Samia Rida Brings KIDNAP to Edinburgh Festival Fringe This August

Samia Rida's autobiographical comedy-drama will explore Saudi, family, disability, and how the act of kidnap can involve a swimming pool at Dram at Gilded Balloon Patter House. Performances run 30 July - 10 August.

Optioned for TV adaptation by Fulwell 73, directed by BBC producer Gareth Edwards, (That Mitchell and Webb Look, Upstart Crow and Spaced), and produced by BAFTA Elevate producer Gina Lyons comes Samia Rida: Kidnap - a blazing, hilarious, and hard-hitting comedy-drama by writer, actor, and comedian Samia Rida (Breeders, Rebel Cheer Squad, Starlings). 

The script of which got down to the final 21 of the 1,300 applicants to the BBC Comedy Collective, Kidnap is an autobiographical exploration of multiculturalism, family, disability, and survival that looks into Samia's own childhood experience of being kidnapped to Saudi by her father at eight years old. Blending whip-quick comedy with searing writing, stand-up, and brutal honesty, Kidnap tells the tale of a turbulent true story - and how an act of kidnap can also sometimes involve a swimming pool. 

A must-see show that both entertains and side-splits whilst prompting nuanced conversations about domestic violence, the hidden complexities of family, being a carer, and emotional resilience as both a child and an adult, Kidnap cleverly journeys audiences from a hidden newspaper article found in Samia's father's safe to the present day. 

Kidnap is supported by the charity Sibs - supporting siblings of disabled children and adults. It was selected to play at Riverside Studios London last year as part of the Bitesize Festival (4 - 21 July 2024) and has also been performed at The Tabard, The Museum of Comedy as part of a Funny Women night, and The White Bear.

Get Broadway News on WhatsApp

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