Yve Blake’s Australian musical sensation “Fangirls” has found an enthusiastic new audience in London.
The show follows 14-year-old Edna’s elaborate attempts to meet Harry, a member of the world’s biggest boy band, when he plays a show in her hometown. Through comedy and music, it challenges preconceptions about teenage girls and the power of fandom.
Blake, a playwright, screenwriter and songwriter, traces the genesis of “Fangirls” to 2015, when Zayn Malik’s departure from One Direction dominated headlines. “I noticed journalists using adjectives like ‘hysterical’ and ‘desperate’ to describe the fans, presumed to be teenage girls,” Blake recalls. This observation sparked her desire to create a show exploring fan culture through a more empathetic lens.