Failure Project - by Yolanda Mercy (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Ade is a successful writer, or so it seems. She has everything she ever wanted: her career is flying, she's (kinda) moved out of her mum's house, and her situationship isn't as complicated as she expected. Her life should be perfect! But things don't always go to plan, as Ade is about to find out...

failure project is a warm and witty one-person play exploring grief, the strings attached to success, and what it means to 'fail'.

Written and performed by Yolanda Mercy, it premiered at Summerhall as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024, co-directed with Joseph Barnes-Phillips. It won the Solo Award at the Besties awarded by The Skinny and Fest magazine.

Review Quotes

'Insightful, necessary and empowering'

--Scotsman

'A bittersweet and valuable reflection on the theatre industry... disarmingly open and clear-eyed'

--Guardian

'A tightly wound script... demands our attention'

--Fest Mag

'Emotional, powerful and sincere... conveys deep truths about the creative industry and the pressures facing Black working-class artists... a show that gets to the core of what it means to be an artist in 2024'

--The Skinny

'Passionate and painful... told with searing honesty'
--British Theatre Guide

'Brave... written from the heart... powerful... a sense of compassion and empathy'

--WhatsOnStage

'Sharp, witty and emotional... commands attention... exposes the harsh realities many working-class Black artists face'

--Everything Theatre

'Wonderful... a hard-hitting, witty play... should not be missed'

--Theatre & Tonic

About the Author

Yolanda Mercy is a British Nigerian writer and performer for stage, screen and audio.

She is a winner of the Channel 4 Playwriting Award and her play Quarter Life Crisis (Edinburgh Fringe & Soho Theatre, 2017) won the 2018 Underbelly Untapped Award. The play was also adapted for BBC Radio 1Xtra.

Other work includes On The Edge of Me.