In 2024/5, Sanctuary is pleased to be offering producing support to Nelly Kelly in their research and development of a new performance piece ‘The TransMission’- supported by an Unlimited UK Open Fund Award.

The TransMission

A satirical performance piece that playfully interrogates what happens to the public perception of trans people when that perception is more often than not entirely created by the media rather than trans people themselves. Devised and performed by Nelly Kelly, a disabled, trans-butch playwright and performer.

The TransMission sees Nelly position themself as the leader of the ‘trans cult’ famed by the media, staging an intervention to clean up the cult’s image and recruit new members in it’s first ever doors-open day for cis people. Through an absolutely chaotic theatrical display of male impersonation, comedy, weird sound and even weirder dance, Nelly takes us on a strange journey into questioning what happens when we all just came together in authenticity as the messy humans we are, trans and cis alike.

Developed from an initial Research and Development with Afton Moran.

The TransMission is an Unlimited UK Open Award 2024 commission made possible thanks to funding from Creative Scotland.

All images by Lou McCurdy.

Creative process

Nelly worked closely with Sanctuary creative producers Annabel Cooper and Fraser McLeod to shape the development process and build the creative team - working in an accessible, creative, flexible and responsive way to best support Nelly and the development of the work.

The creative team worked together over three development phases from January 2025 - May 2025, supported by the National Theatre of Scotland.

Nelly, Sanctuary and the core creative team are currently exploring ways to mount the production and take The Transmission to audiences in Scotland and beyond.

Watch this space!