I am one of 3 performers in Emer Dineen’s 0800 Cupid, an ‘incredible piece of theatre … a five-star phenomenon’ (GCN Ie) by Irish hitmaker producers THIS IS POP BABY, which sold out in Dublin and transferred to Soho Theatre in autumn 2024.
‘the highlight of Dublin Theatre Festival 2024. ★★★★★’ - Irish Examiner
“Adomakoh Young is diva-like ... Pivotal to the success of the show
★★★★★”
Ellen McDougall’s As You Like It at Shakespeare’s Globe. I played Orlando to Nina Bowers’ Rosalind in the Summer 2023 season.
‘A joyous queer extravaganza’ -Time Out
‘Consistently delightful... a pleasure ★★★★’ - Evening Standard
“witty and touching as its central lovestruck pair”
Middle Child's UK tour of Modest, starting at Hull Truck Theatre and heading across the UK, landing at Kiln Theatre, London in summer 2023. Made in collaboration with queer, artist-led company Milk Presents, Modest tells of Elizabeth Thompson, the megastar of the Victorian art scene, in ‘a riotous, empowering new show rooted in music hall starring the UK's hottest drag king talent’. Buy the script here.
“The ensemble cast is wonderful
★★★★”
Hamlet, directed by John Haidar, played at Bristol Old Vic from October-November 2022. I played Horatio opposite Billy Howle’s Dane. The live stream was watched all over the world and screened in 2023 on BBC and in cinemas nationwide. We were named one of the Observer’s Best Shows of 2022.
““I have rarely seen youthful energy put to such good use: there is a collaborative force and eagerness among the younger actors, which binds them on stage…
As Horatio, Isabel Adomakoh Young radiates attention: she looks as if she is about to take off from invisible starting blocks; her millefeuille voice provides layers in a phrase.””
I played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet which ran June-July 2021 at Regent’s Park Open Air, London, directed by Kimberley Sykes. I won Best Lead Actress in the Black British Theatre Awards.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to be cast under her spell and listen as she makes Shakespeare’s language make sense and be entirely relevant – as does her partner in crime McCormack.” - LondonTheatre1
“An exceptional young talent ... spellbinding... a Juliet to remember”
Living Newspaper: Edition 3 at the Royal Court was a satirical take on what it means to be getting ‘back to normal’ after lockdown in 2021. Written that week and broadcast digitally but filmed all over the Royal Court building, it journeyed from the hairdressers for a post-lockdown cut; to the middle of the ocean to see gathered treasures; to a queer karaoke bar somewhere off Dalston for a final dance at the end of the world, hosted by yours truly and written by Travis Alabanza. I was also in the raucous political opening number ‘The Crocus of Hope’ and ‘The Long Look/Long Listen’.
“The work is defiant, energised, sometimes scrappy in both senses of the word.”
**** Subversive, necessary and extremely funny show - The Stage
Pecs Drag Kings returned to the Soho Theatre, this time in the main space, with The Boys Are Back In Town, a joyful reunion of queer community, in 2022.
“A fun celebration of queer spaces, gay sex and gender euphoria… there is plenty to please...
Izzy Aman (Isabel Adomakoh Young) does an excellent set… the best of the night”
Glorious Milky Peaks is a musical by Seiriol Davies, who wrote and starred in How To Win Against history. It’s produced by Aine Flanaghan and Theatre Clwyd and was due to open at Clwyd in March 2020 and tour Wales until May, hotly tipped by The Guardian and BBC as a show not to miss in 2020. Unfortunately due to Covid-19 the theatre closed its doors on day 1 of our tech week, but Milky Peaks rose again! (Sadly by then I was busy filming other projects.)
As part of the The MonoBox’s PLAYSTART programme, 4 writers had their pieces staged at Hampstead Theatre in November 2019. I was in Meatballs by Maatin Patel, directed by Ebe Bamgboye. The scripts are available from Oberon Books
credit Pete le May
credit Helen Maybanks
I joined the RSC for their Summer Season 2019, rehearsing in London and then performing in The Swan Theatre Stratford-Upon-Avon, May-September. The Provoked Wife was directed by Phillip Breen and Venice Preserved by Prasanna Puwanarajah.
In May 2018 I joined the National Youth Theatre Rep Company, winning one of 16 places over 1000+ auditionees. The course entailed 2 months of training with leading theatre practitioners followed by 4 full-scale productions in 2018-19, including my playing Lady Macbeth in the West End. Shows were at Soho Theatre, The Garrick and the Lyric Hammersmith (studio). To find out more about Rep, click here.
In 2017 I also trained at Identity/IDSA, where I received the award for Best Actress in my tier.
“Adomakoh Young gives a mightily strong performance... infuses Lady Macbeth with humanity. ”
"Superbly performed by a talented young cast" - The Stage
“Potent brew of monstrous majesty and sexual twists” - The Guardian
“Funny, inventive, musically clever and likeable. This is another success for the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and for a writer and actors with big careers ahead of them.“ - reviewdonkey
“A resoundingly powerful piece which succeeds in being both relevant and provocative… extremely high standard of talent on display.” - ayoungertheatre.com
Legendary immersive company Secret Cinema built the world of the iconic film Blade Runner for its 2018 production, which fell on SC's 10th anniversary. I played Sergeant Deja Schaf of the LAPD and as for the production, the glowing reviews give an insight!
(c) Alex Brenner
For the centenary of the Equal Representation of the People Act, in which most women in Britain got the vote, Dippermouth Theatre Co staged an evening of Suffragette plays and talks at Bunker Theatre. I played the lead in How The Vote Was Won (Dir. Alice Hamilton) and also spoke about my own activism.
Pecs Drag Kings' sellout The 80s Show ran at the Glory in March 2017 and at Soho Theatre Downstairs in December 2017. It was nominated for an Offie award. Pecs: The Boys Are Back In Town sold out a run in Soho Upstairs in September 2021 and was called ‘joyously raucous’ in a 4 star review from The Stage.
More on my Drag work here.
In August 2017 I took up a place on Talawa Theatre Co's 'TYPT' programme, which fosters young black theatrical talent over a month's training & devising with practitioners. Our devised show 'Bite Your Tongue' sold out a run at Hackney Showrooms. Under the guidance of Olivier award-winner Miranda Cromwell, we made a show we are hugely proud of. More info
Lilac Wine is very loosely inspired by the time writer/director Sarah Chew witnessed a revolution, by accident. It is an unreliable memoir exploring time she spent in Tehran in the aftermath of the Green Uprising in early 2010, and her subsequent experience of PTSD. Oh, and it’s also a drag show. More info here
I was Assistant Director for 2015 runs at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern and Camden People's Theatre, as well as an R&D stage at the Roundhouse.
Student Productions - Cambridge University
