Kate Danley Revives “Madam(e) Lou” at Edinburgh Fringe, Unearthing Seattle’s Matriarch

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Kate Danley's global premiere explores Lou Graham's erased legacy at the Edinburgh Fringe.

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USA Today bestselling author Kate Danley will present Madam(e) Lou at the Edinburgh Fringe, with performances running August 17-30.

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Madam(e) Lou is the true A trailblazing frontier-era businesswoman and bordello queen who shaped the destiny of boomtown Seattle is the subject of a daring solo show that rewrites the buttoned-up history of the era. Penned and performed by USA Today top selling writer, Kate Danley, the show delivers a humorous shot of reality as the United States celebrates 250 years of independence seemingly unaware of its hidden history.

Rooted in over a decade of research, Madam(e) Lou reclaims the largely erased legacy of Lou Graham, a powerful and controversial figure in turn-of-the-century Seattle. Kate Danley, whose publications and stage works have been widely recognised and honoured, blends historical narrative with contemporary reflection in this global premiere that examines how power, gender, and moral judgment have shaped which stories are remembered and which are left behind.

Famous for coffee, grunge music and Frasier, Seattle has reinvented itself as a tech hub, and although the modern city honours the founding fathers there is no monument to the remarkable Lou Graham - written out of history due to her involvement in the sex trade. Now Kate has set out to change and challenge the erasure of a woman who was ahead of her time. Graham, a German immigrant, supported racial equality, social justice and female emancipation through education and, due to her business acumen, became one of the country's wealthiest landowners and financiers.

In Madam(e) Lou, Kate Danley brings this remarkable woman to life, challenging long-held narratives about women's role in founding urban America while drawing sobering parallels to today. The show will appeal to fans of You're Dead to Me and Horrible Histories.

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Philadelphia-based performer Donna Oblongata will bring The Van Gogh Shogh to Edinburgh Fringe, a solo comedy show casting Van Gogh as a bewildered food courier, with audience members recruited as live painters.

The Kobold Show!, a five-clown physical comedy from the co-creator of The Twenty-Sided Tavern, will present at Gilded Balloon during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe after winning Best Ensemble at the NYC Fringe.

Guy Masterson will present 11 and a Half Angry Men, a spoof of the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe hit, at the Pleasance EICC Pentland Theatre. Written by Owen O'Neill, the show features Joe Pasquale, Stephen K Amos, and Phil Nichol among others.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/scotland/article/Kate-Danley-to-Present-MADAME-LOU-at-the-Edinburgh-Fringe-20260514)._