Mari Moriarty To Bring FEMPATHS: TRANSISTOR RADIO HOUR To Edinburgh Fringe

American transfem writer, director, and performer FEMPATH (she/her) brings Fempaths: Transistor Radio Hour to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 - a theatrical gig that blends live music, storytelling, comedy and powerful political performance, with a spirit as unruly and unpredictable as it is emotionally raw.

Performed with a live band of trans artists on cello and an array of wind and brass instruments, with FEMPATH at the piano, the show is led by the music. Ballad-style songs with achingly tender melodies are contrasted with filthy, funny lyrics that make the audience do a double take.

Through the medium of song, the show transforms real voices from trans history, activism and culture into original songs that flick between humour, provocation and celebration. Tackling a gloriously wide array of territory, with each song comes a new persona, a new voice brought to the stage. The words of Marsha P. Johnson become lyrics. So do those of Emma Sulkowitz, Kim Petras, and a 12-year-old trans kid's speech to their school board about not being able to use either bathroom without being told they look "wrong" or "don't belong."

The show moves between the deadpan and the devastating, the comic and the confessional - from a live sung tarot reading to a series of escalating (and quite frankly impressive) erotic performances with an array of phallic objects, during a song aptly named Throat Goat.

Unruly, sex-positive and unapologetic, the hour builds toward something that feels more like a gathering than a show: a queer church for anyone who needs one.

Alongside the voices that run through the show, Moriarty draws on moments from her own life - the decision to relocate from the US to the UK as the political climate around trans lives darkened, a complicated family, a sexual assault report that went nowhere, and a decade working as a sex worker. Some experiences are translated into standalone own songs; others simply add to the wider pool of inspiration. Working as an intimacy director also brings an informed perspective into the show's exploration of the body, agency and representation.

Much of the work was created while Moriarty was suffering from a debilitating heart condition, something she still suffers with today. Every performance is a joyful act of defiance in spite of her invisible disability. Songs were written at the piano as a way of processing fear and uncertainty; they are raw and emotional, including the show's final number, improvised during a medical crisis and originally sung to soothe herself, now sung for anyone who is scared they won't make it through.

The show is created and performed by an entirely trans company, with integrated captions, wheelchair access and touch tours. Free tickets are also available for trans and non-binary audiences.

Fempaths: Transistor Radio Hour performs 5th to 30th August (not 18th) at Underbelly Bristo Square's Dexter at 20:45. More information and tickets from https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/events/event/fempaths-transistor-radio-hour

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