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 Mama G about her show The Magic Bookmark.
What can you tell me about your show?
I don’t want to brag, but it is THE must-see show of the Fringe. According to my mum… and I do trust her taste. Brilliantly, there’s really only one way you can see if she’s right: buy a ticket!
I don’t want to brag, but it is THE must-see show of the Fringe. According to my mum… and I do trust her taste. Brilliantly, there’s really only one way you can see if she’s right: buy a ticket!
Once you’ve bought the ticket (and tickets for the rest of the your family too), I really do think you’re in for a treat! It’s all the best bits of a panto, performed by someone who loves panto, and has a message that will uplift you and make you think! It explores how books can make the world a better place when they include everyone in their stories. We put that theory to the test with some of the best picture books on the market (including one of mine - that’s right, she’s an author too!)
Not only that, but The Magic Bookmark has incredible songs (that you can stream right now), by Fringe icon Katie Pritchard. They are so catchy you’ll be humming them for days.
How would you describe the style of your show to anyone who has never seen you before?
It’s a pantomime through and through! It’s got everything a good traditional panto needs: lots of audience participation, an epic villain, a good story, terrible jokes, and a very fabulous dame!
It’s a pantomime through and through! It’s got everything a good traditional panto needs: lots of audience participation, an epic villain, a good story, terrible jokes, and a very fabulous dame!
If you’re new to the world of panto, you’re in for a treat; but let me give you a warning: nothing you see will be mimed! In fact, it will all be very raucous.
Panto, in the British sense, is a theatrical tradition that goes back to the 1700s (but has its inspiration in Ancient Greece and Medieval Italy!) Hundreds of thousands of Brits descend on theatres every Christmas (for that is when it is traditionally performed) to see a fairy tale brought to life through music and comedy. The best thing about panto is that it is intentionally for absolutely everybody. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how much money you have, or where in the world you come from: panto lets us laugh together. It’s magical!
What was the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of this piece?
I’ve done pantomime for over twenty years, and I’ve loved it for even longer (but if I say anymore you’ll know too much!) About eight years ago, I realised that panto wasn’t being used to its full advantage. Everyone loves it, so why was it only being performed at Christmas? Why wasn’t it being used to discuss important social topics in a way that made them accessible to everyone? That’s sort of when Mama G was born - I started storytelling using panto as base, and sharing a message of ‘being who you want and loving who you are.’
Over the years, while most people loved my work, some people felt challenged by a pantomime dame existing out of a panto context. I think they were especially challenged by my positive and inclusive message. They used me ‘going solo’ as a way to target my work and claim that I was doing nefarious things with my stories.
These people gave me a brilliant idea. I should write a pantomime, specifically about storytelling and being inclusive. Hopefully, if I put myself firmly back into a panto context, my critics would be able to enjoy my work and hear the message for what it is: necessary, important, and life-affirming. I hope it’s worked!
What makes 2026 the perfect year for this specific story or performance?
I created The Magic Bookmark in 2023, already having faced negative reactions to my style of storytelling, and while LGBTQIA+ book bans were starting in the USA.
I created The Magic Bookmark in 2023, already having faced negative reactions to my style of storytelling, and while LGBTQIA+ book bans were starting in the USA.
Sadly, since then, far-right sentiment, especially homophobia, racism, and misogyny, has become rampant in the UK too. Last year, I was banned from performing at libraries in Suffolk, after a councillor complained about my stories having an ‘agenda’. This year, several councils around the country (guess who they’re run by, go on…) have rescinded their support for pride events; and several have banned libraries from promoting everything from pride to Dementia awareness initiatives.
It’s becoming increasingly hard for a majority of us to have our voices heard in spaces that are meant to be for us all. I’ve taken it upon myself to make sure that our voices ring out loud and proud. After touring the show for three years, these developments are what have finally led me to Edinburgh. If you think everyone has a right to be visible in society, come and join the crusade, every day at 12:20pm, at Gilded Balloon Teviot. And by crusade, I mean: a panto that will put you on the right side of history!
How will you mentally and physically prepare for a run at the Fringe?
This will be my first full run at the Edinburgh Fringe, so I’m going to approach it the way I would a six week panto run: I’m going to focus on making sure I’m as physically fit as I can be, I’m going to eat a LOT of oranges (that’s a decades long superstition for me), and I’m going to sit in a dark room trying to convince myself that I prefer water over wine!
This will be my first full run at the Edinburgh Fringe, so I’m going to approach it the way I would a six week panto run: I’m going to focus on making sure I’m as physically fit as I can be, I’m going to eat a LOT of oranges (that’s a decades long superstition for me), and I’m going to sit in a dark room trying to convince myself that I prefer water over wine!
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?
A bookmark, of course.
A bookmark, of course.
No, that’s not nearly ridiculous enough is it?
The Magic Bookmark’s villain is called Book Worm, so I would actually wiggle wriggly worms in peoples’ faces until they’ve visited Gilded Balloon’s website and booked their tickets to my show! While he’s the baddie, the worm in the show is a lot less gross than a real worm (no disrespect to worms, of course), so you’ll be safe at my show!
What is the one item in your Fringe Survival Kit that you can’t live without at the Fringe?
I’m not sure yet… but the one thing I need to comfort me whenever I am in unfamiliar surroundings is a digital alarm clock that I was given by my Gran’s French pen-friend when I was 16. It’s gone all over the world with me. All the markings are rubbed off now, so I set the alarm and change the time from sense memory - but I won’t go anywhere without it!
I’m not sure yet… but the one thing I need to comfort me whenever I am in unfamiliar surroundings is a digital alarm clock that I was given by my Gran’s French pen-friend when I was 16. It’s gone all over the world with me. All the markings are rubbed off now, so I set the alarm and change the time from sense memory - but I won’t go anywhere without it!
What would you deem as success at the end of the Fringe?
If I’m still performing the show in heels! (Anyone who knows me knows that Mama G is a heels wearing dame and proud of it!)
If I’m still performing the show in heels! (Anyone who knows me knows that Mama G is a heels wearing dame and proud of it!)
Other than your own show, are there any other shows you would recommend at the Fringe this year?
There’s rarely a lot of actual pantos at the Fringe (which may work to my advantage! Let’s see…); but I have lots of panto pals taking shows to Edinburgh this year and I can’t wait to see them. Nerine Skinner, Tom Brace, Max Fulham, and Katie Pritchard, will be up with their own shows, all of which will be brilliant! Leonie Wall, a wonderful princess I worked with a few years ago, is in the cast of a musical called The Truth About Flat Earth. It looks really fun and she has a great voice, so I can’t wait for that one! Sadly, I think I’ll miss Cindergorilla, a musical by Gareth P. Jones, based on one of his books - but I’m hoping one of you will go and see it for me!
There’s rarely a lot of actual pantos at the Fringe (which may work to my advantage! Let’s see…); but I have lots of panto pals taking shows to Edinburgh this year and I can’t wait to see them. Nerine Skinner, Tom Brace, Max Fulham, and Katie Pritchard, will be up with their own shows, all of which will be brilliant! Leonie Wall, a wonderful princess I worked with a few years ago, is in the cast of a musical called The Truth About Flat Earth. It looks really fun and she has a great voice, so I can’t wait for that one! Sadly, I think I’ll miss Cindergorilla, a musical by Gareth P. Jones, based on one of his books - but I’m hoping one of you will go and see it for me!
What is one Edinburgh spot that you would recommend people to visit when they're not watching performances?
Am I allowed to mention this in an article about the Fringe? Well, I’m gonna…
The Edinburgh International Book Festival! It takes place at the Futures Institute which is right next to Teviot, and a few of the other major venues. I’ve performed there the last few years (and will be again this year) and it is sooooooo relaxed! There’s a lovely outdoor area, so you feel away from the hustle and bustle of the Fringe, but there’s still a great vibe. They have plenty of street food options, and a bar, so if you’re in a rush for food, but need a calm space, I’d definitely head there. You don’t need to have an event ticket, you can chill of your own accord. The bookshop is worth a visit too. You might even find my books in there!
Can you describe the show in 5 words?
Funny
Magical
Uplifting
Silly
Important
Tickets are available from https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:6760/
Funny
Magical
Uplifting
Silly
Important
Tickets are available from https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:6760/
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