First comes love, then comes equal marriage...

Real-life married couple Heleana and Sophia Blackwell grew up with Section 28, late-night lesbian films in which not much happened, and a desire to get out of their hometowns. Through comedy, poetry and the occasional song and dance, the couple take a frank and left-field look at what happens before and after love at first sight. With their background stories sketched out through spoken word, Wife Material includes dating disasters, lockdown love, and the similarities and differences between Italian and West Indian mothers, plus advice on the best way to fit a duvet cover and how to cope with being slut-shamed by a financial institution.

Directed by multi-award-winning comedian Maria Shehata, Wife Material is a celebration of silliness, chosen family, queer joy and finding someone whose eccentricities complement your own.

Heleana Blackwell is a stand-up comedian and Max Turner Prize Semi-finalist who has performed at a range of top London nights such as LOL word at Battersea Arts Centre, Foc it Up at 21 Soho and 2Northdown, as well as at Brighton and Camden Fringes in 2022.

Sophia Blackwell is a performance poet, radio and podcast host for Resonance FM, The Polari Podcast and Virgin Radio Pride. Her most recent collection with Burning Eye Books, The Other Woman, was longlisted for the Polari Prize. Sophia is a Literary Death Match Champion, Spread the Word LGBT Hero and author of a publishing and performance handbook published by Bloomsbury.