“It’s also one of the few places where it’s socially acceptable to chase people down the street. Well – you’ve got to sell those tickets somehow!”
WHO: Christina Deinsberger, Charlotte McBurney, Helena McBurney
WHAT: “Ladies and Gentlethem – Feeling a little upset? Have you tried hypnosis, psychoanalysis, smelling salts and it just doesn’t work? Try The City for Incurable Women! Paris, 1880s. In a psychiatric hospital, female patients performed “hysteria” for the public. The doctors went to extraordinary lengths to prove their theories about the four stages of madness. International theatre-collective, fish in a dress follows the thread of the history of hysteria as the audience becomes complicit in an outrageous tale of medical misogyny. (Warning: hysteria cure not included).”
WHERE: Upstairs at Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
WHEN: 13:35 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Charlie: Yes, this is our first time at Edinburgh Fringe! We are incredibly excited* to be a part of this year’s festival. Edfringe is the artistic hub where people congregate from around the world to share and celebrate live performance. It’s also one of the few places where it’s socially acceptable to chase people down the street. Well – you’ve got to sell those tickets somehow!
*slightly terrifie
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Christina: Pretty much everything. Since the autumn of 2024 Charlie, Helena and I have formed a company, have written, developed and produced a play (for me this is the first own work outside of Germany) and now we are taking it to a massive festival – the past year has been slightly mad. Starting from scratch meant there was a lot of very fast learning necessary. I have learned that in the past people tried to cure hysteria with donkey urine; I also learned that this didn’t work very well (surprise!). I have learned how to operate QLab and direct simultaneously (okay, I do miss a cue every single time I have a note). And I have learned to give in to social media – after I had refused to set up an account for years, we now run one through fish in a dress, which has cost me several nights in discovering the endless abyss that is Instagram.
So far there has not been much time to absorb. We will do the absorbing after Fringe, and until then keep learning at full speed.
Tell us about your show.
Helena: The City for Incurable Women is devised by fish in a dress, a queer feminist theatre collective formed in 2024 by Christina Deinsberger, Charlie McBurney, and Helena McBurney. All three of us wrote and produced the play – but only Charlie performs in it!
fish in a dress came together as a company during an unforgettable walk in the deepest, darkest Highlands of Scotland. We discovered that although our map-reading skills were not completely spot on, and after hours of crawling over, under and through fallen trees, we still wanted to work together. So our first thought was: female madness. The City for Incurable Women tells the true story of a 19th century hospital in Paris where female patients were forced to perform “hysteria” to the public. It has had sold-out work-in-progress shows at Camden People’s Theatre, The Pleasance London, and The Old Operating Theatre, and will premiere in Edinburgh this summer at The Pleasance Courtyard, Upstairs! In the autumn, we return to Camden People’s Theatre.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Bury The Hatchet by Out Of The Forest Theatre. This show has it all: muder, mayhem, and bluegrass music!
Count Dykula. Queer vampires at high school? We’re in!
KINDER involves a drag artist, a library, and a group of unruly children. A recipe for chaos and creative storytelling.
FLUSH is playing right before us. Set entirely in the women’s bathroom of a night club, this is a sAmazons by Gaël Le Cornec. A fascinating look at the continued impacts of colonialism on the Amazon Rainforest. tory about sisterhood, safety and resilience.
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