EDINBURGH 2026: Jonathan Oldfield Q&A

BWW catches up with Jonathan Oldfield to chat about bringing Exquisite Corpse to the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about ‘Exquisite Corpse’.

Exquisite Corpse is a character comedy show based on a game I used to play as a child. In the game, everyone draws a different part of a body without seeing what anyone else has done, resulting in a strange, surreal, silly composite figure (sometimes human, sometimes not). I've turned that into a multi-character romp where the audience shapes what happens every night. I play a bunch of characters I've made by playing the game, and I also have the audience create new ones. It also has a few tricks, surprises and treats in store too...

With this being your Fringe debut, do you think you know what to expect from the festival?

I've been lucky enough to attend the fringe a few times in other capacities - sometimes as an actor in theatre (for example with the Scotsman Fringe First-winning Kanpur:1857 or the Untapped award-winning Mosinee Project) sometimes as a director (for people like Joe Kent-Walters and Lorna Rose Treen) and sometimes as a student (I went to the Uni of Edinburgh), so I feel like I know the festival well in some regards. Although I'm expecting it'll be a little different when I debut. Mostly in that, for once in my life, there'll be no one else to blame if it all goes wrong. I'm sure I'll find someone, though.

How has your background of where you grew up influenced the show?

I'm what's sometimes called a third culture kid: born in the UK, raised across Mexico, Thailand, South Korea and France, then I came back here as a teenager. It means I've got a very skewed view of the UK, and I think that has definitely influenced the show. I often find myself taking something that maybe feels familiar to a UK audience and pushing it toward surreal unfamiliarity. Or vice versa, taking something odd and unfamiliar and making it seem normal.

Who would you like to come and see it?

Anyone who has ever tried on different personalities. Anyone who has ever broken a limb. Anyone who is craving an out of body experience. Anyone. 

What would you like audiences to take away from it?

I'd like them to take away my merchandise which is available for purchase after the show. 

Jonathan Oldfield: Exquisite Corpse runs at Edfringe 5-30 August

Credit: Charlie Ralph Photos 

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