Julie Flower: Grandma's Shop
Theatre (storytelling, comedy)
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Venue 24Gilded Balloon Patter House - Snug
- 12:20
- Aug 26
- 1 hour
- Country: United Kingdom - England
- Group: Julie Flower / The Specialist Generalist
- Warnings and additional info: Audience participation
- Accessibility: May not apply to all performances. You'll find more information about accessibile performances and how to book tickets in the accessibility tab below.
- Babes in arms policy: Babies do not require a ticket
- Policy applies to: Children under 2 years
Description
Clothes. Cats. Counter-culture. Sheffield. 1989. Loveable, eccentric septuagenarian, Hilda, has run a second-hand clothes shop for decades. She does it to make money to feed 30 stray cats. One day, a journalist from the Guardian walks in... Join Hilda's granddaughter for a solo show about family history subverting expectations. Step inside Hilda's shop, a nostalgic world of old carrier bags, pools coupons and vintage clothes... presided over by an unlikely punk icon. Julie Flower presents a multi-character comedy drama about love, memories and the stories our clothes have to tell.Please note that while all media gallery content is provided by verified members of the event, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society does not review or approve this content before it is posted. Reports of inappropriate content or copyright infringement can be directed to [email protected].
General venue access
- Accessible entry: Information not supplied
- Stairs: Information not supplied
Wheelchair access type: Wheelchair accessible (please contact the venue for more information)
Each venue can contain several space with different accessibly information. Visit the venue page for full venue accessibility info
How and when to make an access booking
- Phone: +44 (0)131 226 0002
- Email: [email protected]
- Textphone: +44 (0)7860 018 299
- Find out more about access at the Fringe.
Our access tickets service is available to anyone who:
- Would like to book specific accessibility services, e.g. a hearing loop, audio description headsets, captioning units, seating in relation to the location of the BSL interpreter
- Requires extra assistance when at a venue
- Has specific seating requirements
- Is a wheelchair user
- Requires a complimentary personal assistant ticket to attend a performance
Daisy D 13 days ago
Theatrical proof that Grannies are the most vital, important beings on earth, and that vintage is always best.
Bettina Harries 16 days ago
Excellent. One of the best shows we saw. Highly recommended.
Norman’s Wife 19 days ago
Charmingly delivered and a thought provoking trip down memory lane. Julie Flower engagingly shares her journey of discovery in Grandma’s Shop. Tinged with sadness of a time gone by and ultimately the joy and happiness of secure family and childhood memories. Recommended.
Kate Munson 20 days ago
A charming show, Nigel Slater's Toast meets a vintage shop in a world before Vinted. Beautifully weaves stories together to show how one person's small actions can have a huge impact. Eccentric, go see it and come out uplifted.
Ian Buehring 21 days ago
Really enjoyable show and reminded me of my own grandfather’s unusual life. Well worth seeing.
Haz 21 days ago
We really enjoyed this show!! Full of nostalgia, fashion, history and eccentricity. Highly recommend - it was surprisingly moving & a wonderful tribute to a grandma. Very well delivered and a truly heartwarming hour.
Graham Philpott 30 days ago
An entire audience fell in love with Julie’s Grandma and with Julie too. Julie’s grandma’s stories felt like they were stories of the women I knew in charity shops. Eccentricities celebrated through this hour of laughter, warmth and joy.
A beautiful show.
Linda Jones 31 days ago
Great show, Hilda brought to life with warmth, respect and humour. But it’s not just about Grandma it’s about us all finding our identity in unlikely places and gaining the confidence to be comfortable with who we are.
Nick Russell 31 days ago
To step inside ‘Grandma’s Shop’ is to begin an engaging journey into the past, a trip that pays affectionate homage to one of Britain’s genuine eccentrics: Hilda Flower. Hilda became a figure of low-level national interest in the late 1980s for her rambling second-hand clothes shop in Sheffield and for her obsessive love of cats. Rumoured to be frequented by the steel city’s burgeoning array of musicians, such as Jarvis Cocker, The Human League and The Thompson Twins - for where else could you emerge with a totally transformed image for just £2.50? - Hilda’s nameless shop was a kind of Mecca for the disenfranchised and the different.
And on Saturdays, at the centre of it all, was a child - Julie, a wide-eyed helpful enthusiast - whose first job was to open 15 cans of cat food to feed the army of strays supported by her Grandma.
Adult Julie retains her childlike enthusiasm and is clearly her Grandmother’s granddaughter - bright, breezy, inquisitive, clever and kind - and she revels in taking us gently by the hand and guiding us through her journey of discovery as she explores Hilda’s tragic backstory during the socially oppressive 1950s. Consequently, ‘Grandma’s Shop’ becomes a moving story of resilience, integrity and the importance of accommodating the idiosyncratic, both in society and ourselves. A gem of a show. Recommended.
Sheena Pinion 31 days ago
They say you die twice…once when you actually die, the next time when no one speaks your name. Auntie Hilda is kept alive by her granddaughter in this show. This is what family history is all about. People and their “stuff”! Go and see it, it’ll make you think about your own family and their stories.
Philip Bryan 32 days ago
A perfect gem of a show, and for me what the Fringe is all about. Simple story engagingly told. Funny, charming and on a couple of occasions a tear came to my eye. I cannot recommend this more highly.
Gillian Grigor 34 days ago
Saw on Friday and it was perfect. Funny, heartwarming and very nostalgic. Julie engaged the audeince in a very charming and comfortable way Definitely recommend.
Jackie 35 days ago
Fabulous heartwarming show
Items brought back memories of my Nan
So well told…. thoroughly entertaining
A must see
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Anne Thomson 37 days ago
This is an absolute wee gem of a show, and is worthy of a MUCH greater audience than was there on the 1st preview show. What a star! Well done, and best wishes for the rest of the Fringe. Great to give you a wave today.
Paul Joseph 38 days ago
What a beautifully funny and moving show. The show is about Julie’s Grandma, the formidable Hilda who for decades ran a 2nd hand clothes shop in Sheffield and was a part of the city’s history. Warm nostalgia with plenty of laughs, amazing anecdotes, great ‘80s references and real heart. At 1220 it was my first show of the day and has put me in a really great mood.
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A Young(ish) Perspective 14 days ago
The Edinburgh Reporter 24 days ago
Kat Masterson 30 days ago
Participants - for further details on our audience and published review policies, including how to add or opt out of reviews, please click here.
Participants - for further details on our audience and published review policies, including how to add or opt out of reviews, please click here.