SAD BRIDE to Make World Premiere at Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Charlotte Merriam's queer dark comedy about the wedding industry plays Pleasance Courtyard.
Sad Bride will make its World Premiere, as a queer, dark comedy based on real experiences of the wedding industry, exploring the pressures of performing womanhood online in the 21st century. Written and performed by Charlotte Merriam (Everyman UK tour, Macbeth, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester); Directed by Charlotte Vickers (Autumn, Asst Dir - Guess How Much I Love You? Royal Court Theatre, Sap, Paines Plough Roundabout, Edinburgh Fringe). Performances will run Wednesday 5 - Sunday 30 August 2026 (not 17), 14:45 (15:45).
Delving into the world of dark comedy, this quirky new show is Charlotte Merriam's (Soho Theatre comedy labs alumni - Sketch, Lab plus and Edinburgh Lab) playwriting debut at the festival.
Sad Bride follows Bride Thompson who is obsessed with what makes 'the perfect bride' gleaned from hours of online scrolling. With a name like hers, Bride has always known that as soon as she finds the man of her dreams and marries him, everything else will fall into place. But now that she's engaged, why can't she leave her weirdness behind? What exactly is she doing with three anonymous Instagram accounts? And why can't she come out of her cupboard? What happens when you meet the 'one' but are still an online troll under a bridge?
Charlotte has been inspired by her real-life experiences of marriage as a queer woman with the show reflecting on issues such as compulsory heterosexuality and the wedding industrial complex.
Writer and performer Charlotte Merriam said: “I've always loved the Edinburgh Fringe and the unique experience it offers to bring artists and audiences together from around the world - and after years of working as a solo maker and writer, I couldn't think of anywhere better to introduce Bride to the world.
"Sad Bride is a dark fairytale and character comedy about the wedding industry, compulsory heterosexuality, and being a woman online in the 21st century. In a world of increased patriarchal pressure, the return of trad wives and wedding industry growth, we want to question through comedy what it means to find 'the one' today.I wanted to make something about strange people and strange situations, using character comedy to tell an important story saying something real about the world. Bride is hard work. I can't wait for you to meet her!”
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