About
About
Lucy McCormick makes nightclub interruptions, cabaret interventions and extravaganza theatre shows, marrying interests in absurdity, ego
and the grotesque.
Her practice is cross-genre, taking inspiration from theatre, performance art, comedy and dance.
Image © Simon Phipps
Her debut show Triple Threat established Lucy's practice as one of the UK’s most stand out new voices in experimental performance and toured to 32 venues around the world. It was awarded the Take Me Somewhere Brick Award, Best Performer at Dublin Fringe, nominated for a Total Theatre and Off West End Awards, was in The Guardian’s top 10 comedy shows of 2016, and was included within showcases at In Between Time (Bristol) and PUSH (Vancouver). In this show, Lucy attempts to retell the story of the New Testament, taking on all the lead roles herself with the help of backing dancers, pop ballads and absurdist art.
“Filthy and utterly hilarious”
★★★★ The Stage
“Lucy McCormick has the moves of Beyoncé, the lungs of Christina Aguilera and the morals of a punk iconoclast.”
★★★★ The Scotsman
Image © Holly Revell
Post Popular, Lucy's second full scale show, is a piercing, subversive look at women's stories through history. Via searching for her historical role models, Lucy also reveals moments from her own autobiography in a failed yet spectacular TED talk-cum-talent show. Post Popular sold out the Pleasance mainstage at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe, with a further four week run at Soho Theatre and extensive 4 & 5 star reviews.
“Gloriously messy and outrageously funny”
★★★★★ The Independent
“McCormick doesn’t just rip up the rulebook; she grabs some popcorn, sets it on fire and watches the whole thing burn”
★★★★ The Guardian
“Full-throttle rollercoaster ride of extremes”
★★★★ The Stage
Image © Manuel Vason
In 2019 Lucy received a prestigious commission from Fierce Festival to create her first original music show Life: LIVE! In this crumbling DIY stadium show Lucy forefronts her aspiration to be a famous pop star, whilst the despair and damage of false dreams seep through cracks of B&Q timber. The show's premiere was highlighted in a 5-star Guardian review of the festival, and has since toured to Battersea Art Centre’s Grand Hall, TBA, Lisbon and Kampnagel, Hamburg & Mladi Levi Festival, Ljubljana.
“a balls-to-the-wall skewering of the misogyny and exploitation that underpin popular culture”
The Guardian
Image © Claire Haigh
Between 2021-22, Lucy made her latest show Lucy & Friends. Her first (unintentionally) solo show. This queer cabaret spectacular is a chaotic mix of pole dancing, cat impersonation, a clairvoyant and some quick re-working of social policy. Commissioned by The Yard Theatre and presented by Soho Theatre and Pleasance Theatre during Edinburgh Festival to rave 4 and 5 star reviews. It will soon return to London at Soho Theatre's main stage for a 3-week run in March 2024.
"Shameless, unhinged and quite brilliant” ★★★★★
The Skinny 
Image © Holly Revell
Lucy is a Research Fellow at Queen Mary University, an associate artist of Hackney Showroom and the current artist-in-residence at Soho Theatre. She teaches and mentors regularly at universities and arts organisations including Central School of Speech and Drama, Roehampton University, Soho Theatre and National Theatre Studio.
Lucy works as an actor and has appeared in several theatre plays and on screen. She starred as Catherine in Emma Rice's Wuthering Heights and the RSC production of Titus Andronicus at The Globe Theatre and the RSC production Cowbois.
"McCormick is a master of uncomfortable uncertainty….... The way she plays with power and authenticity is part of what makes her shows so addictive"
The Guardian