Isabel Quiroz discusses CHERRY SOUR and the Tragedy of the Pink Flamingo at The Rosemary Branch Theatre
After the success of our 2025 Camden Fringe Interviews, we thought it only right to attempt a repeat for 2026. So throughout July we’ll be publishing new interviews each day to give a taste of what to expect from London’s best fringe theatre festival. The festival starts Monday 3 August this year, so we may give ourselves a couple of days off inbetween the end of the interviews and the first shows… then again, we might not.
You can find out more about Camden Fringe, along with details of every show playing this August here. You can also find all of this year’s interviews as they are published here.
What happens when an underground rock star’s story threatens to swallow your own? You take the stage and demand to be heard.
Heading to The Rosemary Branch Theatre this August for Camden Fringe 2026, CHERRY SOUR and the Tragedy of the Pink Flamingo is an evocative, glitter-soaked solo play exploring loneliness, contemporary violence against women, and the courage it takes to reclaim one’s narrative.
Written by Mexican award-winning playwright and performer Isabel Quiroz (Teatro Glam&Roll) and developed alongside Assistant Director Rae Keefer, the play follows Cherry Sour trapped in an interrogation room following the death of lead singer Johnny Flamingo. Originally staged in Mexico in 2021 as a full ensemble production, Quiroz has reimagined the piece as a high-octane, intimate one-woman performance featuring original Marc Bolan-inspired glam rock music (voiced by Flinn McManus).
We sat down with Isabel to talk about translating real-life street stories into fiction, transforming a 90-minute ensemble piece into a dynamic Fringe solo show, and why pink is the ultimate symbol of resistance.
If you had to describe the vibe of your show in just one sentence, what would it be and how does it manifest on stage?
An underground glam rock concert: Cherry Sour is recounting her life and the different tragedies she experienced, especially falling in love with the lead singer of the Pink Flamingos, Johnny Flamingo, manifested through band posters, glitter, pink lights, and Johnny’s voice trying to take over her story.
Why is 2026 the perfect time for this show to be seen?
Cherry Sour lives in a violent world, sadly, our world. A big city where being a woman walking alone after work in the middle of the night doesn’t feel safe. There’s a need to be seen even though being quiet feels safe. Cherry Sour is a woman who wants to live, but she’s faced so much violence that she just gave up on her life and hid, until it’s enough. This is a story of a woman who reclaims her life as an act of resistance in these contemporary times.
Is this version how you originally envisioned it or has it changed drastically since you first put pen to paper?
This show was originally produced in Mexico in 2021, after being awarded in 2019. Originally it was written to be performed by an actress portraying Cherry Sour alongside the full band, the Pink Flamingos. At that moment the piece was 90 minutes long, and the core was Cherry and Johnny Flamingo’s relationship. We gave a couple of performances limited by COVID-19. As I moved to the UK, I felt the need to return to this play, so I translated it into English. When discussing staging possibilities with my Assistant Director, Rae Keefer, we initially considered having the lead singer of the band perform as written, but to make it more accessible for Fringe Festivals, we decided to focus purely on CHERRY’s life story, did some trimming, and staged it as a solo show.
How challenging has this role been for you?
Just the fact that it’s a one-woman show is challenging enough. There are lots of flashbacks, the stage is constantly changing through movement, and of course, there are lots of songs. It’s a story full of tragedy; the most challenging thing is to find the light in it. That translates into finding love; the moments where the character feels real love, which is the reason why she kept going. Although she appears fragile, realising that there’s love in her life gives her the strength to carry on.
Are there any plans for what comes next after the show has finished its run – for you or the show?
We want to continue performing this piece, and next year we’re aiming to reach more Fringe Festivals!
If you had to describe your show as a colour what would it be?
PINK. Pink is the colour of the show; the Pink Flamingos, the fictional band in the show, are everywhere. This show could easily be their concert, but it’s not. It was important for us to have our set elements in pink, and lights in pink as well. What triggers the story is the death of Johnny Flamingo, and while the story initially seems to be about him because he invaded Cherry’s world, it isn’t. This is Cherry’s chance to be heard for the first time… even if she’s surrounded by pink.
If your show had a soundtrack, what songs would definitely be on it?
It has its own original soundtrack, the only album that the Pink Flamingos ever recorded, where we get to know their story and Cherry’s story (even when she didn’t approve it). The songs are glam songs, as the Pink Flamingos’ inspiration and muse is Marc Bolan and T. Rex. Johnny Flamingo’s voice is portrayed by Flinn McManus, who sings all the songs on the album and forms an integral part of the storytelling in this play.
If budget or reality was not an issue, what’s the one piece of scenery/set you’d love to have in your show?
Not a set piece, but… the full live band, the Pink Flamingos!
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how has it influenced your work on this show?
“It’s important to look around you when you’re writing a story.” This piece was written in Mexico, and ALL of the characters in it are based on people that I saw every day in my street when I was going to high school at six in the morning. It’s also based on stories that I read in the news, so it’s a play that was influenced by real elements, and I think that’s what gives it its core identity.
Many thanks to Isabel for her time. CHERRY SOUR and the Tragedy of the Pink Flamingo will be playing at Rosemary Branch Theatre on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 August.
