Rachael’s Cafe

Welcome to Rachael’s Café, where ‘everyone is welcome...no exceptions.’

When churchgoing, motorbiking Eric Wininger - loving husband and father of two - begins living his life as Rachael Jones, there are inevitable costs.

Rachael's Café is a one (wo)man play based on interviews with Rachael Jones, a transgender woman living on the USA's Bible Belt. While studying in Indiana on a year abroad, playwright Lucy Danser met Rachael in the little café she created after being turned away from job after job. For a homesick Lucy that café was the oasis that Rachael intended it to be and a friendship, and then a play, was born. From bigoted Texans to shocking family revelations via run-ins at airport security, Rachael tells her story with frankness and a great sense of humour. Casting for this play is flexible, suitable for actors spanning a variety of gender identities.

Alongside performances Rachael's Café has hosted fundraisers, workshops and panel discussions about a variety of topics that address transgender rights and issues. These have included a fundraiser performance with pop-up café at Central School of School & Drama in aid of Gendered Intelligence, post-show Q&A's with Rachael Jones and a Casting Trans Actors Discussion Panel with guests Rebecca Root (BBC's Boy Meets Girl), Helen Belcher (Trans Media Watch) and Shelly Bridgeman (Stand-Up Comedian and Gender Identity Psychotherapist).

Creative Team: Written and directed by Lucy Danser, Set Design by Lorraine Terry.

Cast: Graham Elwell

WORLD PREMIERE

3rd - 29th August 2011, Edinburgh Fringe

LONDON RUN

25th Feb - 24th March 2015, Old Red Lion Theatre, London

OTHER PERFORMANCES

25th Feb - 24th March 2015, Old Red Lion Theatre, London

26th September 202, Embassy Studio, Central School of Speech and Drama (Fundraiser for Gendered Intelligence)

15th - 17th May 2012, Marlborough Theatre, Brighton Fringe

7th - 12th May 2012, Dublin Gay Theatre Festival

REVIEWS

★★★★★The Upcoming ★★★★WhatsOnStage ★★★★Three Weeks ★★★★Theatre & Performance Magazine ★★★★The Reviews Hub ★★★★Fringe Review ★★★★New Kid at theFringe ★★★★Islington Gazette ★★★★ScotsGay ★★★★Middle Peg Review

‘Sensitive, quietly moving production' The Argus

‘Danser’s debut play is something of a tour-de-force’ The Latest

‘A real demonstration that the inside is more important than out.’ WhatsOnStage

‘Graham Elwell breathes life into a character that we rarely see onstage’ The Upcoming

‘Danser moves assuredly through a narrative of honesty, emotional betrayal and acceptance’ The Irish Times

‘Not without brilliant splices of humour throughout, this indelible play is a must see’ The Upcoming