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 Georgina Collins about her show SUCCUBUS.
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| Photo by Myla Faith |
What can you tell me about your show?
SUCCUBUS is a 50-minute cannibalistic joyride exploring shame, desire, rage, pleasure, and everything monstrous about women that they're never allowed to be. It’s a one-woman show reveling in gore, pop-culture parody and unapologetic desire; a coming-of-rage fable with a delicious heart.
How would you describe the style of your show to anyone who has never seen you before?
It's a storytelling meets stand-up, with a generous helping of slapstick gore, multi-rolling, and one woman having a very, very bad time.
What was the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of this piece?
Much like what happens to our antihero in the show, I had a health scare where one of my breasts doubled in size, pretty much overnight. Breast swelling during menstruation is normal, but this time it didn't go back down. I was really scared. After a string of examinations and scans, I was told it was my hormones. Relief? Yes. Answers: zilch.
Much like what happens to our antihero in the show, I had a health scare where one of my breasts doubled in size, pretty much overnight. Breast swelling during menstruation is normal, but this time it didn't go back down. I was really scared. After a string of examinations and scans, I was told it was my hormones. Relief? Yes. Answers: zilch.
Then I started vomiting the day before my period. Every month. Like clockwork. To the point where I knew I couldn't leave the house and had to work from home. Again: hormones. And to my fellow emetophobes, don't worry, this particular horror story doesn't make it into the show.
The problem isn't that these symptoms exist. It's that they so often end with a shrug. There's still so little understanding, and even fewer solutions. I currently manage my PMDD with antidepressants, which seems nuts to me to take a daily brain blocking serotonin reuptake inhibitor for symptoms which dominate just one week of the month.
The lightbulb moment came from one question: how dramatically would a woman's body have to change before people stopped dismissing it as "just hormones"? How about a flesh-eating demon.
What makes 2026 the perfect year for this specific story or performance?
I've lived with PMDD throughout my twenties (something I like to refer to as my second puberty). Now that I'm edging towards thirty, I can finally look back with a bit more perspective, and honestly, I feel so sorry for that version of myself. She was frightened by what was happening to her body and had no idea what to do with all that rage and upset, something which was affecting not just her but everyone around her.
I've lived with PMDD throughout my twenties (something I like to refer to as my second puberty). Now that I'm edging towards thirty, I can finally look back with a bit more perspective, and honestly, I feel so sorry for that version of myself. She was frightened by what was happening to her body and had no idea what to do with all that rage and upset, something which was affecting not just her but everyone around her.
It also feels like exactly the right moment for this story. We're finally starting to see conversations around women's health move forward. PMOS has only just been renamed from PCOS, recognising that it's not simply a gynaecological condition but a life-long condition that affects the whole body. Yet so much of female health is still misunderstood, under-researched, or dismissed altogether. SUCCUBUS, for one, has had enough!
How will you mentally and physically prepare for a run at the Fringe?
I've decided I'm going to become someone who meditates. Whether I actually become that person remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic.
I've decided I'm going to become someone who meditates. Whether I actually become that person remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic.
Really though, my saving grace has been my friends and family. Hot take: it’s actually pretty vulnerable to play a misunderstood cannibal. I've really relied on the people I trust to tell me when something's working, when something isn't, and occasionally to reassure me that I'm making theatre, not simply having a public breakdown.
My exercise routine, however, has absolutely fallen apart in the run-up. I work a regular 9-to-6, so every spare hour has gone into getting the show ready. Lugging our set around will have to count as my strength training.
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 have a Little Shop of Horrors act where I feed my Audrey II puppet rhinestone-crusted bloody tampons. I would hand out rhinestone-crusted bloody tampons.
I have a Little Shop of Horrors act where I feed my Audrey II puppet rhinestone-crusted bloody tampons. I would hand out rhinestone-crusted bloody tampons.
What is the one item in your Fringe Survival Kit that you can’t live without at the Fringe?
This is my first Edinburgh Fringe, so while I feel prepared for the show, I'm going into the rest of the experience severely underqualified. My survival kit would probably include restricting my phone to very limited screen-time. Doomscrolling is a terrible habit at the best of times, and at the Fringe I think it would be my downfall.
I also love Scotland, so I'm really looking forward to getting out, seeing Edinburgh and catching as many shows as I can. The Fringe is bigger than just our show, I want it to feel that way.
What would you deem as success at the end of the Fringe?
I feel immensely proud of myself for this show. It’s my playwriting debut and I’m proud of the gags and I love the character we’ve created. Personally being able to do this is enough of a success for me, being able to find our audience, people who resonate with the good, bad and ugly side of womanhood, folk who get the cult horror references and revel in the slapstick gore - that would be an absolute dream.
I feel immensely proud of myself for this show. It’s my playwriting debut and I’m proud of the gags and I love the character we’ve created. Personally being able to do this is enough of a success for me, being able to find our audience, people who resonate with the good, bad and ugly side of womanhood, folk who get the cult horror references and revel in the slapstick gore - that would be an absolute dream.
Other than your own show, are there any other shows you would recommend at the Fringe this year?
I'm really looking forward to catching other Underbelly shows - especially Pink Rabbit, Nuns, Jellyfish, Woman (33) and our friends in Mothman: A Romance Musical.
I'm really looking forward to catching other Underbelly shows - especially Pink Rabbit, Nuns, Jellyfish, Woman (33) and our friends in Mothman: A Romance Musical.
I also caught a snippet of Teenage Heartthrobs at an Edinburgh showcase this week. It’s essentially a 90s boyband parody with hilarious original songs. I laughed so hard I nearly peed! And I only saw 10 mins of it! Seeing a full show I’d probably sh*t myself laughing.
What is one Edinburgh spot that you would recommend people to visit when they're not watching performances?
A really vivid childhood memory of mine was visiting The Real Mary King’s Close. It fucking rocks. It’s an underground, preserved 17th-century street. It's so creepy and cool! I remember seeing a plague doctor dummy down there as a kid and it gave me nightmares for years, which, in hindsight, probably explains quite a lot. You have to go if you’re in the city, I hope my childhood brain isn’t making me remember it grander than it is but I’m sure it remains an excellent piece of Scottish history if you’re in the market for it.
Can you describe the show in 5 words?
Feral, heartful, impulsive, delicious, bisexual
Feral, heartful, impulsive, delicious, bisexual
What keeps you inspired?
I catch as much burlesque and cabaret as I can. My burlesque journey essentially paved the way into the one-woman-show kingdom. If you can build a world, tell a story and leave an audience emotionally devastated, or crying with laughter, in five minutes, you're basically a sorceress. The creativity I've seen in cabaret clubs across the UK is honestly outrageous and endlessly inspiring.
I catch as much burlesque and cabaret as I can. My burlesque journey essentially paved the way into the one-woman-show kingdom. If you can build a world, tell a story and leave an audience emotionally devastated, or crying with laughter, in five minutes, you're basically a sorceress. The creativity I've seen in cabaret clubs across the UK is honestly outrageous and endlessly inspiring.
I'm also a huge horror fan. I love scaring myself silly in the cinema. I genuinely think some of the boldest artistic ideas come from horror, a genre that's so often dismissed as excessive or gratuitous. Horror has this incredible ability to smuggle in conversations about grief, shame, queerness and identity under the guise of monsters and gore. That's very much the territory SUCCUBUS likes to play in.
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing the show?
SUCCUBUS isn't going to change the systems it critiques, but I hope audiences leave feeling a little less alone. We spend so much time trying to hide the parts of ourselves that feel shameful, or "too much" especially us women and queer folk.
If someone walks out having laughed at something they secretly thought only they felt, then I'll be really happy. Underneath all the gore, demons and questionable eating habits, the show is really about human connection and feeling seen.
When and where can people see the show?
SUCCUBUS will be dining daily on the Underbelly Dexter stage in Bristo sq from 5th-16th August at 4:15pm. Be there or be (a) square (meal).
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| Photo by Myla Faith |
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