Bright Places

Bright Places plays at Hull Truck Theatre on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October, with evening performances both nights. It's an autobiographical play by disabled writer Rae Mainwaring, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 23. The show opens with three actors debating the best way to tell the story, and it runs about 75 minutes.

Mainwaring describes it as a 'glitter-fuelled pocket rocket of a show' — funny, honest, and packed with early-noughties pop, a costume box, and plenty of glitter. It's built to subvert typical illness tropes rather than lean on them, so it doesn't play the tragedy card. The production is directed by Jo Gleave and features actors Lauren Foster, Aimee Berwick, and Rebecca Holmes.

There's a bit of history behind it. It was originally commissioned by Birmingham Rep in 2020 with support from the Barry Jackson Trust, and it premiered in 2024, produced by Carbon Theatre in association with Birmingham Rep. Before that, it had a critically acclaimed run at Soho Theatre, and Mainwaring won the Peggy Ramsay/Film4 bursary award in 2023. The production was supported by public funding through Arts Council England and tours with the charity partner Shift.ms, the digital community for people with MS. Mainwaring says one of the most rewarding parts of the tour has been meeting audiences who felt seen or found a language to discuss their illness with others.

Tickets are £13 to £15, and the suggested age is 12+. You'll find it in the Godber Studio at Hull Truck, 50 Ferensway, HU2 8LB.