Mandy Harris Williams in red, a line of light running down her body.
A glowing violet disc of light on the wall of a dark studio.
An ensemble in Victorian costume and wigs gathered around a puppet on a dark stage.
Michael R. Speciàle on all fours on a sunlit floor beside a pair of bare feet.
A staghorn fern hanging in front of a tall industrial window.
Hands raised through a burst of confetti in the dark.
A performer in sequins before falling green code and dollar bills.
An illustrated mountain under a coral sun, with the word Ekstasis.
A white dress suspended inside a purple-lit frame of neon tubes.
The cover of the zine Dear Artists: Love Letters from AI.

Q01/ 10CommissionPerformance Space New YorkPhoto: Annie Forrest

Critique Cabaret

A performance lecture by Mandy Harris Williams

We are a cultural production company.

A packed house seen from behind, facing a small stage under two banks of warm lights.
Bottoming for Jesus at Process PDX, Portland

Founded in 2021, we develop original performances, publications and live experiences rooted in critical inquiry.

We make criticality fun and sexy.

A crowd dancing in haze under pink and blue stage lights.
HOLEPICS Afterparty for Critique Cabaret at Performance Space New York. Photo: Annie Forrest
Three performers in Victorian costume and wild wigs mid-scene under green light.
Lottie Platchett Took a Hatchet, Assembly Festival, Roxy Upstairs, Edinburgh Fringe 2022

We believe the theater is one of the last true spaces for free debate. So is the dance floor.

Our roots are in theatre and the underground. We produce live theatre, performance lectures, cabaret, comedy, podcasts, festivals and events, and we stay with artists through the full life cycle of each production.

What we do

  • Performance and experience designPerformance works, immersive environments, participatory experiences.
  • Creative direction and dramaturgyConcept and narrative architecture that clarify the core of a work.
  • Production architectureThe technical and organizational structures behind complex productions.
  • General managementBudgets, contracts, scheduling and the day-to-day running of a production.
  • Branding and marketingShow identities, key art and campaigns that bring audiences in.
  • Touring and commissioningFestival presentations, touring and commissioning partnerships.
  • Research and publicationWork on care, labor, technology, spirituality and power.

On tour

  1. 2024–Bottoming for JesusPoster for Bottoming for JesusMichael R. SpeciàleCabaret confession for two performers and a piano
  2. 2025–Critique CabaretPoster for Critique CabaretMandy Harris WilliamsPerformance lecture, commissioned by Performance Space New York

In development

  1. 2027The Exile & The EcstasyMandy Harris WilliamsPerformance lecture, the third chapter after Couture Critiques and Critique Cabaret
  2. 2027Stuck with the Trouble (or, Please for the Love of God Don’t Start Another Fucking Nonprofit)Michael R. SpeciàlePerformance lecture drawn from seven years building and closing NAVEL
  3. 2022–EkstasisMichael R. SpeciàlePilot for an original mini-series

Produced

  1. 2026The Queer Fringe ’26Family Affairs StudioFree guide to 270+ queer shows at the Edinburgh Fringe
  2. 2026The Fringe in Living ColourWith Jess Brough, Fringe of ColourFree guide to 333 shows across 101 venues
  3. 2025Hoardicult GalleryKristoffer JosefssonInstallation; we built the production architecture
  4. 2024–2025Love Letters from AIMichael R. SpeciàleZine, lecture-performance and web work
  5. 2022Lottie Platchett Took a HatchetJustin Elizabeth SayreCo-produced with Outside In Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe

We also run a consultancy and a production house.

The Loft at LINT: a long sunlit studio with tall windows, columns and low seating.
The Loft at LINT

Work◆Flow for Humans

Organizational design for creative studios and mission-driven organizations. It funds the time it takes to make the work.

LINT

10,000+ square feet in Downtown Los Angeles, co-operated with Studio 3XP. Our work develops here, and Hoardicult Gallery grows in the old freight elevator.

The productions

Bottoming for Jesus, Critique Cabaret and the new works in development. Touring carries the work out and pays for what comes next.

Festivals, venues and collaborators

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Performance Space New York ZOO Venues Assembly Festival C venues Outside In Theatre Fringe of Colour Spotlight Studio 3XP Ideals Inc.

Clients

Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Denniston Hill Angels Gate Cultural Center LA Commons Visions 2030 LinkIT Media Group The Nest Creatives DML Coop Isuini Healing Martial Arts

Recent news

Mandy Harris Williams backlit against a pale curtain, one arm raised over her head.
Critique Cabaret at C aquila, August 2026

★★★★★

“This is the pop star we’ve been waiting for.”

Lamesha Ruddock, Binge Fringe, on Critique Cabaret
Michael R. Speciàle in a missionary’s shirt and tie singing into a microphone, confetti on the floor and the band behind him.
Bottoming for Jesus at ZOO Southside, August 2026

★★★★

“A joyful and poignantly vulnerable show about the many versions of ourselves that exist.”

Binge Fringe, on Bottoming for Jesus

In August 2026 we took two productions to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Critique Cabaret gave 13 performances at C aquila, and Bottoming for Jesus gave 22 at ZOO Southside.

Bottoming for Jesus

★★★★ eight times

  1. “Touchingly poignant and occasionally very funny.”The List
  2. “An incredible, deeply vulnerable piece of autobiographical theatre.”The Reviews Hub
  3. “Far more thoughtful and affecting than the deliciously provocative title suggests.”Entertainment Now
  4. “The absolute joy of the show is Michael.”George’s Theatre Reviews
  5. “He sings with passion but also with a lovely sense of playfulness.”The Wee Review
  6. “Polished, confident and packed with gay excellence.”Pure Life Plus
  7. “The writing can be surprisingly tender and nuanced.”Roviews

Next Bottoming for Jesus in Portland, 14–16 January 2027.

A collaboratively structured studio.

Artists, directors, producers and designers who work independently and together.

  1. Michael R. Speciàle

    Michael R. Speciàle

    Founder, director, performer

    Creator of Bottoming for Jesus. Co-founder of NAVEL, formerly at Lincoln Center.

  2. Mandy Harris Williams

    Mandy Harris Williams

    Artist, director, cultural critic

    Creator of Critique Cabaret. Work shown at Paula Cooper Gallery, MOCA Geffen Contemporary and Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève.

  3. Spenser Theberge

    Spenser Theberge

    Director, choreographer

    Creative director of Bottoming for Jesus. Juilliard, Princess Grace Award, Nederlands Dans Theater, The Forsythe Company.

  4. Jeremiah Ginn

    Jeremiah Ginn

    Music director, pianist

    At the piano for Bottoming for Jesus and Critique Cabaret. National tours of Anastasia, Murder For Two and A Chorus Line.

  5. Zach Blane

    Zach Blane

    Lighting designer

    Lighting for Bottoming for Jesus and Critique Cabaret. Credits include WICKED in Concert (PBS) and Tituss Burgess at Carnegie Hall.

  6. Win Mixter

    Win Mixter

    Visual designer, creative producer

    Guidance for visual direction of multiple Family Affairs Studio projects. MArch, UC Berkeley; BFA, UCLA.

  7. Chris Cruse

    Chris Cruse

    Creative producer, head of music

    Founder of Spotlight Records and the Queer Maps Archive.

  8. Studio 3XP

    Studio 3XP

    Production and fabrication

    Design and fabrication studio founded by Cory Fisher and Brandon Loyd. Co-operator of LINT.

Work with us.

hi@familyaffairs.studio
Presenters
Bottoming for Jesus and Critique Cabaret are available to tour, and our works in development are open to commissioning and co-production.
Brands
Live experiences and content produced with our artists and producers.
Funders
Project support, artist development and the infrastructure that lets ambitious work get made.

Press tickets and press enquiries also go to hi@familyaffairs.studio.

Sheer white curtains glowing pink and violet in front of a tall studio window.
LINT