Fixing: A drag theatre show about car maintenance, coming to Newcastle
Fixing - a show by Matt Miller and Peader Kirk about family breakups and trying to make things better, learning car maintenance and choosing the right shade of lipstick to do it in - is coming to the Gala Theatre in Durham on Friday 20 February, the Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle from Friday 27 to Saturday 28 February, and ARC Stockton Arts Centre on Saturday 7 March, as part of a UK tour.
When Matt was little, their dad bought a classic car. A 1952 Sunbeam Talbot Mark II. Dad had ideas that he and Matt would do it up, repair, rebuild together. They never did, and the car festered in a garage. I mean, Dad had just been through a divorce. Now in their 30’s, Matt would like to learn how to fix a car engine. They’d like to learn a bit more about Dad, and that time, when Dad and Mum split up. The time when Matt and Dad were closest. Matt can’t do this alone, which is tricky for a solo show. That’s where Matt’s drag alter-ego Natalie Spanner comes in. She knows all about things that girls like Natalie know about. Like how to build an engine. About maintenance, care and repair. Together, Matt and Natalie will try to ask, in an increasingly broken world, how might we repair ourselves, together?
At a time when connections in the world seem to be breaking down more than ever, through global divisive politics, but also on a one-to-one level, Fixing seeks to initiate conversations around care, nurture, rupture and recovery. Fixing invites audiences to consider what maintenance means to them in the context of personal relationships.
Fixing, which premiered last year at Newcastle’s Alphabetti Theatre and enjoyed a short run in Autumn 2025, is the third full length show that Matt and Peader have made together and their first foray into the world of drag. Throughout their work, Matt and Peader combine personal stories and bigger social questions to create work which is entertaining and thought provoking for a range of audiences.
For more information about the tour, visit: mattmillertheatre.com
To book tickets for the Newcastle performances of Fixing, visit www.alphabettitheatre.co.uk/fixing
Featured image: Tom Platinum Morley
