BACHELORS OF FINE ARTS to Make World Premiere at Edinburgh Fringe
Co-writers Riley Elton McCarthy and Hope Johansen bring their drama school satire to theSpace @ Surgeon's Hall.
Method in Madness Co will present the worldpremiere of Bachelors of Fine Arts, a dark new musical comedy about the sinister underbelly of a high-pressure US drama school. Performances will run Theatre 3 at theSpace @ Surgeon's Hall, 7 – 29 August.
Inspired by co-writers Riley Elton McCarthy and co-star Hope Johansen's experiences studying at an elite New York drama school, Bachelors of Fine Arts roasts institutions, ambition and tradition through a pop, country-tinged score of original songs and sharp satire. When ‘Holly' and ‘Rory' meet in the fabled halls of the Big Apple's most prestigious conservatoire, they bond over cheap wine, expensive trauma, and the quiet understanding that everyone is replaceable. But as the term wears on, unsettling truths emerge and shifting loyalties escalate into a cycle of blacklisting, bullying, and fixation that institutions are unwilling - or unable - to confront. From depositions missed for rehearsals, to classmates facing felony charges and a faculty too dazzled by “genius” to confront the red flags, the show asks when do we stop smiling through it, and what stories do we tell ourselves to survive?
Riley and Hope said, “It took us as long as earning the degree to start unlearning what it taught us. Bachelors of Fine Artscomes from that process, looking at how institutional culture doesn't just train artists, it shapes how they treat one another. Returning to the Fringe, we wanted to reach young people inside those systems who might feel like something's off but can't quite name it. If the show helps someone feel less alone, or less ‘crazy,' that's everything to us.'
Bachelors of Fine Arts is presented by Method in Madness Co., whose previous Fringe production IVORIES (Riley Elton McCarthy) transferred to an accoladed Off-West End run. McCarthy is an Offies and Off-Fest nominated playwright with international credits across New York, London, Edinburgh, and Copenhagen. Johansen, co-writer and performer, is an actor, musician, and director who recently led her first feature film, Buried Secrets (Full Moon Features), and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Birdland, and 54 Below. Directed by Foxy, an East London–based director trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a Young Vic Fresh Direction alum, whose work includes the Offie-nominated sell-out perverts (King's Head Theatre), the company continues to create bold, actor-driven work that interrogates performance culture inside-out.
Riley Elton McCarthy (they) (creator & performer) is a Danish and Irish playwright and professor whose work has been developed and produced across New York, London, Edinburgh, and Copenhagen. An Offies and Off-Fest nominee, they are a four-time semifinalist for the Eugene O'Neill National Playwriting Conference and a two-time finalist for both the Dramatists Guild Fellowship and the Juilliard Playwriting Program. Their work is published by NextStage Press. McCarthy is a professor of playwriting at the University of Texas at Arlington. Their first musical, Bachelors of Fine Arts, co-written with Hope Johansen, premieres at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026.
Hope Johansen (she) (creator & performer) is an actor, musician, and director who recently wrapped production as the lead in her first feature film, Buried Secrets, a treasure-hunting thriller from Full Moon Features. She has performed at iconic venues like Carnegie Hall, Birdland Jazz Club, and 54 Below and makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut.
Foxy (she) (director) is an East London–based director trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and an alum of the Young Vic's Fresh Direction programme. Her directing work includes the Offie-nominated, sell-out cult hit perverts (King's Head Theatre), as well as Hen (The Hope Theatre, NDT Untapped shortlist), The Jailer's Daughterand The Wasp (The Space), alongside extensive work across the London fringe. She is also a trained intimacy coordinator for stage and screen, with credits including Shelter (Baron's Court Theatre), The Witches of Eastwick (The Pleasance), and productions at Riverside Studios, Theatre Deli, and Bristol Old Vic.
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