Edinburgh Fringe hit House of Life is bringing its gospel of self-love and glittery fabulousness worldwide, including New York City. Following two runs at Fringe, a London bow at Soho Theatre, and two days of performances in Oslo, the show will hit Brooklyn's 3 Dollar Bill June 20, and Manhattan's WARA (home to fellow another well-reviewed show, BATSU!) June 22.
Led by Ben Welch as the RaveRend, House of Life has one mission: to help everyone in its audience achieve happiness by any means. Joined by his loyal sidekick Trev, RaveRend leads his flock though his eight-step guide to happiness, complete with lots of music, jokes, and glitter. Many of the performance's songs are written on the spot based on audience interactions, making each performance unique.
半岛体育 loved the show at 2024's Fringe, and can't wait to have the glittery joy fest in New York. We caught up with Welch as he prepares to bring the show across the pond to find out the ethos that inspired its unique brand of delirious glee, and what it's been like spreading that message internationally.
Tell me where the idea for this show came from?
Ben Welch: The show was born out of an attempt to create something to celebrate togetherness and to try and bring people together while it felt like the world was falling apart and feeling more disconnected than ever. I also had just lost my dad and was about to have my first child and so needed a vehicle to process those huge life events and try and turn the contradictory feelings or ultimate joy and pain into theatrical experience to help myself and hopefully people that came along. The RaveRend is a heightened extension of me. And when creating a world, why not build one where you get to sing the house down in a glitter beard and six-inch gold high-heeled boots?
Were you raised religious? Tell me about the choice to structure this show as a religious service, particularly given the ethos of your show versus the ethos of many of the religious services on which the show is modeled.
I wasn鈥檛 raised religious at all. My family was a blended mixture of different people who on the whole rejected religion. Although critical of some of the results of organized religion, I鈥檝e always been fascinated at places where people come together to connect. And to heal. House Of Life was about try to create one of those places. Similar to churches and football matches and protests and raves. Finding an experience to let it all out, be safe to vulnerable, and of course, to party.
How has the performance been developing since you first did it?
We started making the show in 2023 without much of an idea of what it was going to be or without any funding or time. One of the first things I ever wrote for the show was "One part sermon, one part purge, and three parts party," and that has stayed with the show throughout all its stages of development.
At Edinburgh in 2023, it snowballed into a great word-of-mouth success and suddenly we were full every night and were offered a three-week transfer to Soho Theatre. We tweaked the show slightly but ultimately copy and pasted the show again for 2024 Fringe in the same venue. The show is so different every night based on audience interactions that it feels fresh and different each times.
2025 has seen the biggest glow up of the show. We鈥檝e got additional supporters and a producer on board now, so we've been allowed the time to dig into the elements of the show and try to improve the journey of the show as well as production elements, including a fabulous new costume design by Olvier Nomm鈥檇 Ryan Laight.
As for those audience interactions, any true stand-outs?
Wilma, the 94-year-old legend. In a very early stage of the show, we used to ask people how they wanted to end the show, and Wilma asked to pour a bottle of champagne over the RaveRend and lick it off. And that she did. But it was Prosecco, as it was Fringe theatre鈥�
We鈥檝e also had lots of collective tears, whole-audience conga lines and a 10-year-old beatboxing champion take the stage.
Tell me about your relationship to happiness and optimism. Those subjects can often be so surface level, about smiling or seeing the bright side of things, but this show seemed to be about something deeper and more meaningful.
It鈥檚 a funny one. I classify myself generally as quite optimistic and so found it interesting approaching the theme of happiness during such a crazy time of life with life and death being so present around me. We initially saw the show at poking more fun at the overly capitalist wellness culture. But we quickly realized that, in order to genuinely create connection in audiences and make a space where people could truly celebrate each other and reach into their hearts to share pains and ambitions, we had to try and answer what made us happy too. The show is an eight-step guide to happiness, and each step has some truth in how me and the team are able to find happiness even in difficult times.
When first making the show we didn鈥檛 realize the impact it would have, and have been truly overwhelmed by audience responses, the show acting as a form of therapy for them and genuinely leaving the space feeling lighter than when they arrived. Especially given the world context right now鈥�
As you've been taking this to different international venues, what are you finding different about your various audiences? What are you finding the same?
We visited Oslo back in April and that was such an enlightening experience. On the surface, they seemed more reserved鈥攁lso amazingly they were live translating the show from English to Norwegian! But the response after the show gave a whole different picture. So many people expressed how it was the most open and energetic they鈥檇 ever seen a Norwegian crowd.
Edinburgh Fringe has always and will always have a special place in our hearts. It has a unique raucous energy, is full of wonderful artists and such varied international audiences, and there鈥檚 truly no place like it. And the show was built there and we鈥檒l remember that first summer with fondness forever.
What does it mean to be bringing this particular show to the U.S. and NYC at this exact moment in time?
We鈥檙e so excited to be popping up in a few different venues in NY whilst we鈥檙e there and seeing how different communities take in the show. 3 Dollar Bill has a fabulously queer-led energy to it which aligns with the show's energy. It鈥檚 super special to also be performing at WARU (home of BATSU!) as they were our show neighbors at Fringe in 2023 and 2024, so it feels very full-circle to be performing at their venue in NY!
It鈥檚 also a dream to be able to travel the world doing what we love. We鈥檝e been hustling on the fringes for over 10 years, so we鈥檙e feeling very lucky to have made a show that is now taking us to such special places like New York!
Has performing the show affected your life and your outlook, or did that happen before you created the show?
In the show we say鈥攊n a slightly wellness-cliche way鈥攖hat it鈥檚 not about the destination, it鈥檚 the journey. This feels like the best way to explain how the show has affected my life. That anything can happen if you give it your heart and gather the support to get behind it. Especially during a time where so many people鈥檚 livelihoods and personhood are under threat, we feel continually grateful for the opportunity to share our work in a way that many people can鈥檛. The world has shifted so much in the short two years since we made the show, and if, as we鈥檝e experienced, it brings moments of joy to people鈥檚 turbulent lives, then we hope to keeping chugging along the House of Life train for as long as possible!
Rodeo, Sheeo Soup, Tilted, and P3 Productions are producing. Visit .
