Fed up of people putting you in boxes? When she was young Joann Condon was written off, body shamed, looked down on for being working class and seen as only fit for the dullest desk job.
Partly thanks to an 80s pop icon she learned to defy expectations, building a screen and stage career as a comedian and actor.
Later, after becoming a Mum, she started to worry about how our lives can be shackled by other people’s judgements and expectations of everything from social background to appearance and gender.
She said “I never really thought about my ‘boxes’ until I saw my three-year-old starting to be put in them herself, especially when she said she wanted to be a boy not a girl.
“There was no problem until other people started to make it one.
“This made me look at the boxes I have been put into over my lifetime and I knew I had to break out of those first to make sure she could be as free as possible
“For me it was my size, my East End working class background and being female. People wrote me off – thought the only thing I was fit for was leaving school and spending the rest of my life doing a boring desk job.”
Joann’s cathartic, funny and touching award-winning solo show Little Boxes is about breaking free, discovering your true worth, living life to the full – and a deep love of tea.
For Joann, freedom started with Top of the Pops in 1982 when she marvelled at how Boy George cheerfully defied social norms and expectations.
“I remember seeing Boy George, the way he decided on his own identity and wasn’t letting anyone else tell him how to look or what to be like. I realised how important it was to feel that free,” said Joann.
She went on to become famous to millions in regular role in cult favourite Little Britain and also appearing in Harry Hill’s Shark Infested Custard.
Then she discovered the social and showbiz reality that: “When you hit 50 you became invisible as a woman. And as an actress you simply disappear between 50 and 70.”
In Little Boxes Joann shares her story and rummages through a lifetime of boxes.
She says: “I build them up, clear them out and search for the one marked ‘Me Box’. We often forget that one, the really important one we have to find and make bigger.
“And we want to help our children do the same, so they can be what they want to be and not what others tell them they should be.”
Little Boxes has delighted audiences and attracted critical praise. TheatreAndTonic called it “a show with profound heart,” ★★★★★ TheSpyInTheStalls said it is “hilarious, moving, sad and uplifting,” ★★★★★ whileLondonTheatre1 commented that “Condon’s comic timing is impeccable,” ★★★★.
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Notes for editors
- Interviews available – just get in touch.
Listings Details
- Venue: theSpace on The Mile, Space 2 (Venue 39)
- Time: 1-9 Aug 4.20pm, 11-16 Aug 5.20pm
- Dates: 1–16 August 2025 (not 10)
- Duration: 55 minutes
- Ticket prices: Full price £12, concessions £10
- Suitability: Age 12+
- Tickets: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com
Cast and creatives
- Company: Alphamum Productions
- Performer: Joann Condon
- Director: Daniel Brennan
- Writers: Joann Condon and Leonie Simmons
- Set Designer: Alan Smith
About Joann
Joann Condon started her career in theatre and went on to have roles in fantastic UK comedies such as the cult favourite Little Britain, where she was a regular as ‘Fat Fighters’ attendee ‘Pat’. She has also featured in: Mrs Sidhu Investigates: The Last Letter from Your Lover, Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, Edge of Heaven, The Office, Cradle to Grave and Harry Hill’s Shark Infested Custard.
Little Boxes is the first time Joann has written and starred in her own production, which she was short-listed for Best Female Actor and also Best Theatre Production at Buxton Fringe 2022. Joann made her Edinburgh debut in ‘The Last Laugh’ in 1991 and is now returning 34 years later.
For more information, photos, interviews, or media contact Leonie Simmons on 07809113369 or emailalphamums1@gmail.com