90s R&B-tinged one-woman show LOVER GIRL, written and performed by Stage Debut Award winner Temi Wilkey, to transfer to Soho Theatre this cuffing season
‘Trust us, just go see it.’
Cosmopolitan
Following a critically-acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Temi Wilkey’s LOVER GIRL transfers to Soho Theatre Upstairs 2 to 21 November. Inspired by 90s R&B songs and surrealism, and fueled by Temi’s own romantic misadventures as a young bisexual Black woman, LOVER GIRL starts as a straightforward stand-up monologue about singlehood that takes a strange and bizarre turn into Temi’s Infinity Pussy…
‘Temi Wilkey is always a joyous and infectious presence on stage’
The Stage
Writer, performer, and all-round legend Temi Wilkey said: ‘I’m taking off my rose-tinted glasses and exploring why it can be so hard to find love as a Black woman – when society both desexualises and hyper-sexualises you. Journeying through the confounding infinitude of my own bisexuality – I crawl out of the rabbit hole and into the light. Which turns out… to be a spotlight! The one place I feel truly bathed in a utopian vision of love – beyond societal constructs where time is wiggly, gender is fluid and everyone can surrender to what is truly natural – falling in love with me.’
‘Dazzingly funny and moving’
LMAOnaise
LOVER GIRL follows Temi’s 2024 Edinburgh Fringe hit MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY in a trilogy about love.
Praise for LOVER GIRL:
★★★★ ‘Both outrageous and tender’ The Guardian
★★★★ ‘A riotous hour of entertainment’ WhatsOnStage
★★★★ ‘Totally original and hilarious’ Binge Fringe
‘So elevated, so well-crafted and considered’ Exeunt
BIOGS
TEMI WILKEY – Writer and Performer
Temi Wilkey is an award-winning writer, performer and one-woman showgirl of Nigerian, Jamaican and Bajan lineage. She grew up in London and studied English Literature at Cambridge before training with the National Youth Theatre REP company in 2014.
Temi was a member of the Royal Court’s Young Writers Group in 2017 and wrote her debut play, The High Table, at the course’s culmination. It was produced at the Bush Theatre in Lynette Linton’s debut season, and won Temi the Stage Debut Award for Best Writer in 2020.
She also co-founded & co-directed the Drag King company, Pecs, performing in the sell-out runs of their shows at venues including Soho Theatre, The Yard & Tate Britain before leaving the company in 2019.
Temi wrote an episode of Netflix’s Sex Education S3 for which she was nominated for the NAACP award for Outstanding writing in a Comedy Series. She also wrote two episodes for Disney Plus’s Wedding Season.
In 2021 she was on the BFI Flare x BAFTA Crew programme mentored by Russell T Davies and was named one of the Forbes 30 under 30.
Temi wrote and starred in her debut solo show Main Character Energy which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024. Described by the Guardian as “the perfect send-up of the one-woman show”, it transferred to London’s Soho Theatre in 2025 for a sell out three-week run followed by a nationwide tour.
RAGEVAN VASAN – Director
Ragevan Vasan (he/him) is a British-Tamil director and actor from South London. In 2024, he directed and dramaturged the Edinburgh Fringe smash-hit Main Character Energy written and performed by his long-time collaborator Temi Wilkey. He went onto direct it’s Soho Theatre London transfer and National Tour. This Summer, Ragevan is returning to direct and dramaturg the Edinburgh Fringe world premiere of Temi’s second show in the Main Character Trilogy: LOVER GIRL. He has also directed for 5×5 Theatre and has an upcoming residency with Barbican’s Open Labs, developing a new play he is set to write and direct.
He is a triple Off-West End Theatre nominated actor. Theatre credits include The Virgins (Soho Theatre), Little Scratch, The Animal Kingdom (Hampstead theatre) and i wanna be yours (bush theatre). On screen he can be seen in Tim Burton’s ‘Dumbo’, Felzonis in Emmy and Peabody wining ‘Andor’ and Gavin in BAFTA winning ‘Save Me’. Next year he will be appearing in A24’s ‘The Husbands’ for Apple TV.
BOBBY HARDING – Producer
Bobby Harding is a Walsall-born, independent live-arts producer specialising in community-led theatre and getting ambitious new ideas off the ground. Driven by a deep commitment to the queer community, Bobby actively builds bridges between the club, cabaret, and traditional theatre worlds, ensuring fearless artists have the resources to tell their stories unapologetically.
To date, they have raised nearly £450,000 to support independent makers and grassroots causes across the UK. Bobby currently serves as the Fundraising Lead for London Trans+ Pride and is a member of the 2025–26 Stage One Bridge The Gap cohort. Recent producing credits include: Main Character Energy (Roundabout @ Summerhall, Soho Theatre & UK National Tour), LUV SHANNON X (Seventeen Gallery), Metamorphoses (The Cockpit), and SMASHED (Theatre Deli).
SOHO THEATRE is London’s most vibrant producer for new theatre, comedy and cabaret. Our central London venue in Soho is celebrating 25 years as one of the UK’s busiest with a buzzing bar, lively audiences and an entertaining year-round festival programme with a queer, punk, counter-culture flavour. Our second London venue SOHO THEATRE WALTHAMSTOW opened in May 2025, bringing our vibrant programme to its biggest stage yet. Work extends beyond our venues with a full touring programme and connections with New York, Melbourne and Mumbai. Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a huge part of our year, we present many shows and scout hundreds more and we are the UK’s leading presenter of comedians from India. Our filmed comedy specials can be seen on international airlines and online. And our artist development and participation programmes are as important as the work on our stages. Soho Theatre is a charity and social enterprise. Soho Theatre Walthamstow is a community interest company. sohotheatre.com / @sohotheatre.