“Up until now, I’ve experienced the theater world mostly from the grind of New York and Los Angeles, so the sheer, unhinged scale of the Fringe feels both incredibly beautiful and wonderfully terrifying.”
WHO: Simone McAlonen
WHAT: “High Desert. High Holy. High Stakes. Fringe Debut! Direct from Soho Playhouse, NYC. Wild Wild Christian is a hilarious, coming-of-age story about purity culture and spiritual awakenings. Based on childhood journals by award-winning comedian Simone McAlonen, the show picks up where the Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country ends: when a notorious cult compound in rural Oregon is transformed into a wholesome Christian camp. Through her own spiritual journey, Simone explores the surprising links between American Evangelicalism and the current political climate. All while answering the most timeless theological questions. Like: Does fingering count?”
WHERE: Willow Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court (Venue 16)
WHEN: Varies (50 min)
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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Honestly, yes! This is my absolute Fringe debut and my first time performing in Edinburgh. Up until now, I’ve experienced the theater world mostly from the grind of New York and Los Angeles, so the sheer, unhinged scale of the Fringe feels both incredibly beautiful and wonderfully terrifying.
What makes a festival great is the collision of high art and raw, fringe weirdness. I love that you can see a masterpiece in a literal basement next to someone doing interpretive ribbon dancing in a church loft. As a producer and an artist, I am kind of obsessed with seeing people tell stories, it’s my literal favorite thing on the planet.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2025 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned over the last 12 months is that you cannot over-prepare for your own vulnerability. Reading your actual, incredibly cringey, boy-crazy teenage diary entries in front of a room of strangers is a psychological extreme sport.
I’ve learned that when you think a detail is “too embarrassing” to put on stage, that is usually the exact moment the audience connects with you the most. Have I fully absorbed this lesson? I’ll let you know after I do it for 22 nights straight in a hot room in August.
Tell us about your show.
Wild Wild Christian is my solo comedy/storytelling show. I wrote it, perform it, and produce it under my production house, Midnight Flâneur. The show picks up where the wild Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country ends: when the notorious Rajneeshee cult compound in rural Oregon was bought out and transformed into a wholesome, ultra-intense Christian summer camp. My dad worked there, which meant I spent my adolescence trying to navigate strict purity culture on top of the literal bones of a free-love cult.
It’s a multimedia coming-of-age journey full of real childhood journals, synchronized lighting, physical comedy, and an earnest deconstruction of American Evangelicalism. The show premiered in Los Angeles, had a successful multi-week run at the historic Soho Playhouse in New York City, and now we are bringing it to Greenside @ Riddle’s Court (Willow Studio) for the full month of August.
Post-Fringe, we are looking at touring the show to other regional comedy festivals and creative hubs across the US.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
You absolutely have to go see the brilliant duo Xhloe and Natasha in their new show Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It. They are absolute physical theater geniuses. They are also Soho Playhouse alumni, and their work is a masterclass in what Fringe theater should be. Go give them some major love!
I also have to recommend some shows my buddies are doing; One! The Musical by Carlie Craig, The Misfortunes of a Spy and Her Mystic by Joy Donze, and The Gay Divorce by Cecilia Corrigan. They are all incredible shows by voices you should know and will know soon. I also can’t wait to see The Gay Masseurs Guide to Happy Endings and Spin Queen because they are both such fun set ups for shows but explore deeper themes which I think is super cool, clever and creative.
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