First comes love, then comes equal marriage... Real-life married couple Heleana and Sophia Blackwell grew up with Section 28, late-night lesbian films, and a desire to get out of their hometowns. Through comedy, poetry, and the occasional song and dance, the couple takes a frank and left-field look at what happens before and after love at first sight. Wife Material includes dating disasters, lockdown love, and the similarities and differences between Italian and West Indian mothers, plus advice on the best way to fit a duvet cover and how to cope with being slut-shamed by your bank. Directed by multi-award-winning comedian Maria Shehata, Wife Material is a celebration of silliness, chosen family, and queer joy. Heleana Blackwell is a stand-up comedian and Max Turner Prize semi-finalist who has performed at a range of top London nights such as The LOL Word at Battersea Arts Centre, Foc it Up at 21Soho and 2Northdown, and Brighton and Camden Fringes 2022. Sophia Blackwell is a performance poet, and radio and podcast host for Resonance FM, The Polari Podcast, and Virgin Radio Pride. Her most recent poetry collection with Burning Eye Books, The Other Woman, was longlisted for the Polari Prize.
