EDINBURGH 2025: FATAL FLOWER Q&A

BWW catches up with Valentina Tóth to chat about bringing Fatal Flower to the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about FATAL FLOWER.

FATAL FLOWER is a tragicomic, over-the-top and musical ode to the hysterical woman. It's also my debut solo show - I'm Valentina Tóth: a Dutch actress, singer, comedian, songwriter, theatre maker and former child prodigy concert pianist (!). In Fatal Flower, I explore the clichés and boundaries of womanhood in today's society.

Blending opera, theatre, cabaret comedy, I bring to life a range of 'grotesque' and 'hysterical' female characters, like Medea, The Queen Of The Night, A Disney Channel Star gone wrong and a strict Russian piano teacher.

The show touches on my childhood and my piano career, but it also addresses themes like sexual assault, mother-daughter relationships, jealousy, revenge, and the complicated relationship many women (myself included) have with their bodies. Ultimately, Fatal Flower is about female rage — about the things that make me angry, or hysterical, if you like.

Why did you decide to tell the story through music?

Fatal Flower, as I mentioned above, blends opera, theatre, cabaret, and musical comedy. Composing songs, writing lyrics, singing, and exploring my voice in every possible way is a vital part of my artistic practice. For me, a song is the ultimate monologue and writing one is a delightful puzzle. So many elements have to fit together: lyrics, rhythm, arrangements, harmonies, the performer! I absolutely love actors who sing - those who make you forget you're listening to a song at all. Singing to me, communicates emotions and stories in ways that spoken text alone simply cannot. It often feels more intuitive — something that goes straight to the heart.

For example, in Fatal Flower, I perform a horror-opera-style aria — think Sweeney Todd — about a sexual harassment experience I had a few years ago. I found I could be more honest and vulnerable within the safe structure of a song than in a spoken monologue.

Women are often afraid to speak up in our society. Since Fatal Flower is an ode to the hysterical woman, I wanted to portray women who are not afraid to raise their voices. Or should I say: sing up!

I love the variety of styles I get to sing in Fatal Flower — from Bubblegum Pop to kitschy electropop to telenovela-style Spanish songs. But since I have a soft spot for both opera and hysterical women, I knew I had to include an over-the-top operatic moment as well: Mozart's Queen of the Night aria. After hearing that, I doubt anyone here would still claim that classical music is calming!

What is your favourite thing about performing it?

The hysterical woman is a figure I deeply relate to, it's a character I play best! While the "hysterical woman" is a great umbrella to explore serious issues, it also gives me the freedom to play big, bold, grotesque, funny, tragic characters. And also - I can show all sides of myself as a performer: one minute I'm singing Mozart's Queen of the Night, the next I'm a furious bride-to-be on her hen do, or my strict Russian piano teacher. I show a thousand faces — and in doing so, I show my own. I can be as comedic, vulnerable or absurd as I want! To me, performing my own show, is pure joy.

I want the show to feel like a roaring, thundering liberation — not just for me, but for everyone in the audience. While the "hysterical woman" is a great umbrella to explore serious issues, it also gives me the freedom to play big, bold, grotesque, funny, tragic characters. I draw from archetypes like Medea, Medusa, the innocent angel, the promiscuous woman. One minute I'm singing Mozart's Queen of the Night, the next I'm a furious bride-to-be on her hen do, or my strict old Russian piano teacher. I show a thousand faces — and in doing so, I show my own.

How has the show been received so far?

I don't want to brag... but I'm going to anyway!

Back in the Netherlands and Belgium, where my debut show originated, it was received beyond my wildest dreams. I got 5-star reviews from the three biggest Dutch newspapers, which praised me as a "sensational performer" who brings multiple layers to a comedic show — feminist, socially critical, yet also "deeply personal and funny."

Thanks to these reviews, I had my breakthrough in the Netherlands. I went on to perform the show about 160 times for over 50,000 spectators. And now, because of all that, I get to bring this show to the Edinburgh Fringe!

What would you like audiences to take away from the show?

I want the show to feel like a roaring, thundering liberation — not just for me, but for everyone in the audience. In Dutch, we say: "this is a show with a laugh and a tear"; meaning it's a show filled with sadness, laughter, and everything. That's for me what theatre should be; dark, light and everything in between. We came, we cried, we laughed and left feeling grateful to have truly felt something.

Get Broadway News on WhatsApp

Receive the latest updates, breaking news, and exclusive coverage from Broadway directly in WhatsApp.