Emma Hemingford’s Flinch returns for a new UK tour

Emma Hemingford’s Flinch is to return for a new UK tour this November.

Liam McLaughlin Productions has announced a new UK tour of the show which first premiered in 2019 at the Old Red Lion Theatre in London to rave reviews.

The tour will open at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford on Saturday, 6November, before heading to Bristol, Bradford, Scarborough, and Leicester. It will then return to London, at the Pleasance Theatre, for a limited run.

Directed by Gemma Aked-Priestley, Flinch is a darkly comic examination of a modern relationship.

Flinch writer Emma Hemingford said: “After this surreal year for theatre, it feels so exciting to be taking Flinch on tour to live audiences! The play is a dark comedy about the way gender roles affect a young couple’s relationship – but it’s also about the things we think in secret, and say when we’re alone. I’m delighted that the Arts Council decided to support the show and make it possible. Please come along if we’re visiting somewhere near you!”

Jess is an actor, or will be, as soon as she hears back from her latest audition. Mark works in the city, an up-and-coming trader who’s never really made it past the starting line. The pair are definitely fine, almost-some-of-the-time – until the night they have an experience that threatens to change everything.

When Mark reacts unexpectedly in the face of a violent mugging, his girlfriend Jess is left questioning the cornerstones of their relationship. Is she right to feel betrayed by Mark’s refusal to defend her – even when the incident turns out to have been a harmless prank? As the young couple try to mend their relationship, rom-com sparring reveals something more sinister: a thorny and unsettling discussion of gender politics that refuses to take sides.

A raw, unsettling comedy, Flinch is an intense 80-minute show that forces you, the audience, to occupy an uncomfortable space as both jury and accomplice. By presenting us with recognisable characters rather than moral pariahs, the play holds up a mirror to our own most private instincts.

Writer Emma Hemingford will be playing the role of Jess and Benjamin Aluwihare will be playing the role of Mark.

Liam McLaughlin, Producer at Liam McLaughlin Productions said: “Emma is one of the UK’s finest emerging writers. After her Papatango and Alpine Fellowship shortlisting this year, I’m even more delighted to be working with her and producing this crucial play that’s incredibly relevant – even more so than in 2019.”

Flinch UK tour dates

Saturday, 6 November 2021
Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (Guildford)
https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/whats-on/flinch

Thursday, 11 – Friday, 12 November 2021
ALMA Theatre (Bristol)
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/almatheatrecompany/569826/

Monday, 15 – Tuesday, 16 November 2021
Bradford Playhouse (Bradford)
https://bradfordplayhouse.org.uk/?page_id=718

Wednesday 17 November 2021
Stephan Joseph Theatre (Scarborough)
https://www.sjt.uk.com/event/1232/flinch

Friday 19 November 2021
Upstairs at the Western (Leicester)
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/upstairs-at-the-western-cic/t-mmnlga

Tuesday, 23 – Thursday, 25 November 2021
Pleasance Theatre (London)
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/flinch#overview