Jade Franks’s Eat the Rich moves from Fringe hit to TV development

Jade Franks’s one-woman show Eat the Rich (But Maybe Not Me Mates x) was a hit at the Edinburgh festival fringe, selling out its initial run, adding extra shows and winning multiple awards including a Fringe First. Following a bidding war, the show is currently under development with Netflix and Philip Barantini’s indie company It’s All Made Up Productions, and a London run and regional tour are about to begin.

Franks, who grew up in Wallasey, drew on her experience as a working-class Cambridge student who secretly worked as a cleaner while studying to fictionalise the play’s classist encounters. She has said she only learned about bursaries that would have eased her need to work shortly before finals, and that she also worked on punt tours and in a cash office.

Franks developed the show in her third year, adapting material into a comic set inspired in part by Michaela Coel, and built a team after meeting collaborators while working at the Royal Court; redundancy there helped push her to make the show. The Fringe run attracted online support after an investor pulled out and Franks covered costs on a credit card, but the production did not break even because the team paid themselves fairly.

The show plays Soho Theatre in London from 12 to 31 January, then Liverpool Everyman (16–18 April) and Bristol Old Vic (28 April–2 May).

Key Topics

Culture, Jade Franks, Netflix, Philip Barantini, Edinburgh Fringe, Cambridge