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Yolanda Mercy

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Yolanda Mercy
Born
London, England
NationalityBritish
EducationRoyal Academy of Dance;
Alma materBRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology; Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance; Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Known forQuarter Life Crisis
Websitewww.yolandamercy.com

Yolanda Mercy[1] is a British actress and playwright[2] of Nigerian descent.[3] In addition to her work as a writer and performer, she leads theatre workshops and mentors young artists.[4]

She is currently an Associate Artist at Ovalhouse[5] (previously resident at the Almeida Theatre and the Roundhouse[6]), a Visiting Lecturer for Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a trustee with the National Youth Arts Trust.[7]

She has developed and toured[8][9] with two solo shows, On The Edge of Me and Quarter Life Crisis. Quarter Life Crisis ran at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, with support from Underbelly and their Underbelly Untapped programme.[10]

Mercy is also a 2017 social ambassador for international ticketing platform TodayTix.[11]

Biography

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Mercy was born in London to Nigerian parents.[12]

She trained at the Royal Academy of Dance, where she studied ballet, and at the National Youth Theatre. She then attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (where she obtained a BA Hons in Dance Theatre), and Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (where she obtained a PGCert in Applied Theatre With Young People).[6] Since then, she has performed and presented shows at several well-known British venues, including the Lyric Hammersmith,[13] Battersea Arts Centre,[14] Shakespeare's Globe, and the Almeida Theatre. Internationally, her credits include a creative residency at the Platonov Arts Festival in Voronezh, Russia.[15]

On The Edge Of Me

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In 2015, Mercy won the Rich Mix "Small Story, Big City Emerging Artist Award",[1][2] which helped her to develop On The Edge Of Me, her first solo show. On The Edge of Me is a dark comedy that uses audience participation, live music, and poetry to address a range of current topics including graduate unemployment and mental health issues.[16]

As a result of successful performances at the Rich Mix and Paines Plough Roundabout, On The Edge of Me was picked up and developed further by the Soho Theatre and billed in their Soho Rising festival,[17] which features emerging artists. On The Edge of Me was also selected for funding by the Arts Council England, O2 Think Big[18] and Wandsworth Council. This piece sold out at the Soho Theatre, and was critically acclaimed.[19]

On The Edge of Me has also been performed at The Rose Theatre Kingston, Paines Plough Roundabout, the Rich Mix, Time to Change, the Roundhouse, Soho Theatre, Upstairs at The Western, and most recently the Wandsworth Fringe.[20]

Quarter Life Crisis

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In 2016, Mercy received a seed commission from OvalHouse, with support from Arc Stockton and Arts Council England,[21] to develop a second solo show, which became Quarter Life Crisis. Originally titled Totally Unprepared,[22] the show deals with young people's anxiety around becoming adults as well as exploring the London-born lead character's Nigerian heritage.[12] After previews at OvalHouse[23] and Arc Stockton,[24] Quarter Life Crisis was selected by Underbelly Untapped to run at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival at the Underbelly Cowgate venue.[10] The Edinburgh run received positive reviews[25][26][27][28][29] and toured in the UK in 2017. In April 2018, an adapted version of Quarter Life Crisis, produced and directed by Caroline Raphael, was broadcast on BBC Radio 1Xtra.[30]

Writing career

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Yolanda Mercy performing her one woman show, Failure Project, at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

In 2013, Mercy attended a writers' programme at the Lyric Hammersmith, followed by the Soho Theatre's programme, where she completed her first play, Him, Her, It and I. This work secured her a place on the Tamasha Playwrights programme.[31] It was during her attachment to Tamasha that Mercy was employed by them to lead writing workshops across the UK at places such as Derby Theatre, Chelthenham Everyman Theatre and Luton Hat Factory. In 2016, Mercy was commissioned by Tamasha and the Migration Museum Project to write a play for teens, which premiered in April 2016. Her work has been performed at several London venues such as the Almeida Theatre, the Bush Theatre, Theatre503, Soho Theatre and the St James Theatre.

Other projects

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In 2015, Mercy teamed up with the Lyric Hammersmith to offer four artists aged 16–25 an opportunity to develop their own work, on a project which she created called "Development Lab".[32] She was also invited to speak and perform for the British Psychological Society at their "Minorities in Clinical Psychology" annual conference (using On The Edge of Me as a starting point).[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b Liz (25 March 2017). "Interview: Yolanda Mercy, Quarter Life Crisis". Theatre Things. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Black Theatre Live". blacktheatrelive.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  3. ^ Swingler, Jenny (14 August 2017). "How Getting In Touch With My Ancestry Helped Me Solve A Quarter Life Crisis". HuffPost UK. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  4. ^ "Development Lab at Lyric Hammersmith". www.londonplaywrightsblog.com. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  5. ^ Vannozzi, Debbie. "Associate Artists | Ovalhouse". www.ovalhouse.com. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  6. ^ a b "About". yolandamercy.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Our Trustees". National Youth Arts Trust.
  8. ^ "Black Theatre Live". blacktheatrelive.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  9. ^ "Dates". yolandamercy.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Untapped". Underbelly. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  11. ^ "TodayTix Social Ambassador Year 2 Launch Party Pictures!". TodayTix. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Yolanda Mercy: Quarter Life Crisis". www.threeweeksedinburgh.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  13. ^ "Development Lab: Work in Progress". Lyric Hammersmith. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  14. ^ "Feature: Yolanda Mercy - "Let's talk about mental health"". 27 April 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  15. ^ "[RUSSIAN] Гости студии: Имре Озерден, Йоланда Мерси и Екатерина Любимова - Интернет-канал "TV Губерния"". Интернет-канал «TV Губерния» (in Russian). Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  16. ^ "Tbb's Albert Yanney Speaks to Yolanda Mercy Ahead Of Solo Show 'On The Edge of Me' Focusing on Mental Health". The British Blacklist. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Soho Theatre website". Soho Theatre.
  18. ^ "ThinkBig UK". www.o2thinkbig.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  19. ^ Balfour, Oscar (22 March 2016). "On The Edge Of Me". Plays To See. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  20. ^ Laniyan, Dayo (4 April 2016). "Award-winning one woman show On the Edge of Me to highlight mental health issues at Wandsworth Arts Fringe". Wandsworth Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  21. ^ "Projects". yolandamercy.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  22. ^ "Yolanda Mercy Reveals The Inspiration For Her New Show 'Quarter Life Crisis'". Female First. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  23. ^ Vannozzi, Debbie. "Quarter Life Crisis by Yolanda Mercy | Ovalhouse". www.ovalhouse.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  24. ^ Oliver, Stephen (11 April 2017). "The North East Theatre Guide: Preview: Quarter Life Crisis at Stockton Arc". The North East Theatre Guide. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  25. ^ "Quarter Life Crisis". Edinburgh Fringe 2017. British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  26. ^ Humphreys, Lauren (10 August 2017). "Quarter Life Crisis – Underbelly Delhi Belly, Edinburgh". The Reviews Hub. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  27. ^ "West End Wilma – REVIEW: Quarter Life Crisis (Underbelly Cowgate)". www.westendwilma.com. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  28. ^ "Yolanda Mercy's semi-autobiographical show about a young black woman living in London". The Stage. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  29. ^ "Quarter Life Crisis". Broadway Baby. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  30. ^ "1Xtra Presents: Quarter Life Crisis". BBC.co.uk. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  31. ^ "Tamasha Theatre Company website". Tamasha Theatre Company website.
  32. ^ "Development Lab project".
  33. ^ "Agenda for the "Minorities in Clinical Psychology" annual conference 2015". British Psychological Society website. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
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