Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie

‘Binge-worthy… intimate, real, and really funny’ KILEY REID

‘Bitingly sharp, witty and multi-layered’ SOPHIE MACKINTOSH

‘Fierce, fantastically funny’ CLAIRE LOMBARDO

‘I loved this incendiary debut’ EMILIA HART

‘Exceptional … When a man treats a woman badly, what does he deserve?’ JENNIE GODFREY

A one woman show
A one night stand
A one star review

Theatre critic Alex Lyons made his name from his brutal, brilliant reviews.

So when he sees Hayley Sinclair’s dismal one-woman show at the Edinburgh Fringe, he thinks nothing of dashing off another of his trademark one-star pans for the newspaper. He also thinks nothing of taking her home after the performance, failing at any point to mention who he is.

What he doesn’t expect is for Hayley to revamp her show into a review of Alex’s entire life, exposing what an awful person he really is. Worse, the show is a smash hit, and Alex is about to become national news. But can Hayley bring the establishment down without taking herself with it?

Funny and thrilling, Bring the House Down gives you a front row seat to the downfall of the people who tell us what to think. It’s about art, performance, female rage, and how while revenge may be sweet, it can also be perilous.

‘An astounding debut… five big stars’ Nathan Hill

‘Funny, precise, and such fun’ Holly Gramazio

About the Author:

Charlotte Runcie has spent much of her career reviewing shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for various magazines and national newspapers. She has a secret past as a poet, having been a Foyle Young Poet of the Year with a pamphlet published by tall-lighthouse. Her memoir Salt On Your Tongue was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and named a Book of the Year in the Spectator, The Scotsman and Prospect. She lives in South Wales.

05 Jun 2025
 

Bring the House Down by Charlotte Runcie ISBN 9780008688028