helena as a drag king magician, playfully holding their bow tie.

Three performers on stage in camp military attire.

Photo by Giulia Paratelli

Tectonic Plates - 2020-2

The stage is bare apart from a lone desk, a PowerPoint presentation, and a large, obnoxiously ticking clock. The lesson is about to start.

Discussion is rife about how children should ‘catch up’ from the time missed while schools have been closed. But what of school is worth catching up on?

Tectonic Plates debuted at The Chelsea Theatre in August 2021 to a standing ovation.

'a sharp comic tongue’ - A Younger Theatre

Poster reading 'Tectonic Plates' with an image of an 11 year-old Helena and cartoon school objects.

Helena on stage in a school uniform, passionately holding a hand to her text.

Suspended in Gaffa - November 2019

Helena created, wrote, and performed this one-woman show which weaved together Gaelic myth and autobiography through music, movement, poetry, and prose.

Poster reading 'Suspended in Gaffa' with Helena's face surrounded by magical swirls.

★★★★ ‘Helena Fox’s one-woman show slides effortlessly from funny to heartbreaking to inspiring; one moment the audience laughs uproariously, only to fall into a hushed silence in the next… but Fox does not falter or tire throughout and maintains a mesmerising intensity… Even if Helena had not finished the show by getting the audience up out of their seats and dancing, I have no doubt that this show would have received a standing ovation.’ - TCS

Spoken Word

Helena frequently performs poetry both in and out of drag, and has done so at venues including The Fitzwilliam Museum, Pride events, and Jesus College, Cambridge.

Helena performing in a classroom-style space, with a crowd of audience members.