We sat down for an exclusive interview with Robyn ahead of their show Robyn Herfellow: Body Stocking Legion which comes to Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club from Saturday 12 – Tuesday 15 and Friday 18 – Sunday 20 April. The show is created and performed by Robyn with direction from Charles Quittner. Tickets here.
Tell us about Body Stocking Legion, what inspired you to create the show?
Body Stocking Legion is a call to arms to take everything once considered normal and burn it to a crisp. We’re all tired of the system slowly failing, so why not accelerate things? I have a dream of CEOs and nuclear families hiding away in bunkers, afraid to go above ground because of fishnet clad freedom fighters parading the streets everywhere. With a hard-rocking band of ‘pantie-sans’, it’s time to invite audiences into that dream, to make it a reality!
What’s your best advice for how to survive the fishnet apocalypse?
Get a Bodystocking – lingerie is the armour of the revolution! An entire wardrobe of fishnets can fit into the tiniest, silliest handbag – so you’ll be ready to riot anywhere you go!
You’re perhaps best known as Leslie Ann, the murderous accomplice to Séayoncé (Dan Wye) – how does it feel to now be presenting your first full length solo work?
Leslie Ann is unleashed! Leslie’s destructive tendencies are ever present in Robyn Herfellow. Perhaps if I hadn’t been playing a murderer, backing up the baddest bitch in the spirit world, I would have made a nice clean children’s show. But thanks to Séayoncé, I’m a monster! Having played all kinds of stages and traveled the world together, it’s exhilarating to be presenting my first show of my own making – but I do wonder why she’s still haunting me in the dressing room.
The show features original songs composed by you and a live band of musicians – what were some of your influences for creating the music for Body Stocking Legion?
The body stocking legion band is a real dream team. Vyvyan Wyld brings Indy sleaze glamour on guitar, Meg Narongchai fuels the ‘silly-stupid-punk’ on bass, and Shakira’s jazz background keeps things grooving hard. I love the music of the weirdos, the freaks, David Bowie, Lou Reed and Tom Waits are all present as the music tells the story. But the riot girls – from The Slits to Amyl and the Sniffers – are really to blame for the anarchistic chaos this band creates.
Body Stocking Legion is the first full theatrical run of 2025 at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, which is in danger of being sold to developers and campaigning to keep its doors open – what does BGWMC mean to you and how does it feel to be performing there?
Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club was the first club I went out – alone – in a dress (back in the olden days before I was a screaming banshee of the apocalypse). So the iconic light up heart on its stage has a special place in mine. I found my people there, with the campaign going strong, I hope that many more misfits will be able to do the same. Maybe over the run there’ll be fishnet first timers giving their debut Bodystocking a ride!
What do you hope audiences will take away from seeing the show?
A box of matches and a song in their hearts, ready to start the fires! And with that fire we’re not only free to be ourselves, but those who aren’t wearing fishnets stockings will cower in fear of the body stocking legion!