All the Fraudulent Horse Girls

by Michael Louis Kennedy

View the programme here

All The Fraudulent Horse Girls is a feral queer UK-Australian co-production, an equine fantasia, a saga of loser on loser violence that follows 11 year old Horse Girl Audrey from Sydney who is telepathically linked to all the other horse girls in the world. It's a one-act absurdist comedy by Australian playwright Michael Louis Kennedy with surrealist monologues, contemporary dance, drag, and an original score performed live onstage. The inaugural production of Brooklyn Rep, Horse Girls ran at The Glory in London in October, 2022, January 2023, October 2023, and at The Pleasance in March 2023 as a finalist for the Charlie Hartill Theatre Reserve. All the Fraudulent Horse Girls runs at Edinburgh Fringe July 31-August 26 in the Pleasance Ace Dome.

Featuring
Cazeleōn
Beth Graham
Alice Morgan-Richards
Meg Narongchai
Rachel Blaquière
and special guests

Written by Michael Louis Kennedy

Directed by Charles Quittner

Design/Stage Management: Oli Fuller

Score/Music Direction by Rachel Blaquière

Movement by Matthew Bovee

Original Lighting by Tias Volker

Press

“Bonkers, batshit brilliance is the offering in All the Fraudulent Horse Girls. It explores ideas about neurodiversity and how it impacts youth in an abstract sense, a somehow quite affirming sense, asking us to remember what we became obsessed with, how it made us who we are – and exploring it here at its furthest, most extreme corners. Charles Quittner’s direction offers a balance here that serves up something fresh, unapologetic, and daring. this is a bold, fun, brazen comedy piece with all the theatrical chops to back it up, which takes you on a boundless journey all the while. All the Fradulent Horse Girls makes obscenely well-crafted use of the talents of its cast and crew. From drag performers, to Gaulier-trained clowns, excellent production design from Oli Fuller that dallies and fancifully entertains, and an overwhelming sense of fun and childish excitement embedded at the show’s core. Unrelenting, fierce, and downright ostentatious in the best possible way.”
-Jake Mace, BingeFringe

All the Fraudulent Horse Girls comes close to defying description. Viewers may be left in a state of shock at the over-the-top, funny, silly, and violent power of this performance. The dialogue is lightning fast and brilliantly written. The energy on stage at times reaches fever-pitch, the acting verging on psychotic. This writer was, for one, utterly overwhelmed by this brilliant piece of theatre.
-Calum Skuodas, Ed Fringe Review

”The melodrama, the intentionality of the actors playing props, of the props playing characters, with musicians as well - the whole thing is mind-blowing! Every actor, whichever role they inhabit, commands the room.”
-Lili Spratt, Ed Fringe Review

“a series of flawless performances, culminating in a work that perfectly captured youthful loneliness and bonding masterfully.”
-Rachael Davies, Theatre Weekly

“All The Fraudulent Horse Girls is a magnificently bonkers piece of theatre. This show is very queer, very camp, and totally glorious. Highly recommended – but be prepared to have your senses assaulted and to question everything you thought you knew about horse-obsessed girls.”
-Anne-Louise Fortune, Starburst Magazine

“The ensemble is the backbone of the production, with a live horse girl band providing a soundtrack that weaves in and out of the narrative and multi-rolling throughout. Each member of the cast radiates charisma, and this is a work where you can feel the joy of the process of making the show and it’s a pleasure watching their chemistry as an ensemble. The fluid swapping of Audrey’s role among the performers expands the narrative, celebrating not just Audrey but all horse girls and the quirky outsiders of youth. The writing brilliantly captures the emotional turbulence of girlhood, the intensity of obsession, and the humour found in retrospectively recognising the queer awakenings of youth."
-Charlie Sampson, Edinburgh Festivals Magazine.

“To call Brooklyn Rep’s All the Fraudulent Horse Girls a flight of fantasy is to underestimate the concept of fantasy. From Audrey’s uncontrolled obsession about horses, to her dreaming about Cormac McCarthy’s book All the Pretty Horses, to Audrey’s over-the-top final speech, this is a pot-pourri of unpredictable horsey mayhem which somehow gels together to become a delightfully positive homage to overcoming childhood anxieties, paving the way to becoming a fulfilled responsible adult who then goes and blows an enormous fortune on bringing a show to the Edinburgh Fringe. Tremendous performances by Cazeleōn, Beth Graham and Alice Morgan-Richards, the show is accompanied by evocative live music and a whole load of horseplay. Simply irresistible!”
-The Real Chrisparkle

"Brooklyn Rep ride into Pleasance Dome with a show that is ambitious and hilarious. It’s queer, nostalgic and silly, AKA ripe fruit for a Fringe show.”
-Jack Howse, Fest Magazine

“Defiantly anarchic, with its at times relentless high-octane delivery galloping towards a subliminal jump cut to a more melodic finale, this equestrian exploration of 11-year Audrey’s metamorphosis from a squealing horse-obsessed pastiche of girly femininity into cowboy/girl John Grady Cole, from the novel All the Pretty Horses, defies all predictions of where it’s going and what might happen next.”
-Sally Stott, The Scotsman

"Melodramatic Madness!.. It takes a lot of intelligence to orchestrate a show this silly and director Charles Quittner has done a superb job with Michael Louis Kennedy’s script. All the Fraudulent Horse Girls is one of the most entertaining, least conventional productions you will see in a while."
-Andrew Houghton, The Reviews Hub

"an absurd and affectionate pastiche about queerness and girlhood, encompasses all the best qualities of The Glory’s eclectic programming... Director Charles Quittner makes ingenious use of The Glory’s quirky space and the cast are emboldened under his direction – it doesn’t feel for a moment that any actor is hemmed in by the intimate stage space…a tender communal experience, a nostalgic piece that balances humour and poignancy, earnestness and wild, joyful silliness."
-Livvy Perrett, West End Best Friend

"Monologue and movement is mixed with music, mayhem, and metamorphosis… A marvelously disconcerting vibe of randomness. Cazeleōn thrills as Audrey…Alice Morgan Richards nails the hilarious intensity…"
-There Ought to be Clowns

“It’s funny, it’s fuzz… My biggest compliment about Quittner would have to be their ability to force audience participation like a knife of enthusiasm through butter…I’ve never seen The Glory this atmospheric before.”
-Funland

“From the moment you walk into the basement of The Glory, you are plunged into the world of horse girls. All the Fraudulent Horse Girls is an absurd, awkward yet delightful show that will bring joy to everyone in the audience, regardless of their horse girl status.”
-Kat Mokrynski, Broadwayworld

“There are so many fun parts to this show, I pretty much laughed out loud from the moment Cazeleon entered the performance space right until the end of the epilogue… This show is great fun and if it comes by your way, grab a strawberry kiss, some horse merch and your copy of Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses and canter on down to the venue – you will not be disappointed.”
-Faye Stockley, Londontheatre1

All the Fraudulent Horse Girls was awarded the distinction of Best Ensemble Performance by Theatre Weekly.

Binge Fringe Queer Performer Award Shortlist: Top 12 Queer Shows of the Festival

Offie Award Commendation for Excellence in Short Run Theatre.

Offie Award Nomination for Best Leading Performance in a Play for Cazeleōn

Fringe Audience Reviews

“One of my favourite pieces of art at the festival. So delightfully wierd and post-dramatic.”
-specialkwalmsley, tiktok

Delightful from start to finish! A show that makes you want to sing and dance and delight in the horsey pink make believe world of an 11 year old girl whose best friends live in her imagination. Great cast, great set, great show!
Anita Bryant

Adored this crazy show - not only was the plot bonkers the acting was amazing! the set was also so cool, and every single cast member was incredible! would strongly recommend for the most unique show you will see this year at the fringe!
-fran

A clear passion for horses and the experience of having been in deep love with the equine. Be prepared for a fever dream like atmosphere and a crazy amount of horse love. I would definitely recommend if you are into either!
-Albert Lin

the funniest show I've seen this year, laughed so hard I cried. as a former horse girl, this was absolute catnip for me but it went beyond my wildest expectations. very funny but also so sweet and genuine. the actors are amazing. the live music and set design are brilliant. if nothing else, go see it for the best human produced neighing you will ever hear
-O

This rollercoaster ride is a labour of love. It ends as quickly as it was racing through.
The blurring of actors and background musicians is also a refreshing mixture.
One of those shows you have to experience and can barely be told about.
-Christian Haas

This bit of theatre is a kaleidoscopic fever dream of horses, girlhood, early queerness, cheap plastic hair clips & HORSES. The cast deliver 110% on this absolute trip of a script that'll leave you wondering about how to process everything you've just seen.
-Ash Bestos

I'll start by saying I would absolutely recommend this show. It’s filled with so much talent, the horse impressions, the kaleidoscope of characters, the deconstruction of dreams, the layering of literature, gender, age - a fever dream indeed! YES! Spinning in a whirlwind of a young horse-girl's psyche! The surprising-terror-delight! I left feeling like I had been tickled, then cuddled, then shaken by the shoulders and twirled about! Thank you for writing, directing, acting, and music-making such a Fringe-a-licious experience!
-Molly Kittle

Hilarious and chaotic in the absolute best way!!! Felt like I had stepped into some sort of fever dream... a really fun show!
-Isobel Jacob

Loved every moment, from pre-show to aftermath! An utterly delightful mix of charming and absurd, from the story to the set to the acting and everything in between, and I would gladly watch it another hundred times over!
-Constance P

I willingly dove headfirst into a 11-year-old's equine fever dream... and will never be the same again! Joyful, imaginative, and absurd. A must see for all horsey people and anyone with a soul :')
-Billy N

All the Fraudulent Horse Girls had its world premiere over 3 runs at The Glory with Cazeleōn, Beth Graham, Alice Morgan-Richards, Georgia Leila Stoller and Rachel Blaquière with a rotating cast of guest stars including Tiffany Tsang Ho Ching, Aoife Haakenson, Gabriella Gilliat, Tish Weinman, Charlie Wood, Natalia Gruca, Pippa Juliet, Sally Rudd, and Crusty.