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 Emily Weitzman about her show Furniture Boys.
What can you tell me about your show?
All of my ex-boyfriends are armchairs, lampshades, and futons. But why are the boys furniture? You’ll have to come to Furniture Boys to find out. It’s fun, it’s playful, it’s absurdist (The Guardian called it “shimmeringly silly” and “ridiculous and revelatory”). But ultimately, it’s exploring something more – the impermanence of a relationship, an artistic project, a person, a chair, a self.
All of my ex-boyfriends are armchairs, lampshades, and futons. But why are the boys furniture? You’ll have to come to Furniture Boys to find out. It’s fun, it’s playful, it’s absurdist (The Guardian called it “shimmeringly silly” and “ridiculous and revelatory”). But ultimately, it’s exploring something more – the impermanence of a relationship, an artistic project, a person, a chair, a self.
How would you describe the style of your show to anyone who has never seen you before?
A blend of theatre, comedy, clown, spoken word and furniture showroom. It’s truly multidisciplinary, embracing a multitude of forms of artistic-making. As an artist, I want to create captivating, surreal, and poetic worlds — to excavate the profound in absurdist, and the imaginative in the documented.
The show has oral history interviews, videography and photography, and archival material from my own life. My performance draws from performing stand-up comedy and spoken word poetry, from what I learned in clown school and from a lifetime of dance lessons – I do a dance number with couch puppets on my hands and feet. The style of Furniture Boys is a bit of anything and everything.
What was the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of this piece?
A lightbulb. Like an actual light bulb, and its lamp. (One of my furniture boys!) No, not a lightbulb, but actually: a couch. The show all started with a 3-minute spoken word poem I wrote in uni about a couch. I wanted to write a poem about a boy, but that felt obvious, boring, trite. And then came the couch. The absurdist world of Furniture Boys was built from there, over many years. As the project leaned into the absurdism of making boys into furniture, what emerged was something deeper – the real, true, meaningful layers of what furniture has to do with people and relationships.
A lightbulb. Like an actual light bulb, and its lamp. (One of my furniture boys!) No, not a lightbulb, but actually: a couch. The show all started with a 3-minute spoken word poem I wrote in uni about a couch. I wanted to write a poem about a boy, but that felt obvious, boring, trite. And then came the couch. The absurdist world of Furniture Boys was built from there, over many years. As the project leaned into the absurdism of making boys into furniture, what emerged was something deeper – the real, true, meaningful layers of what furniture has to do with people and relationships.
What makes 2026 the perfect year for this specific story or performance?
Honestly, is it the perfect year for anything? The state of the world is horrifying. All I can say is that being with other people in a space, being in community, and making theatre feels more important than ever. Part of the show looks at what it means to be an artist and to make art. I’ve always thought about this and questioned it. I’m so grateful to get to make theatre in 2026. I think you’ll find that joy and that heart in the piece, in Furniture Boys.
How will you mentally and physically prepare for a run at the Fringe?
Mentally – Fringe is go, go, go – you’re going so fast, you don’t have time to overthink everything. And not overthinking is actually good for me! So I just go!
Mentally – Fringe is go, go, go – you’re going so fast, you don’t have time to overthink everything. And not overthinking is actually good for me! So I just go!
Physically - walking around New York City, taking dance classes for fun, climbing the steps of my 4th floor walkup… it does take a lot of physicality to do a one person show! A friend who recently saw our (sold out!) off-Broadway run at SoHo Playhouse called Furniture Boys “deep, poignant, philosophical, hilarious, inspiring, and athletic”! I never thought about the athletic piece, but I guess it is!
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?
We do hand out tiny chairs! But you have to come see the show to get one. (And, in the world of Furniture Boys, tiny chairs are far from ridiculous!)
We do hand out tiny chairs! But you have to come see the show to get one. (And, in the world of Furniture Boys, tiny chairs are far from ridiculous!)
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| Photo by Jordan Ashleigh |
What is the one item in your Fringe Survival Kit that you can’t live without this month?
A sofa. It’s the centerpiece of my set and the thing I nap on when Fringe is exhausting. (You’ll see in the show just how much I love a good sofa-bed!)
What would you deem as success at the end of the Fringe?
The Edinburgh streets, full of tiny couches and talking furniture!
Other than your own show, are there any other shows you would recommend at the Fringe this year?
So many! Fellow Underbelly theatre shows CRUSH, PINK RABBIT, RIP HER TO SHREDS; Friends’ shows including Liz Coin’s LIZZY SUNSHINE, Recent Cutback’s KEVIN!!!!!, and Couplet’s FOLK MARRY KILL; IKEA WARS at Gilded Balloon (on theme for us)
So many! Fellow Underbelly theatre shows CRUSH, PINK RABBIT, RIP HER TO SHREDS; Friends’ shows including Liz Coin’s LIZZY SUNSHINE, Recent Cutback’s KEVIN!!!!!, and Couplet’s FOLK MARRY KILL; IKEA WARS at Gilded Balloon (on theme for us)
What is one Edinburgh spot that you would recommend people to visit when they’re not watching performances?
The charity shop near Summerhall! I could spend all day there. That’s where we acquired lots of our furniture for the show. (You could call them props; I call them boys.) They even have miniature tables and couches and chairs, which we used to make our structure of tiny furniture, The Kyles.
The charity shop near Summerhall! I could spend all day there. That’s where we acquired lots of our furniture for the show. (You could call them props; I call them boys.) They even have miniature tables and couches and chairs, which we used to make our structure of tiny furniture, The Kyles.
Can you describe the show in 5 words?
Riotous, “shimmeringly silly” (The Guardian), while still poignant and moving (just like furniture).
Riotous, “shimmeringly silly” (The Guardian), while still poignant and moving (just like furniture).
What keeps you inspired?
Teaching my undergraduate students; people watching alone in New York City; going to museums and films and all kinds of art; seeing innovative theater, of course; trying to read and write every day (I don’t, but I wish); and, more of all, collaborating with other incredible artists, like my directors Kate Doyle and Jacob Combs!
Teaching my undergraduate students; people watching alone in New York City; going to museums and films and all kinds of art; seeing innovative theater, of course; trying to read and write every day (I don’t, but I wish); and, more of all, collaborating with other incredible artists, like my directors Kate Doyle and Jacob Combs!
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing the show?
I put a lot of trust in my audience, and they will take away from it what they will. But one thing is for sure: we’ve been told time and time again from audience members that you’ll never see your furniture in the same light. One reviewer wrote: “You might go home and hug your favorite ottoman,” and another wrote, “furniture has never been more moving.” The Student said that the show “will surprise you with its tenderness and grandiosity.”
I put a lot of trust in my audience, and they will take away from it what they will. But one thing is for sure: we’ve been told time and time again from audience members that you’ll never see your furniture in the same light. One reviewer wrote: “You might go home and hug your favorite ottoman,” and another wrote, “furniture has never been more moving.” The Student said that the show “will surprise you with its tenderness and grandiosity.”
When and where can people see the show?
Every day at 2:30pm with Underbelly at Bristo Square, Jersey venue!
Every day at 2:30pm with Underbelly at Bristo Square, Jersey venue!
Tickets are available from https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/furniture-boys-1
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| Photo by Rachel Resnik |
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