26.31°C “I stumbled across Boudica in Colchester Castle, and it felt like she had been waiting for me.”
For Rebekah Wallace, that chance encounter more than 20 years ago marked the beginning of a journey that culminated in Boudica & Me: A Guide to Carrying Your Fire, a new solo show coming to this year’s Colchester Fringe Summer Weekender.
Rebekah moved to Colchester from Maine in 2003 with what she describes as “a suitcase and a one-way ticket”. Away from home and trying to find her place, she found an unexpected connection with the story of Boudica, whose rebellion against the Romans began in Colchester nearly 2,000 years ago.
Twenty-three years later, Rebekah has retraced part of that story herself, walking around 90 miles along the Boudicca Way from Norwich to Colchester, arriving through the Balkerne Gate. That experience now forms the backbone of her latest show.
Fresh from completing the walk, Boudica & Me brings together personal storytelling, history and humour, drawing on Rebekah’s experiences of neurodivergence, menopause, domestic abuse and her Penobscot (First Nations) heritage.
Winner of the Spirit of the Fringe Award for its 10-minute version at Colchester Fringe 2025, the full production continues the story in a show that Rebekah describes as “the ashes, the embers, and the dark humour of midlife menopause.”
She says audiences shouldn’t expect a history lesson.
“This isn’t a history lecture,” she said. “It’s a survival guide wrapped in a battle cry. If you’ve ever felt small, silenced, or like your brain works differently to everyone else’s, come. I promise you’ll leave feeling less alone, and probably laughing.”
Based in Colchester, Rebekah Wallace is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans performance, linocut printmaking and sensory storytelling. She is also the creator of the Boudica Rising oracle decks, inspired by the story of the Iceni queen and the landscapes that continue to shape it.
Boudica & Me: A Guide to Carrying Your Fire will be performed at Patch on Thursday, 23rd July, before moving to Roots & Grooves Cafe on Sunday, 26th July, as part of the Colchester Fringe Summer Weekender.
Event Details
Venue: Patch, 24 Trinity Street
Thursday 23 July, 8.30pm
Venue: Roots & Grooves Cafe, 1 St Nicholas Passage
Sunday 26 July, 4.30pm
Running time: 50 minutes
Age guidance: 14+
Tickets: £8
Please note the show contains themes including bereavement, domestic abuse and assault, as well as strong language.
Tickets for Boudica & Me: A Guide to Carrying Your Fire and the full Colchester Fringe Summer Weekender programme are available via the official festival website.
You can read the Keep Colchester Cool guide to the weekender here.
