Award-winning performer Emma Stroud is back on stage following the success of her hit 2015 show, Coming Out Of My Box. She’s returning to The Museum of Comedy and this time she’s bringing the big questions with her.
From Wednesday 3rd to Friday 5th July 2019, you can catch her new one woman show in preview before she embarks on a full UK tour in 2020.
Me, Em explores the complex nature of identity and social media via Emma’s journey through life as she tries to work out who she is and what she’s doing here!
Ahead of the show, Emma said: “I can’t wait to get back on stage this summer. Bringing something different to the table is so important to me. As a 40-year-old LGBT+ single mother with an eclectic background, I have had a lot of questions asked of me - and I’ve asked myself a lot of questions – so working that into a performance is really exciting, and a little scary! I’m hoping it will resonate with people - no matter who they are. It will be great to see where it goes.”
Emma has been working with a group of 100 women and 100 men to ask them questions about nine facets of identity that interest her: courage, thought, vulnerability, character, ‘smarts’, inspiration, discipline, laughter and bravery.
Their answers will feed into the show as Emma explores how each aspect of identity plays out in real life versus on social media.
“Identity is such a personal thing, and completely determines how we show up. However it is something we can be in charge of, so amongst the laughter I’ll be encouraging the audience to reflect on themselves and who they are based on the different facets of identity. To make this a personal experience, I will be asking the audience to collectively pick six of the nine facets they want me to perform on the night, so each show will be different.”
Emma has recently chaired several conferences on mental health, and believes that social media has a huge impact on how people feel they need to be: “Social media and mental health play a big role in how people perceive themselves, as we’re constantly bombarded with images of glossy perfection which simply aren’t real.
“People often get caught up in their job titles too, and more often than not, the first thing we want to find out from someone is what their job is. I want to help people to see beyond that mask and acknowledge that, while your role in society is important, we need to know who we are underneath so we can live our truth. So there might be a few tears, but ultimately I want people to walk away asking themselves the questions that matter and challenging themselves.”
Emma will also be releasing her debut podcast, Who am I?, later this spring. She and co-host Maheen Mohammadally, co-creator and director of Coming Out of My Box and Me, Em, will interview inspiring women and men from across the globe discussing one of the nine aspects of identity.
Guests will include author and MD Vanessa Vallely OBE, Australian-born property entrepreneur Nicole Bremner, VaynerMedia’s Chief Heart Officer Claude Silver and social activist Emilia Lahti, and more.
Catch Emma at the Museum of Comedy on Wednesday 5th, Thursday 6th and Friday 7th July 2019 at 8:30pm and hear her podcast on your favourite podcast platform from Saturday 1st June 2019.
Buy tickets here.
