I have caught up with Sarah MK Archdeacon ahead of the Lambeth Fringe opening soon.
What was the inspiration behind your show?
Washing Machine Vortex is a Greek-style feminist odyssey. It was originally inspired by caring for my elderly father with dementia. While doing his washing I go into the swirling cycles of my past — confronting psychoanalysis, patriarchy, and the spirit of Electra herself. I tumble, spin and transform.
I chose to make a show about caring for my dad to give expression to this experience. I also wanted to share how exploring the patriarchal influences of my own life led me to rediscover feminism in my 50’s in a new and relevant way.
The show is a two hander with my fellow performer Hannah Lane who plays a figment of my imagination. Washing Machine Vortex uses humour, visual storytelling and a rocking ’60’s soundtrack.
How long has your production been in progress?
First developed in 2024 for a work-in-progress commission for the Minge Fringe at the Vagina Museum. Further developed and expanded in 2025 for a pop up performance at the Arches, Putney as part of Wandsworth Arts Fringe.
Lambeth Fringe will be its theatre premiere.
Where are you planning on taking the play next?
To extend its content and audiences alongside continued live performances it is being developed as a sound piece, zine and for digital platforms
Lambeth Fringe will create the opportunity to attract future theatre bookings.
What would you like audiences to take away from your show?
- A sense of hope for a more inclusive future
- Not to ‘Other’ age and dementia
- The complexities and humour of families and family relationships
- The poetry of colour and song to express past experience and memory
What are you looking forward to most about performing your show?
It will be great to experience and be part of the vibrancy of Lambeth Fringe, and I look forward to connect with audiences and fringe artists.
I’m excited to see how the work develops over the two nights at the same venue
The fun of performing alongside my co-performer Hannah Lane
Why did you choose your particular Fringe venue?
I was excited by it being the home of the Fringe and the pub theatre vibe. On a practical level it has an ‘end on’ stage set up that suits the work.
Which shows at the Fringe are you planning on watching?
I’d like to see as much as I can in as many different venues as possible.
For starters I want to see:
In Plain Sight – Work in Progress by Adam Laboda – at Calder Bookshop Theatre and Le Grand Soir by Mille Zhong & Alissia Pervozvanski-Dangles at The Glitch.
The idea of these two shows really resonate with me.
Have you had any major hurdles to overcome to get this production on the stage?
Thankfully this has been a fun process and it has been really exciting to work with my collaborators, Hannah Lane, Jon C Archdeacon and Tom Marshman.
It is new for me to work with autobiographic material and that has been an inspiring experience. I love how the process of devising theatre can shed new light and understanding on its subject matter.
I have really enjoyed taking the work to different spaces, The Vagina Museum, The Arches at Wandsworth Arts Fringe and now Bread and Roses Theatre at Lambeth Fringe.
But because the show has a domestic set (washing baskets, ironing board, TV) it has been funny every time we move the set to different venues as it has felt like I’m moving home!
What other productions have you previously been involved with?
Two other shows I have written and performed in South London.
Singing Surf at the 18 shows festival, Chelsea Theatre 2022. A performance that explores community resilience through stories of personal & collective grief, referencing Zen philosophy, French Films and nuclear power stations.
Celestial Navigation Calder Bookshop Theatre 2019.
I am also artistic director of Corali Dance Company based in Lambeth venue Brixton House.
Please attach any social media links that you have.
https://lambethfringe.com/events/washing-machine-vortex
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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