Baby Brain is a new play about motherhood, giving birth, postpartum psychosis and stand-up comedy! A new mother, Cass, tackles her mental health crisis, with dark humour, bright wit, brutal honesty and dreams of becoming a comic. A ‘slightly true story’ starring BAFTA winner Kimberley Nixon.
Baby Brain is a darkly comic one-woman show about a new mother, Cass, in the grip of postpartum psychosis. Stand-up routines, voice notes and a fourth-wall-breaking format pull audiences inside Cass's head as she fights to tell what's real from what isn't. The 55-minute show was co-written by Nixon with writer-directors Tim Clague and Danny Stack of Nelson Nutmeg Pictures
We caught up with Kimberley Nixon to learn more.
It's a one-woman dark comedy about a new mum, Cass, who's losing her grip on reality and trying to write stand-up at the same time. We call it "a slightly true story" because while Cass is going through postpartum psychosis, I had severe postnatal OCD. Different conditions, but the same lonely terror of those early months. Tim & Danny (the co-writers/directors) and I had been kicking around ideas for screen projects for a few years, but theatre meant we could just get on and make the thing. So we did.
The play is described as a "slightly true story." How does it feel to step into a role that blurs the lines between fiction and lived experience, and does that change how you protect your own emotional well-being after a performance?
Cass isn't me, but there are many parts of her I recognise. The "slightly true" disclaimer is useful because audiences always want to know how much is autobiography, and the honest answer is: themes more than events. We drew inspiration from my experience and a lot of different mums’ stories, so that made it somewhat easier to ‘find’ Cass’s character rather than just play a version of me. It’s still a very emotionally challenging role, a lot of mental flip switches to turn and off. But the script helps to protect myself. It's a structure. I know where Cass starts, where she ends, and what happens in between. Real life didn't have stage directions.
Cass isn't me, but there are many parts of her I recognise. The "slightly true" disclaimer is useful because audiences always want to know how much is autobiography, and the honest answer is: themes more than events. We drew inspiration from my experience and a lot of different mums’ stories, so that made it somewhat easier to ‘find’ Cass’s character rather than just play a version of me. It’s still a very emotionally challenging role, a lot of mental flip switches to turn and off. But the script helps to protect myself. It's a structure. I know where Cass starts, where she ends, and what happens in between. Real life didn't have stage directions.
Cass is a character dealing with the duality of a mental health crisis and a passion for stand-up. How did you go about finding her "voice" both her everyday voice and her "on-stage" comic persona?
A lot of the voice was on the page, thanks to co-writing the script with Tim & Danny. We shared a lot of ideas, voice notes and conversations to find Cass’s chatty persona, which is like me, but taken a bit further. Every pause, doubt, mistake, or even a fluffed line, was written in. I try to channel a new-mum exhaustion into a kind of dodgy open mic; fragmented, racing, occasionally landing a joke by accident, and getting other basic gags wrong. Some of the stand-up material is decent, some of it is naff. Cass is still figuring out jokes, still figuring out herself, and constantly trying to cling on to her sanity all the way through. Crucially, humour is the way to get underneath the dark nature of postpartum psychosis, which helps to make the story more engaging for the audience.
Postpartum psychosis is rarely discussed with this level of dark humour and bright wit. How do you find the balance between honouring the gravity of a mental health crisis while making sure the audience still feels permitted to laugh?
Honestly, we don't think about "permission" much in the room. The three of us are mates who make each other laugh, and that's the energy we started from. If a gag earns its place, the audience will go with it. The bigger danger is the opposite, too much reverence, where everyone gets so careful that the show becomes a public service announcement. Nobody wants to sit through that. Especially not the mothers we made it for. But we were thinking of dads and blokes, too. And people who wouldn’t come to the theatre at all. The play’s original title was ‘Are Dead Babies Funny?’ A lot of mums and medical staff were totally fine with this title. Marketing departments, less so.
Honestly, we don't think about "permission" much in the room. The three of us are mates who make each other laugh, and that's the energy we started from. If a gag earns its place, the audience will go with it. The bigger danger is the opposite, too much reverence, where everyone gets so careful that the show becomes a public service announcement. Nobody wants to sit through that. Especially not the mothers we made it for. But we were thinking of dads and blokes, too. And people who wouldn’t come to the theatre at all. The play’s original title was ‘Are Dead Babies Funny?’ A lot of mums and medical staff were totally fine with this title. Marketing departments, less so.
Postpartum psychosis is often portrayed in media as a horror trope, but this play promises brutal honesty. How important was it to you to ground this performance in a reality that mothers would actually recognise?
Hugely. The typical version of perinatal mental illness is usually a woman in a white nightie staring at a cot in slow motion, and that's not what it looks like from the inside. From the inside it looks like making lunch, answering a text, googling something at 3am, then losing twenty minutes you can't account for, as well as battling intrusive thoughts which take you to the edge of your sanity. We wanted the texture of that, not the silhouette of it. If a mum in the audience nudges her partner and says "see?", we've done our job.
Cass dreams of becoming a comic. Did you have to study any specific stand-up techniques to play a character who is finding her voice while simultaneously losing her grip on reality?
I’m a comedy fan. I watch a lot. And I love stand up comics. But Cass isn't meant to be brilliant, she's meant to be someone who WANTS to be brilliant at stand-up, which is a much more forgiving brief. The bits that work, work. The bits that fall apart, fall apart on purpose. There's real freedom in playing someone whose timing is allowed to be off, because hers genuinely is.
I’m a comedy fan. I watch a lot. And I love stand up comics. But Cass isn't meant to be brilliant, she's meant to be someone who WANTS to be brilliant at stand-up, which is a much more forgiving brief. The bits that work, work. The bits that fall apart, fall apart on purpose. There's real freedom in playing someone whose timing is allowed to be off, because hers genuinely is.
Comedy and mental health crises both rely heavily on timing. How does the play’s structure mirror the frantic, high-stakes energy of a stand-up set?
It's got the same rhythm as a set that's slipping away from a comic. You start with the bits you trust, you reach for a callback, you misjudge the room, you panic, you double down. The play does the same thing on a bigger scale. Cass keeps trying to land what she thinks is the gig, and the gig keeps changing on her. By the end she's not sure which bits were rehearsed and which she's making up. Neither is the audience. That's the point.
It's got the same rhythm as a set that's slipping away from a comic. You start with the bits you trust, you reach for a callback, you misjudge the room, you panic, you double down. The play does the same thing on a bigger scale. Cass keeps trying to land what she thinks is the gig, and the gig keeps changing on her. By the end she's not sure which bits were rehearsed and which she's making up. Neither is the audience. That's the point.
Most people know you for your brilliant comedic timing in shows like Fresh Meat. How does Baby Brain allow you to showcase a different side of your acting range that fans might not have seen before?
Fresh Meat was - agh! - a long time ago, and Josie was great fun, but I've done a fair bit since then that doesn't fit the same shelf. Baby Brain isn't really about range, it's about being on stage alone for 55 minutes with no one to bounce off. That's the bit fans might not have seen, because honestly neither had I. There's nowhere to hide. Which is terrifying, and also the reason you do it.
Fresh Meat was - agh! - a long time ago, and Josie was great fun, but I've done a fair bit since then that doesn't fit the same shelf. Baby Brain isn't really about range, it's about being on stage alone for 55 minutes with no one to bounce off. That's the bit fans might not have seen, because honestly neither had I. There's nowhere to hide. Which is terrifying, and also the reason you do it.
The play deals with the aftermath of giving birth and postpartum psychosis. How do you approach the physical demands of portraying someone who is exhausted and overwhelmed, yet mentally racing?
That’s a difficult question, especially as I don’t want to sound pretentious. But Baby Brain is such a personal and emotive story for me. Important for so many reasons. And I think about every mum who might be suffering, in whatever form. So I put it all out there. I throw myself into the role. I give it my all. It’s the only way to truly be honest, and do the story justice. So that everyone has laughed and had a great night at the theatre, but felt something emotionally real and true at the same time.
That’s a difficult question, especially as I don’t want to sound pretentious. But Baby Brain is such a personal and emotive story for me. Important for so many reasons. And I think about every mum who might be suffering, in whatever form. So I put it all out there. I throw myself into the role. I give it my all. It’s the only way to truly be honest, and do the story justice. So that everyone has laughed and had a great night at the theatre, but felt something emotionally real and true at the same time.
If you had to describe Cass’s "stand-up style" in three words, what would they be?
Endearing. Energetic. Erratic.
Endearing. Energetic. Erratic.
Performing stand-up within a play is a double-act. Have you found yourself developing a new appreciation for the bravery it takes to stand at a microphone and try to make people laugh?
Genuinely yes. I've always known stand-ups are brave, but doing even a watered-down version of it in character has given me proper respect. There's no fourth wall, no other actor to take the weight, no helpful exit line. Just you and whatever's coming out of your mouth, and a room full of people deciding whether they're with you. This is probably the closest I’ll get to trying the real thing.
Genuinely yes. I've always known stand-ups are brave, but doing even a watered-down version of it in character has given me proper respect. There's no fourth wall, no other actor to take the weight, no helpful exit line. Just you and whatever's coming out of your mouth, and a room full of people deciding whether they're with you. This is probably the closest I’ll get to trying the real thing.
What is the most challenging line or scene to get through without getting too choked up?
There's a bit where Cass essentially breaks down and asks for help, and the words are very plain and small, her energy worn down. The bigger, louder moments are easier because you've got somewhere to put the energy. The quiet asks are harder.
There's a bit where Cass essentially breaks down and asks for help, and the words are very plain and small, her energy worn down. The bigger, louder moments are easier because you've got somewhere to put the energy. The quiet asks are harder.
You’ve had an incredible career in film and TV. What was it about the script for Baby Brain that made you want to return to the intimacy and "no-safety-net" environment of live theatre?
Kind of you to say "incredible", my agent will be pleased. The honest answer is that screen development is glacial, and Baby Brain is a story I wanted out in the world while it still felt urgent to me. Theatre lets you actually make the thing. You write it, you rehearse it, you do it, and you find out very quickly whether it works. After years of waiting for green lights, that was the real draw.
Kind of you to say "incredible", my agent will be pleased. The honest answer is that screen development is glacial, and Baby Brain is a story I wanted out in the world while it still felt urgent to me. Theatre lets you actually make the thing. You write it, you rehearse it, you do it, and you find out very quickly whether it works. After years of waiting for green lights, that was the real draw.
How do you mentally and physically prepare for a performance?
No candles or vocal warm-ups in a tracksuit, sorry. I eat something boring, I run the stand-up bits because those are the trickiest to keep sharp, and I try not to look at my phone for an hour before. The big one is not over-thinking it. The play needs me a bit on the back foot. Polish kills it.
What was the first piece of theatre you remember having a big impact on you?
I remember going to see Miss Saigon in the West End when I was about 9 on a coach trip from Wales. I loved the huge production of it - it was so epic! I also saw Othello at the RSC when I was a teenager, starring Lisa Dillon as Desdemona and I was blown away. Lisa would be on my first ever job a few years later – on Cranford.
How do you reflect on your career to date?
I try not to reflect too much, in case I lose my nerve. I've been lucky to keep working in an industry that doesn't owe anyone a living, and I've done jobs I'm proud of and jobs that paid the mortgage, sometimes both at once. The thing I'm proudest of right now is co-creating Baby Brain, and having a good time with my friends doing it. It's the first time I've had my hands on something from the page up. That’s written for me, by me, starring me. An actor’s dream, let’s face it.
I try not to reflect too much, in case I lose my nerve. I've been lucky to keep working in an industry that doesn't owe anyone a living, and I've done jobs I'm proud of and jobs that paid the mortgage, sometimes both at once. The thing I'm proudest of right now is co-creating Baby Brain, and having a good time with my friends doing it. It's the first time I've had my hands on something from the page up. That’s written for me, by me, starring me. An actor’s dream, let’s face it.
What motivates you to keep on performing in shows like Baby Brain?
The audiences. We've had women come up after shows to talk about their own experiences, and that doesn't happen if you're doing it for the love of theatre. It happens because the show has done something useful. I don't think I'd keep going on stamina alone, but on those conversations, yeah, all day.
The audiences. We've had women come up after shows to talk about their own experiences, and that doesn't happen if you're doing it for the love of theatre. It happens because the show has done something useful. I don't think I'd keep going on stamina alone, but on those conversations, yeah, all day.
Cass’s journey highlights the brutal honesty of new motherhood. What do you hope new parents in the audience who might feel isolated in their own struggles take away from seeing this on stage?
That they're not alone, they're not broken, and the dark thoughts that arrive uninvited in the early months are far more common than the Instagram grid suggests. Cass is a worst-case scenario in 55 minutes, but the loneliness and the unsayable stuff at the edges, that's universal. If one person leaves the theatre and tells someone what they're actually going through, the whole tour is worth it.
That they're not alone, they're not broken, and the dark thoughts that arrive uninvited in the early months are far more common than the Instagram grid suggests. Cass is a worst-case scenario in 55 minutes, but the loneliness and the unsayable stuff at the edges, that's universal. If one person leaves the theatre and tells someone what they're actually going through, the whole tour is worth it.
Baby Brain tours playing at:
For more information visit https://www.nelsonnutmegpictures.com/babybrainplay
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| Kimberley Nixon |
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