playwright
UC Berkeley · Applied Mathematics
MA · Spiritual Psychology
TEDx · United Nations · Quincy Jones
Recording Academy member
Based in London
Adding
Up
America
UK DEBUT
EDINBURGH FRINGE 2026
Solving the Race Equation
Bold, funny and heart-opening.
What happens when identity is reduced to a simple equation?
Assembly Roxy · Edinburgh Festival Fringe · August 2026
60 minutes · solo performer · live vocals
"Entertainment and education in equal measure."
- Lyn Gardner, the Stage
"A very engaging performer … the music is worth the admission alone."
- David Pollock, the Scotsman
"Explored masterfully."
- Beverly Hills Courier
What audiences said · Edinburgh 2026
"The best solo performance I’ve seen in the past 3 years. From the first note to the last line, this was a brilliant performance."
- Simon Banks, audience member
"I’ve been coming to the Fringe for over 30 years and this is one of the most engaging, passionate and thought provoking shows I’ve seen … and her voice … her singing"
- Kenny Anderson, audience member
"She articulated things in one hour that it’s taken me literal years of therapy to get anywhere close to."
- Naomi, audience member
"Monique finds the punchline inside the pain, and never loses her footing between the two."
- Alina Addison, audience member
"Monique performs all of the parts in the show, and switches voices and physical characterizations in a way that is reminiscent of Robin Williams."
- TC Newman, audience member
"James Baldwin, the literary voice of the Civil Rights Movement, would be proud of this woman and her performance."
- Kevin Lynch, audience member
Awards & Festivals
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026
New York Solo Theater Festival
Producer's Encore Award- Hollywood Fringe
TEDx · United Nations
Oregon Fringe Festival
About the performer
Writer · Performer · Singer
UC Berkeley · Applied Mathematics
TEDx · United Nations · Quincy Jones
Recording Academy member
Based in London
Monique DeBose
Monique DeBose is an American singer-songwriter, performer and playwright, based in London since 2025. Her solo show Adding Up America: Solving the Race Equation made its UK debut at the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where she played around fifteen characters and sang live. Lyn Gardner in The Stage called it “entertainment and education in equal measure,” and The Scotsman named her “a first-rate jazz singer.” The show grew from her award-winning Mulatto Math (Producer’s Encore Award, Hollywood Fringe).
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A jazz vocalist and improviser trained with Rhiannon and Joey Blake of Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra, she has performed in over a dozen countries, sang for Quincy Jones, and debuted at #2 on the iTunes Jazz chart. She has spoken at TEDx and the United Nations, studied mathematics at UC Berkeley, and is a member of the Recording Academy.