The Edinburgh Fringe is almost upon us and to get prepared for another Scottish summer Read About Stuff is running a ‘Five From The Fringe’ interview series, where creative teams answer five questions about their upcoming Festival shows.
In this interview, I chat to Nealy Glenn about their new show The Lady Doth Protest.
Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?
I think what the audience can truly expect is the unexpected. The Lady Doth Protest starts one way and certainly ends another. Our hope is that we take you on an absolute wild ride from start to finish. It’s a razor-sharp black comedy where you never quite know where the story is taking you—and that is the absolute beauty and joy of it.
What drew you to this specific story, and why does it belong at the Edinburgh Fringe?
We actually wrote this play specifically for the Fringe! The context of the show is entirely meta-on-meta; it’s about actors literally coming to the Fringe to perform. It belongs in that environment because it feeds on that exact high-stakes, artistic energy.
How does the design of your show impact the presentation of your story?
Our goal is for the space to feel very makeshift—almost intentionally haphazard—to mirror the gritty reality of a Fringe setup. But don’t let the minimal look fool you; we also have intense fight choreography and real blood effects. We want all of that to feel raw, organic, and part of the piece.
Bringing that level of intensity into such an intimate, small space is a challenge, but our design team is brilliantly pulling it off.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?
Honestly? It’s simply money. We have been incredibly blessed with so many phenomenally talented people attaching themselves to this project, and everyone has been so unbelievably generous with their art and their time. But at the end of the day, it still costs money to physically get a team across the pond.
If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?
Without a doubt, it is a razor-sharp black comedy with a clock ticking inside it. We call it that because there is an immense urgency to this piece. At its core, The Lady Doth Protest is asking a massive question: ‘Who controls the narrative?’ Who gets to decide what is true, who is remembered, and who gets sidelined? In 2026, that question feels more relevant and volatile than ever before. We live in a world where everyone is fighting to spin their own version of reality, and this show takes that cultural anxiety and spins it into a fast, funny, and deeply biting theatrical ride using Shakespeare words as the foundation. You don’t just watch the argument happen—you feel the immediate, urgent heat of it.
The Lady Doth Protest runs at Olive Studio at Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236) from August 17th – 29th. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-lady-doth-protest
