#FATKARY: The Corrido of a Tragic Ex-Fat Woman - A Bold One-Woman Show comes to Voila! Theatre Festival

The Playground Theatre: 14^th November (7.00pm) and 15^th November (8.30pm) 

Award-winning actress and playwright Caridad Gómez brings her acclaimed solo performance #FATKARY: The Corrido of a Tragic Ex-Fat Woman to the Voila! Theatre Festival 2025 at The Playground Theatre, London, on 14 November (7 pm) and 15 November (8:30 pm).

Created and performed by Gómez and directed by Alberto Ontiveros, #FATKARY is an unflinching and darkly comic exploration of what it means to live in a body that doesn’t fit—on stage, at the border, or in the world. Through humour, food, and audience interaction, Gómez examines body image, shame, and identity, revealing how the borders that divide nations also shape the boundaries we experience within our own bodies — the judgments, restrictions, and exclusions that dictate who is allowed to belong.

The piece follows the actress, who will do everything necessary to step onto the scale without feeling remorse. Through humour, food, and interactive moments, #FATKARY becomes a playful catalogue of tragedies — where folk music, cabaret, dance, and rap intertwine with the everyday violence experienced both on the border and within the body. Living between limits — as a woman, a mother, a partner, and an artist — Gómez asks whether there is any space for those who don’t feel made for the world as it is.

“It is a corrido, a border ballad of survival and laughter – where my monstrosity can finally fit, and where I can simply be.”— Caridad Gómez

The performance combines theatre, cabaret, rap, and dance in an unflinching examination of belonging and resistance, using humour and audience interaction to navigate painful and absurd experiences.

The work has been presented across Texas, Mexico City, Nuevo León, Baja California, and Tamaulipas, earning Best Actress at the XLI Mtro. Rafael Solana Theater Contest (2024). It premiered at the 5to Festival de Teatro Latino (UTRGV) in Edinburg, Texas, and has since toured multiple festivals including the Festival Universitario de Teatro (UABC) and the PinSpot Festival in Reynosa.

“We embark on an emotional rollercoaster that, through music and performance, allows us to digest the narrative even at its most intense moments... If you find it playing in your city, don’t hesitate to go — you’re guaranteed a good laugh and a dose of reality.” — Sector 28

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Caridad Gómez Pérez Born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Gómez holds a BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Texas Pan American (now UTRGV). Her career spans acting, research, and production, including participation in the documentary theatre project Crawling With Monsters, which toured international festivals such as the New York Fringe, New Orleans Fringe, and Houston Fringe. She received the Best Actress award at the 2024 Tamaulipas State Theatre Contest for #FATKARY and was a recipient of the Programa de Estímulo a la Creación y Desarrollo Artístico Tamaulipas (2023) grant.

Alberto Ontiveros – Director Founder of Cía. Gorguz Teatro (2005), Ontiveros is a theatre and visual artist from Nuevo León whose work explores the concept of aridoestética – an “aesthetics of aridity” rooted in the Mexican northeast. His productions have appeared at leading festivals including the Festival Internacional Cervantino (2014), Festival Latinoamericano de Teatro CASA (London, 2015), and Fira Tàrrega (Barcelona, 2016).

Emmanuel Pichardo Caballero – Producer / Stage Manager An actor and producer with a BA in Dramatic Literature and Theatre from UNAM, Pichardo has collaborated with Casa Teatro Reynosa since 2019. His directorial debut Waiting for Julieta won Best Play at the 2023 Tamaulipas State Theatre Contest.

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

Cía. Gorguz Teatro (founded 2005) is based in Monterrey and is recognised for experimental, border-inspired work combining performance, installation, and contemporary dance. It has been supported by the México en Escena – Grupos Artísticos (MEGA) programme of the Secretaría de Cultura.

Casa Teatro Reynosa (founded 2018) is an independent theatre collective from Reynosa, Tamaulipas, created to foster artistic work in a city affected by regional violence. The company promotes artistic training and international collaboration and founded the annual PinSpot Festival.

#FATKARY is at Voila! Theatre Festival at The Playground Theatre on 14th November (7pm) and 15th November (8:30pm). For tickets and more information, visit: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/fatkary-the-corrido-of-a-tragic-ex-fat-woman/