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GELIN

31 January - 1 February

When her overbearing mother arranges a marriage she doesn’t want, Aylin sends her best friend in her place – only for it to backfire when her future husband falls for the imposter.

Gelin is a modern adaptation of Ibrahim Şinasi’s Şair Evlenmesi, reimagined from the female characters’ perspective in present-day London.

Aylin, a young Turkish woman with a habit of telling tall tales, is blindsided when her overbearing mother, Sevim, arranges a marriage she doesn’t want. Instead of saying no, Aylin decides to send her bumbling British friend, Yaz, to meet Emre, the “perfect” groom, in her place, secretly convinced Yaz’s kookiness will scare him off. Only…Yaz and Emre actually click. But he still thinks she’s Aylin. As the lies pile up all the way to the wedding, Aylin is forced to confront why she tells so many stories to keep the peace – with her mother, her best friend and herself.

Inspired by the unheard voices in Şair Evlenmesi, Gelin explores the complexities women face across cultures, from family expectations to the fragile but powerful bonds of female friendships. Funny, charming and honest, Gelin asks whether a woman can be the ‘mükemmel gelin’ – the perfect bride – without lying about herself to make everyone happy.

FISH OUTTA WATER

6 February

Tired of swimming in circles, a socially-awkward teen breaks free from captivity, diving head-first into the treacherous waters of adulthood.

“There are some things a fish just can’t do, like ride a bicycle. No matter how hard it tries, it will never be able to get its slippery little fins on the pedals.”

While everyone else her age is out exploring uncharted waters, this 19-year-old is contained in captivity. Tired of swimming around in circles, she initiates ‘Operation: Free Willy – An Agoraphobic Orca’s Guide To Escaping Your Tank’. From driving lessons to dating, she dives head-first into adulthood, soon realising that being in the wild isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Fish Outta Water is a semi-autobiographical, solo, coming-of-age comedy, written and performed by Jess Ashley, and directed by West End veteran Joe Allen.



THESE ROOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING

11 - 15 February

Three solo plays, one night, decades of voices.

Three original solo plays illuminate untold stories from history, reimagining the past and reigniting hope for the future. This collection of new works covers themes of queerness, feminism, bodily autonomy, gender roles, and activism throughout the 20th century.

The Eye of Dawn is inspired by Mata Hari, a 1920s Dutch exotic dancer accused of espionage. Jumping to 1941, She is a fictional tale filled with tap dancing, sapphic waltzes, and undercover nuns, influenced by Sarah Water’s novel, Tipping the Velvet. Lesbians Eat Fire follows Joanne, a fictional character created from the lived experiences of the Lesbian Avengers and lesbian activists from the early 1990s.

The Eye of Dawn

When women’s stories are recorded, who gets the last word? Mata Hari is a woman caught between myth and truth, but The Eye of Dawn gives a voice to the multiplicity of her existence. Loosely inspired by Paulo Coelho’s The Spy, this monologue reconciles the exotic performer, accused traitor, and the femme fatale archetype. Within the four walls of a room, not one of her own, her narrative is told with flair, vulnerability, and edge. This is not a textbook account, but a take on her lived experience with a healthy serving of absurdism, irony, and well, now that we’re taking the stage anyway, show. 

She

It’s 1941. London rains with bombs. A young woman named Nan works in an artillery factory by day and impersonates a Victorian gentleman by night. When she reunites with an old friend on the factory floor, the embers of their affection reignite. As the world burns around them, Nan must decide: Will she smother her desires or succumb to the inferno and risk it all for the one she truly loves? Inspired by Sarah Waters’s novel, Tipping the Velvet, She is a fictional tale filled with tap dancing, sapphic waltzes, undercover nuns, and gender fluidity, echoing historical accounts of queer love and yearning.

Lesbians Eat Fire

In 1995, AIDS hovers over New York City like a tsunami, threatening to sweep away and drown everything Lesbian Avenger Joanne knows. She’s lost her first love but yearns to keep her flame alive as desire, anger, joy, and danger collide. Lesbians Eat Fire asks what it means to carry the fire for those who came before us, how we survive when losing our anchor points, and how queer bodies continue to resist erasure. A story set to the sound of waves and protest blends embodied storytelling and archival memory. It’s a personal confession reflecting our collective history. Inspired by the lived histories of the Lesbian Avengers, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, and lesbian activism of the 1990s, this new play is about staying alive when hope feels impossible

Emily Wollenberg, Caro Vinden, and Isabel Hees are theatremakers and actors hailing from the United States, Norway, and the Netherlands. The three friends met through their master’s program at East 15 Acting School. Using poetry, physicality, song, and dance, the artists share culture, viewpoints, and knowledge from around the globe. 

Unearthed Theatre Company is a London-based theatre collective of international artists and the creators of The Lesbians of Forest Gate. Through intentional research and honest storytelling, Unearthed strives to dig deeper and shed light on those often written out of history.

Swans Are F****** Arseholes

20 - 22 February

A dark comedy for the algorithm age: absurd, alarming, and painfully human.

All Sarah wants is to be normal. Normal enough to keep her relationship with
her boyfriend Mark, normal enough to hold a job, and normal enough to finally
get sober and stay that way. She’s counting days, avoiding old habits, and trying to rebuild her life—until the internet explodes.

An AI-generated sex tape of Sarah with a swan goes viral overnight.
Strangers recognize her, sobriety meetings become unbearable, and Mark
doesn’t know what to believe. Sarah insists it isn’t her, but in a world where
images feel more real than truth, denial means very little. As the video spirals
into memes, outrage, and public judgment, one question haunts everything: who made the tape, and why?

By BBC New Creative and Soho Theatre, Criterion Theatre & Mercury Theatre
Writers Alumni, Emma Zadow. Previously presented in scratch nights at The
Pleasance Theatre, Union Theatre and Criterion Theatre West End in their
Playwrights Industry Showcase.

Previous Feedback on the script:
“Vivid, timely, wild and exciting.” – Lucy Kirkwood

LOSE YOUR MARBLES

23 February

An evening of pure absurdist comedy with extreme ASMR practitioner Yogie Belle and friends.

Get ready to Lose Your Marbles at the Canal Café Theatre in Little Venice, Maida Vale!

Curated by the worlds #1 extreme ASMR practitioner and sound beautician, Yogie Belle, this vaudevillian extravaganza delivers a hand-picked line-up of alternative acts who’ll leave you wailing with joy like a dolphin that’s escaped from Leningrad zoo.

Unapologetically original absurd alternative comedy— from the front trenches of the fringe.

Lose Your Marbles celebrates the theatre of the weird, the wild, and the wonderfully bizarre in a collision of storytelling, performance, music and clowning in a kaleidoscope of unlimited limitless silliness.

What to Expect:

· Fringe artists who dare to be different.

· A chaotic night of pure comedic anarchy.

· The perfect evening for fans of boundary-pushing brilliance.

LAUGHING MATTERS

27 - 28 February

When a comedian’s life changes overnight, Laughing Matters explores his struggle to pick up the pieces of his life and his material.

“A polished and assured piece of theatre…no word in the script goes to waste’”– Everything Theatre

Part stand-up show, part soul-searching monologue, Laughing Matters is a bittersweet exploration of grief, love, and creativity.

The show follows Chris, an up-and-coming stand-up comedian as a major and tragic life event forces him to throw out his once-reliable stand-up material and start again. As he struggles to rebuild his set and his life, he must also confront deeper questions about truth, performance, and what it means to be authentic.

With a blend of humour, heartbreak, and hope, Laughing Matters pulls back the curtain on the process of turning life’s most painful moments into something worth laughing at.

BARELY HUMAN

13 - 15 March

Post-prison cabaret at its messiest: can violence ever be justified?

Eva’s out of prison on early release. Her therapist said a cabaret would be a great creative outlet. So here she is! She’s a bit raw still. She’s a bit raw all the time, actually. But her parole officer will be there, so she can’t do anything too crazy. Right? She’s going to sing some songs for you. And tell you some funny stories. Be nice and help her start her new life off fresh. By the by, people take things too literally – don’t you think? There’s a lot of violence in the world,
and sometimes you’ve just got to make a statement. Symbolic crime, if you will. Chocolate milk, anyone?

Barely Human is Eva Voss’s second cabaret. Her first, Yeet The Dog, explored the dark side of life in a humorous, heartfelt way: we’re all going to experience loss, pain and absurdity, so we’d better love our lives through it. Eva also co-founded Far Between Theatre (@farbetweentheatre), with whom she will be performing a raucous jazz-age Much Ado About Nothing in March 2026. Far Between Theatre makes it its mission to tell stories of softness, difference and violence, encouraging audiences to open up their hearts and fire up
their bellies.

Looking for Wolverhampton’s Latin Quarter

3 April

A funny, touching and self-deprecating account of growing up in 1970s Wolverhampton.

Winner of the New York Radio Festivals Award 2025 for his collaboration
with Andrew McGibbon on their acclaimed Radio 4 play When Alan met
Ray, starring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, Ian returns to Canal
Cafe with his sell out Edinburgh Fringe comedy play about growing up in
Wolverhampton in the 1970s.

He looks back at his deluded teenage years. Being a trainee butcher at
the Co-op is only a temporary situation before he reveals his true artistic
talents to the world. No careers officer or personnel manager is going to
stop him producing his rock album, publishing his poetry or mounting
his first exhibition. A world of awkward romantic relationships, Sex Pistols, Crossroads and Angel Delight.