A musical comedy cabaret with original songs, stories and a harp! First Woman looks at womanhood, motherhood, medical transition and how to win it all!!
Why do we wait to be happy? How do we escape the trauma of our past? Do you wanna come to a harp concert? It’s that! it’s an hour of original songs and stand-up. WITH A HARP!? with some very elaborate and gorgeous costumes! You’ll love it!
Dubbed “Tom Lehrer of the comedy harp” (Fringe Review) Cardiff’s Sam Hickman is a rising star in the cabaret world; expect “old school glamour and big harp energy” (The Reviews Hub).
In 2021 after transitioning socially over 10 years prior, Hickman finally started HRT. First Woman looks at how that changed her body, her relationship to gender, while also examining the changes in the way the public, friends, and people she is intimate with relate to her. The show examines the past, present, the history of transness, the way childhood trauma shapes our understanding of ourselves as well as the rise of British transphobia in public life (legally, she is no longer a woman…). How can you feel good about your body when everyone is telling you it is wrong? What is a woman? How do you win first woman?
After the full show of First Woman, the second half of the night will see Hickman perform a new work-in-progress, Everything You’ve Ever Wanted.
BRONZE WINNER – Musical Comedy Awards 2026
NOMINEE – Best Newcomer, Women in Comedy Festival 2026
SEMI-FINALIST – LGBT New Comedian of the Year 2026
“A pacy, punchy, and deeply moving exploration of womanhood, delivered as a musical pageant of carefully composed and curated comic songs and outrageous tales of endless sex.”
Fringe Review
“Sensational.”
British Comedy Guide
“Fleabag but queer and sexy with a harp.”
All That Dazzles
“Michelle Visage mixed with the musical and comedic ability of Victoria Wood.”
Broadway Baby
