GEORGINA THOMAS: HYSTERICAL SOPRANO Will Come to Edinburgh Fringe

Georgina Thomas: Hysterical Soprano will come to Edinburgh Fringe. Performances will run at Underbelly Bristo Square (Dexter), Bristo Place, Edinburgh EH8 9YL Wednesday 5th - Monday 31st August 2026 (not 17th) 13:15.

Critically acclaimed comic Georgina Thomas (one half of sketch duo Thick 'n' Fast) will make her solo debut with Hysterical Soprano, a high-note-hitting operatic comedy about one woman coming face-to-face with her greatest rival: herself.

Some might call her a narcissist, but she prefers the term "soprano." Think Florence Foster Jenkins meets Liz Kingsman's One Woman Show: a comedy fever dream following Georgina (pronounced like "vagina"), who must become the best soprano and defeat her arch nemesis, the insufferable Antonella. In a plot reminiscent of an opera itself, Georgina visits an Old Witch to receive a spell that will make her the greatest soprano in the world — but not without consequences. Trapped in the echo chamber of her own vibrato, she spirals through delusion, existential crises and vocal gymnastics. Georgina is a gleeful dismantling of the operatic diva, taking the traditional context and giving it a completely unhinged modern comic twist with references to online culture and reality television, where ego is currency and perception is everything.

In a revelation that may surprise audiences who know her from comedy, Thomas is also a classically trained coloratura soprano whose credits include the BBC Proms and Alban the Opera. After leaving professional singing to pursue comedy and theatre, Hysterical Soprano brings together every side of her artistic life for the first time. Created after a period of illness and burnout that led her to leave tech and reconnect with music, it is a bold, funny and unexpectedly moving exploration of ambition, reinvention and artistic obsession. For anyone declaring opera a dying art form, she has a simple response: not on her watch.

Directed by Will Jackson (Sea Change, BYMT; Yours Sincerely; Confetti; Soho Theatre, selected by the Soho Six 2023/24), and former Staff Director for English Touring Opera, the show mischievously dismantles opera's reputation as a rigid and untouchable art form. Blending virtuosic classical singing with contemporary comedy and theatrical storytelling, Hysterical Soprano knocks the sacred elements of opera off their pedestal while keeping its rich musical traditions alive. Beneath the absurdity lies a playful exploration of body image, identity, feminine perfection and the very modern fear of being perceived.

The show also features the voice of online comedy sensation and Saturday Night Live UK cast member Al Nash, who plays the voiceover of "Gary the Stage Manager."

Georgina Thomas comments, "I am experimenting with bringing my classical music into my comedy - it feels loud and dangerous, but that’s exactly what the Fringe is about. The comedy landscape is always filled with people trying really hard to be cool, we thought - screw that - let’s make a mad, passionate show that is showcasing our passion (and pain) for Classical music. We spent far too much time studying for Grade 5 Music Theory not to try and incorporate some of this into our comedy."

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