Modest (NHB Modern Plays)

It's 1874, and Elizabeth Thompson stuns the artistic establishment with her painting The Roll Call. Five years later, she falls two votes short of becoming the first woman elected to the Royal Academy. In between, she shoulders the hopes and dreams of female artists across the country, while fighting for her place at a table full of top hats, neckties and mutton chop beards. A thrilling collision of music hall, cabaret and drag king swagger, Modest tells the true story of a pioneering megastar of the Victorian art scene. Written by Ellen Brammar and with music by Rachel Barnes, it was first produced in 2023 by Middle Child in collaboration with Milk Presents at Hull Truck Theatre before touring.

Ellen Brammar is a Hull-based screenwriter and playwright, and a founding member of Middle Child theatre company. Her plays include: Modest (Middle Child, 2023); Angel (Hull Truck, 2020); Ten (Hull Truck, 2019); and I Hate Alone (Middle Child, 2017).