Rowling in It: Villain in Progress, a solo comedy from London, will make its New York debut at Asylum NYC, 123 E. 24th St. The strictly limited engagement runs Dec. 18 to 23, 2026. Laura Kay Bailey wrote and performs the show, and Dominic Shaw directs.
The show draws on Bailey’s real experience. She was an award-winning but largely unknown actress when she was cast as J.K. Rowling in an Edinburgh Fringe production about the author. The role brought international media attention, online debate and hostility. Bailey turned the experience into a comedy about ambition, getting things wrong and learning “the subtle art of learning to let people hate you.”
“I thought I’d landed an acting job. Instead I blindly stumbled into the middle of an international controversy,” Bailey said. “At a certain point, the only sensible response was to write a comedy about it.”
Producer Hannah Elsy said the show does not tell audiences what to think about Rowling. She described it as a dissection of Bailey’s journey to playing her and a dramatized account of behind-the-scenes gossip on a tumultuous Fringe show. Elsy also produced Dumbledore Is So Gay.
The London run earned four-star reviews from Theatre and Tonic, All That Dazzles and Reviews Gate. Theatre and Tonic called it “delightfully wicked.” The Spectator praised Bailey’s “fantastic array of comic impersonations.”
Shaw is associate director of The Devil Wears Prada. The design team includes PJ McEvoy on video, Mark Fenton on sound, and Nina Morgen on original London lighting. Jordan S. Daniel provides dramaturgy. LKB Productions presents the show, which is produced by Hannah Elsy Productions.
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