Abigail Weinstock to Bring GIRAFFE To The Edinburgh Fringe
The semi-autobiographical comedy explores masking and late autism diagnosis at Pleasance Courtyard.
Written by and starring Abigail Weinstock (Love and Other Acts of Violence, Donmar Warehouse; Surfacing, Apple TV; Such Brave Girls, BBC), Giraffe is a semi-autobiographical comedy about masking, misdiagnosis and spending 30 years believing something is wrong with you. Drawing on her experiences as a gay, Jewish, late-diagnosed autistic woman (who is also far too tall), Weinstock tells a story that is as funny as it is moving.
Eliana has grown up with a dark secret; she secretly suspects she's a sociopath. She's dedicated her whole life to keeping this a secret, but after some innocent curiosity lands her with a teeny-tiny restraining order for stalking her captivating new neighbour Tabitha, she's threatened with exposure. She's got two weeks until a second hearing will determine if it should be made permanent and the clock is ticking for her to make her case.
With a fifty-metre exclusion zone around Tabitha forcing her out of her childhood home, Eliana must move in with a single mother and her mysteriously mute young daughter, whilst attending a terrifying therapy group to satisfy the court's demands. As she navigates childcare, drama therapists and first loves, her carefully constructed facade begins to crack. She must race to build up enough evidence to convince the court - and herself - she's normal, or to finally accept she's anything but. Eventually she realises she's not a terrifying sociopath after all, but an undiagnosed autistic woman who has spent her life masking.
Giraffe is a story about self-acceptance, honesty and finding belonging - not by becoming 'normal' but by embracing difference. This is a deeply human reflection on the longing for connection in a world that feels unintelligible and overwhelming - with thankfully no actual history of stalking.
Weinstock comments, Giraffe grew out of my own experience of receiving an autism diagnosis at 25, having spent my whole life convinced something was fundamentally wrong with me. At a time where hundreds of thousands of women in the UK are living with undiagnosed autism - with a suicide rate eight times higher than the general population - I wanted to make something that was funny first, and a reckoning second. It's a comedy about the consequences of spending thirty years believing there's something wrong with you.
Weinstock is an actor and writer with deep roots in comedy (Funny Women semi-finalist 2020; Soho Theatre Young Company member; President of The Durham Revue sketch troupe; Jewish Comedian of the Year 2017 Runner-Up) which shine through in this loosely autobiographical show. Away from her stage work, she was also the winner of the Edinburgh Television Festival New Voice Awards 2023, Shortlisted for Bafta Rocliffe Comedy 2024 and has multiple original TV projects currently in development. Directed by Fringe First Winner Emma Jude Harris (Revenge: After the Levoyah, Soho Theatre; How I Learned to Swim, Paines Plough Roundabout)), it is produced by The Project People led by award-winning producers Millie Wood-Downie and Molly McGeachin (Giselle: Remix, Clean Slate, Smalltown Boy). Giraffe is a recipient of the Keep It Fringe Fund 2026. Performances will run August 5-31.
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