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 Martha Knight, writer and performer of The King of All Birds.
What can you tell me about your show?
The King of All Birds is a solo show with music. It tells the story of Ireland as seen from above, through a series of stories: mythical, historical, and imagined. It was inspired by a strange phenomenon in Ireland that began in the 1960s and ended in the early 2000s, where a door-to-door salesman would knock on your door, show you an aerial photograph of your house, and ask if you’d like to buy it.
Photo by Owen Clarke
As well as telling stories, the show also includes traditional music interludes, beginning acoustically, growing and growing to become a dense electronic soundscape.
It explores our impulse as humans to be in the sky, and to see ourselves from above.
How would you describe the style of your show to anyone who has never seen you before?
It is a very contemporary piece about a very ancient subject matter. It is part electronic gig, part standup show, and part storytelling piece. Often, people tell us they were most surprised by how funny it is, and how unexpected the comedy of it is.
What was the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of this piece?
In 2022 as part of a very early development I asked for people to send me photos of their own aerial photographs of their homes that they would have bought from door to door aerial photo salesmen. I was so struck by the volume of these images that exist in Irish homes and how everyone has a really strong relationship with their own. I knew there was something really deep and rich in there about our relationship with the land and the sky.
What makes 2026 the perfect year for this specific story or performance?
The show speaks to a moment in history when it was totally normal to buy a photograph of your house, taken from the sky, from someone you didn’t know. I am always struck by how outlandish this would feel now, and how our relationship with surveillance and being seen from above has changed so much in such a short period of time. What was a huge operation in the 1980s, to take an aerial photograph of my grandmother’s house, is now a task done by a satellite orbiting earth. As this technology develops, especially drone technology, I think it is really important to consider our relationship with it. The show was first performed in 2023, and this point about drones has become infinitely more relevant since then.
How will you mentally and physically prepare for a run at the Fringe?
I have literally rejoined the gym: there is a particularly physically demanding part in the middle, and as the years go on it becomes more and more of a pressing matter that I up my lung capacity ……….
In terms of mental preparation, the best thing about this show is that, while it’s not participatory, it does really engage with the audience, and I am really focusing on the idea of connecting with people through the run, and making it different and new for every audience that is so kind as to come along to it.
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 would absolutely hand them an aerial photograph of their home. I think this would work as it would be incredibly scary and alarming, and they would have to come see the show, or else.
What is the one item in your Fringe Survival Kit that you can’t live without this month?
Electrolytes!!!!
What would you deem as success at the end of the Fringe?
It feels like a success when I have conversations with people after the show and they tell me how it has resonated with them, so if that happens, it will feel like a massive success. This is particularly great with international audiences: our last international outing was to Toronto, and it was such a treat to hear how it resonated with people on the other side of the world. I think you need to be really specific in order to say something universal, and I hope we’re doing that with this show.
Other than your own show, are there any other shows you would recommend at the Fringe this year?
I definitely recommend Joy Nesbitt’s ‘The Julius Caesar Variety Show’, which also made its debut at Dublin Fringe and is absolutely stellar. Joy’s directing my show too!
What is one Edinburgh spot that you would recommend people to visit when they're not watching performances?
This will actually be my first time at Fringe EVER, so I look forward to having time to explore and experience all that Edinburgh has to offer.
Can you describe the show in 5 words?
Tongue-in-cheek, irreverent, strange, surprising, and warm.
What keeps you inspired?
When I feel uninspired, I speak to people about what’s inspiring them: you realise that every single person has a weird fascination or a specific obsession that they can’t stop thinking about. My favourite kind of conversation, and my favourite kind of show, is one where you feel like you have an insight into someone else’s head for a little while.
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing the show?
I hope people come away with some snapshots of stories from Ireland’s history with the sky: the first person to see Ireland from above, the first person to build and fly an airplane, and all of our weird myths about people being turned into birds and cursed to roam the land. One of our favourite review quotes is ‘‘When you leave the theatre and look up at the sky, it will have you imagining all sorts of stories playing out above our heads’ - I think this sums it up really well.
When and where can people see the show?
The King of All Birds, Summerhall (Former Gent’s Locker Room), 6-31 Aug (not 17, 24), 13:40 (60 mins)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-king-of-all-birds
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