Review: Hannah Howie's Funeral for My Boobs | A Play, A Pie and A Pint, Glasgow
- Lisa in the theatre
- 20 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Hannah Howie's autobiographical musical about her diagnosis with an aggressive breast cancer gene premiers at A Play, A Pie and A Pie this week. Funeral for My Boobs is at Òran Mór, Glasgow until Saturday 9 May, and then it heads to Ayr and Edinburgh. Read my review of this very personal, very brilliant celebration of boobs and life below.
Funeral for My Boobs by Hannah Howie ★★★★☆
Review: 6 May 2026 | Òran Mór, Glasgow
Imagine you are in the congregation for a theatrical funeral officiated by Lady Gaga, and you won't be far off the mark for how it feels to be in the audience for Hannah Howie's new autobiographical musical Funeral for My Boobs.
As the show opens, Howie glides down the aisle, clad in black lace, flanked by her support: 'Left Boob', Gregor John-Owen and 'Right Boob', Kirsty Malone. Onstage Musical Director Stuart Fleming is at the keys. He had been playing sombre, traditional funeral background music as the audience took their seats at Òran Mór, but that soon gives way to dramatic arrangements of well-known pop hits from the likes of Evanescence and Celine Dion as Hannah and her cortege tell their tale.
Funeral for My Boobs takes the format of a stagey, comedy cabaret as Hannah recalls how she was diagnosed with a faulty gene mutation that makes her prone to developing breast cancer, and her life-changing decision to undergo a double mastectomy at a young age.
Vibrant pop cabaret may seem an unconventional medium for such a serious true story, but it's inspired. The writing (by Howie herself) and direction (by Chris Stuart Wilson) are both brave and respectful. Everyone has their own method for dealing with trauma, and Hannah Howie has chosen to say a fond farewell to her breasts in a way that only a performer of her calibre can: by belting out showtunes in a fabulous funeral-themed musical bursting with boob puns. It's poignant, camp and just the right side of bonkers. It works!
A Moving Memoir
At its core, Funeral for My Boobs is a moving memoir in which Howie generously shares personal, family and medical details with the audience. Yet she weaves her story so skillfully into her sensational cabaret show that she makes the challenging topic of a cancer diagnosis entertaining.
The script is clever, and the show perfectly paced, with a carefully balanced mix of spoken word and song. The use of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain " to accompany a heartbreaking discussion about how the faulty BRCA gene mutation is inherited through families, and how a pattern of early female deaths can clearly be seen on one branch of Hannah's family tree, is pure genius. The inescapable unfairness of it all is starkly presented, and the impact devastating.
"...You would never break the chain."
As hard-hitting as these moments are, Funeral for My Boobs is a hilarious and uplifting new musical. Hannah Howie has had a unique idea to give her boobs a fabulous musical send-off. And her creative vision is executed in glorious 'A Play, A Pie and A Pint' style here with sharp, Scottish, tongue-in-cheek humour.
Funeral for My Boobs is - like all A Play, A Pie and A Pint productions - staged in a relaxed, intimate venue, with minimal staging and minimal funds. But no one has told Hannah Howie, Kirsty Malone or Gregor John-Owen that! They perform as if they have the stadium lighting, pyrotechnics, and major budget of a superstar's arena concert. And why the hell not! It's what this fabulous piece of new writing deserves.
Howie is, as expected, sublime. This production allows her to showcase superb comic acting alongside her trademark stunning vocals. With stagey notes from shows such as Wicked and more than a hint of Kander and Ebb's Cabaret, Funeral for My Boob's mixes the performing side of Hannah's life with her cancer story seamlessly.
Support comes from Kirsty Malone and Gregor John-Owen, who provide excellent voices and outrageous enthusiasm as Hannah's soon-to-be departed boobs and other roles. If you haven't seen Gregor John-Owen perform before, then you're in for a treat. I would say that he's a rising star of Scottish theatre, but he has already risen. A dazzling performer.
A funeral unlike any other
Funeral for My Boobs is bursting with hit pop songs that audiences will know and love, but the best musical number in the show may just be the final song: an original number composed and performed by Howie in memory of her grandmother. It's a gorgeous tribute and a sensational end to the show.
Don't be put off by the title of this musical or its subject matter: This is a funeral, yes, but it's a funeral unlike any other. What Titanique the musical is to the Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio film Titanic, Funeral for My Boobs is to breasts and the Big C. It never makes fun of the tragedy nor belittles the horror, but it finds joy and humour in the face of inescapable pain. Hannah Howie has held a fabulous funeral for her boobs and in doing so she has invited the world to celebrate life. Gorgeous ★★★★☆
You can pay your respects to Hannah's boobs in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Ayr this May. Funeral for My Boobs has its world premiere at Òran Mór, Glasgow, from 4 - 9 May, then plays at The Gaiety, Ayr, 14 - 16 May and at Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, 18 - 23 May, as part of A Play, A Pie and A Pint’s Spring 2026 season.
MORE: Read more about Hannah Howie's Funeral for My Boobs musical and find the full 2026 Scottish tour dates here: https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/post/hannah-howie-funeral-for-my-boobs-musical
