Bringing Aurelie's play 'Monster'd' to life

Image

Caption

Aurelie performing in Monster'd (Photographs by Ben Wilkin)

Actress Aurelie Burton is crowdfunding to help get her powerful play Monster'd to the stage this September.

Loosely based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Monster'd tells the story of a young woman, played by Aurelie, navigating life with a stammer and a neurodivergent mind, in a world where she struggles to be understood and accepted. 

It's a play that's born from a deeply personal place, as Aurelie explains: "The show is about the challenges I've faced and my long fight to pursue my dream of becoming an actor".

Aurelie has set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money needed to stage the play, which her mother Leonie Mellinger describes as 'an urgent message that stammering and neurodivergence deserve to be seen, understood, and embraced — not hidden or apologised for', in Clapham, London, in September.

The play's origins

Leonie told us, "The seed for the play was planted when Aurelie, as part of a final-year drama school assessment, pitched the idea for a piece based on her own life. Her presentation wasn't just a creative exercise — it was a heartfelt call for visibility and understanding. Her honesty and insight moved the head of the acting course so deeply that they commissioned a playwright to bring her story to life. 

'That initial commission resulted in a 30-minute performance in Aurelie's final term. The result was electrifying — audiences were visibly moved, some in tears, and many left with a greater appreciation of what it means to live with a stammer and neurodivergent identity in a world that often doesn't listen".

Aurelie added, "It was the best experience of my life because I had a chance to show people what it's like to be me". 

"Since then," Leonie says, "the play has been carefully developed and expanded. Now double in length, it dives even deeper into Aurelie's experiences growing up with a stammer — how it shaped her childhood, influenced her relationships and complicated her pursuit of a drama career. It also examines how her neurodivergence made her feel excluded, misread and misunderstood — not just socially or in school, but even in artistic spaces meant to celebrate difference".

Crowdfunding

The play is due to go ahead at the Bread & Roses Theatre in Clapham, London, from the 9^th-13^th September, and Aurelie has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover essential costs including venue hire, production expenses and accessibility measures.

You can donate to Aurelie's GoFundMe page to bring Monster'd to life.

Watch Aurelie explain more in the video below.

Leonie says, "Plays like this are vital. They bring visibility to people who stammer and who are neurodivergent, offering them space to be heard on their own terms. For too long, stammering has been treated as something to fix or hide — an awkward interruption rather than a valid way of speaking. But this production challenges that narrative head-on. It shows stammering not as a defect, but simply a different way of communicating, and asks audiences to accept and value people as they are.

'The play also highlights the importance of inclusive spaces — how just a bit more patience, understanding and flexibility in schools, theatres and workplaces can make a world of difference. It doesn't shy away from showing the isolation that can come from a lack of acceptance, but it also paints a picture of what's possible when people choose empathy over assumption.

'We hope Aurelie's story will continue to move and inspire people — onstage and beyond — and that it sparks meaningful conversations about what it means to listen, include and truly see one another. Let Aurelie's voice, in all its beauty and brilliance, be heard".

Monster'd will be performed at the Bread & Roses Theatre, Clapham, from 9^th-13^th September. It is written by Paloma Oakenfold, who co-directs it with George Richmond-Scott, and is produced by Kit Thompson.

Tell us about a stammering-related project you're working on, or something you've created — email editor@stamma.org 

If you're a creative, why not check out the STAMMA Arts Network, where you can link up with others.