Frankie Regalia talks about The Hippie Shakes

Frankie Regalia talks about The Hippie Shakes, a new play presented as part of the New Wave programme in the Bloomsbury Festival 2022.

Tell us a bit about your show

The Hippie Shakes is a new piece of gig theatre about a distinctively female journey of survival, motherhood, intergenerational cycles of addiction, and extreme poverty. Based on a true story, this play combines intimate storytelling with the music of the 60s.

Tell us a bit about you and the company

Sweaty Palms Productions was founded in 2017 and is comprised of a collective of international artists – Kalyl Kadri, Frankie Regalia, Ryan Lester, Sari Shrayteh & Helen Potter. It is an artistically cooperative company that is dedicated to bridging the connection between live performance & social change, attaching activism to all work. We are particularly focused on making a more accessible theatre industry through skill sharing, free workshops, and collaborative artistic practices.

What’s your favourite moment in the performance?

The first scene is a wild build from frustration to near-mania, to breakdown. It starts the show off with an emotional and musical bang! · What do you want your audience to take away from it? Chickie’s story is not one of a woman making all the right or wrong choices. It is about a woman in a very common situation doing the best she can with what she has. Audiences should take away the beautiful imperfection of Chickie.

What does taking part in the Bloomsbury Festival mean to you?

Bloomsbury means new opportunities, new art, and a chance to show our work to new audiences!

Is there anything else you’re looking forward to seeing in the festival?

I am most looking forward to seeing the other pieces of theatre in the New Wave programme. We have all been working so hard on these shows for the last year and I am excited to see what my peers have created.

The Hippie Shakes is presented on 13-16 October at Dr Williams’s Library, London, as part of the Bloomsbury Festival 2022 bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/events/new-wave-the-hippie-shakes-fri