In our ongoing Edinburgh Fringe 2026 interview series, we are speaking to artists and creatives who are bringing their shows to the Scottish capital this summer.
In this interview, we speak with Lee Minora about their show Baby Everything.
What can you tell me about your show?
I could tell you everything about it! But here’s a quick description: Baby Everything is a one-woman, morning doomscroll through a day in the life of a girl named Baby, who is determined to enjoy her perfectly curated day off but keeps getting side tracked by her anxiety, her compulsive need to stay informed and political arguments with her Mom. It asks how much awareness is expected of us now; if the world is getting better or worse and what would happen if your mom was somehow Channing Tatum and then did a striptease dance for you where she admitted liberals were right all along?
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| Photo by Emilie Krause |
How would you describe the style of your show to anyone who has never seen you before?
I make 4th-wall smashing solo comedy-theater that takes on socially conscious material that’s unresolved and current; ideas that are still hot to the touch. Meaning I see you and talk to you and maybe f*ck with you a little, and there’s gonna be a story to anchor us and that story will be about some real world stuff that hopefully makes you laugh hard, squirm a little and feel a little more connected to the world.
I make 4th-wall smashing solo comedy-theater that takes on socially conscious material that’s unresolved and current; ideas that are still hot to the touch. Meaning I see you and talk to you and maybe f*ck with you a little, and there’s gonna be a story to anchor us and that story will be about some real world stuff that hopefully makes you laugh hard, squirm a little and feel a little more connected to the world.
What was the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of this piece?
I’ve been lucky and had a few shows just pour out of me, and this was not one of them. It was hard earned. I spent a lot of time convinced this show was about a detective. Spoiler alert: it is not. But my initial impetus for the piece was two things, Susan Sontag’s book Regarding the Pain of Others, which is about how images of horror like war and violence shape our perception of the world. And I wanted to make a show that had a confession of privilege. I feel like I’ve seen so many solo shows where a character's big reveal is a confession of trauma or struggle, but what if the confession was just being incredibly lucky in life.
I’ve been lucky and had a few shows just pour out of me, and this was not one of them. It was hard earned. I spent a lot of time convinced this show was about a detective. Spoiler alert: it is not. But my initial impetus for the piece was two things, Susan Sontag’s book Regarding the Pain of Others, which is about how images of horror like war and violence shape our perception of the world. And I wanted to make a show that had a confession of privilege. I feel like I’ve seen so many solo shows where a character's big reveal is a confession of trauma or struggle, but what if the confession was just being incredibly lucky in life.
What makes 2026 the perfect year for this specific story or performance?
“It’s such a scary time” and it is but like also, is it? Is it scarier than other times? The same amount of scary? Yes, the world is on fire, but are we addicted to watching it burn? Baby Everything asks us to consider if our constant witnessing has blurred into performance, and if being informed is masquerading as meaningful action. It’s a show about the solipsism of doom. And while it doesn’t deny that things are broken, Baby Everything proposes that we might be addicted to believing they’re unprecedentedly broken because it makes us feel uniquely important.
“It’s such a scary time” and it is but like also, is it? Is it scarier than other times? The same amount of scary? Yes, the world is on fire, but are we addicted to watching it burn? Baby Everything asks us to consider if our constant witnessing has blurred into performance, and if being informed is masquerading as meaningful action. It’s a show about the solipsism of doom. And while it doesn’t deny that things are broken, Baby Everything proposes that we might be addicted to believing they’re unprecedentedly broken because it makes us feel uniquely important.
How will you mentally and physically prepare for a run at the Fringe?
Poorly. Ha! Um, no, most likely I’ll do the usual business, stretch, work out, therapy, and lean on my people for cheerleading and (hopefully not too much) venting. But also, I really love the fringe and the challenge of it. I find it invigorating. One year I was flyering for my show White Feminist and someone just screamed at me and I started to cry but I had my show in about 30 minutes so I set a 5 minute timer, went off into some alley, had a quick sob and headed back out to flyer. Philly has a gritty attitude. So time to get gritty.
Poorly. Ha! Um, no, most likely I’ll do the usual business, stretch, work out, therapy, and lean on my people for cheerleading and (hopefully not too much) venting. But also, I really love the fringe and the challenge of it. I find it invigorating. One year I was flyering for my show White Feminist and someone just screamed at me and I started to cry but I had my show in about 30 minutes so I set a 5 minute timer, went off into some alley, had a quick sob and headed back out to flyer. Philly has a gritty attitude. So time to get gritty.
If you couldn’t use a flyer to attract audiences, what ridiculous object would you hand out to people to get them into your show?
I think I would hand them tiny hands on sticks. But if I say why it’ll give away a really fun surprise!
I think I would hand them tiny hands on sticks. But if I say why it’ll give away a really fun surprise!
What is the one item in your Fringe Survival Kit that you can’t live without this month?
Eye mask. I love to nap. I’ll probably take a nap every day.
What would you deem as success at the end of the Fringe?
There’s a lot outside of your control at the festival. For me success is running my show and continuing to play inside the piece. Just keeping the jeu, or the sense of play. That’s my success.
There’s a lot outside of your control at the festival. For me success is running my show and continuing to play inside the piece. Just keeping the jeu, or the sense of play. That’s my success.
Other than your own show, are there any other shows you would recommend at the Fringe this year?
Hell yes! There is an entire Philly bred cohort of my friends and collaborators coming to fringe and the crazy thing is they’re all fucking brilliant. And that’s an objective truth.
Hell yes! There is an entire Philly bred cohort of my friends and collaborators coming to fringe and the crazy thing is they’re all fucking brilliant. And that’s an objective truth.
Lions by Lightning Rod Special featuring two of my closest collaborators Alice Yorke and Scott Sheppard. They’ve made a devastatingly good piece about the business of letting their Dad’s die, it’s so funny and then it isn’t. Unsentimental, and hilarious, Alice and Scott would never want to make people cry and that’s why you will.
Penelope, by Alex Bechtel, Eva Steinmetz, and Grace McClean is a BE-U-TIFUL musical told from the perspective of Penelope while she’s waiting for Odyssesus to return home. Grace has the voice of an angel. It’s exquisitely directed by Eva and Alex’s music will rearrange you on a cellular level. Good thing you can now buy the album.
40 Year Old Ballerino by Chris Davis: Chris is a Philadelphia Fringe superstar and he makes pieces that are just so uniquely his. This show’s about replacing addiction (drugs, booze and toxic romance tropes) for ballet! Funny and charming!
FORIEGNER performed by Sohrab Haghverdi is a totally destabilizing solo show, about Sohrab’s experience as an Iranian asylum seeker, Sohrab’s wild and bold and funny!
The Van Gogh Show by Donna Oblongata is one I’m really excited to see! Donna describes it as a sip and paint. It’s Sotheby’s. It’s karaoke night. Sure to be hilarious!
What is one Edinburgh spot that you would recommend people to visit when they're not watching performances?
Oh god, I’m not local. I feel like I could be getting myself into trouble attempting to make recs. but I have enjoyed a few curries at the Original Mosque Kitchen.
Oh god, I’m not local. I feel like I could be getting myself into trouble attempting to make recs. but I have enjoyed a few curries at the Original Mosque Kitchen.
Can you describe the show in 5 words?
Spoiled girl is news-sick.
Spoiled girl is news-sick.
What keeps you inspired?
Being a smart ass. Making fun of myself and my own good intentions, my own hypocrisies and failures. And my collaborators, I just have a really incredible group of peers who I always want to make laugh or gasp or get fired up!
Being a smart ass. Making fun of myself and my own good intentions, my own hypocrisies and failures. And my collaborators, I just have a really incredible group of peers who I always want to make laugh or gasp or get fired up!
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing the show?
Ya know if I had answers to big questions about the world I wouldn’t make shows I’d be like making sure Americans had health care or solving the climate crisis (she said before she flies around the world to perform a play) but I guess… I hope people would reflect on the possibility that too much pessimism (or too much optimism) is a privilege: The world is awful and also better than ever and the world could still be better. We have to hold all three if we want to keep striving towards something more perfect.
When and where can people see the show?
Okay, buckle up: it’s kind of early, but the shows gonna hit you like 3 shots of espresso, you’ll be totally fired up for your day. 10:10 am Tech Cube 0 Summerhall.
Okay, buckle up: it’s kind of early, but the shows gonna hit you like 3 shots of espresso, you’ll be totally fired up for your day. 10:10 am Tech Cube 0 Summerhall.
Tickets are available from https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/baby-everything
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