Aim

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 world premiere of SLAY by Lois-Amber Toole.

Gilded Balloon and Gobby Girl Productions present

SLAY: written and performed by Lois-Amber Toole

Directed by Anna Morris

Edinburgh Festival 2026: Teviot, Gilded Balloon 5th - 31st August (not 17th as I'll be asleep), 15.00 (1hr)

Ticket Link: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:6738/

ABOUT THE PLAY:

SLAY follows compulsive fantasist Kit, who, after being diagnosed with PTSD, becomes convinced London will fix everything. She legs it south, only for her past to catch up with her.

In the TikTok trauma-dump era, Kit is determined to stay the main character (because if she doesn't laugh, she'll cry and post it). As symptoms, triggers and disordered eating collide, she must confront her past or keep avoiding it. 

SLAY is a darkly funny North-East reckoning by Offie-nominated writer-performer Lois-Amber Toole, directed by Fringe First winner Anna Morris, and produced by Gina Lyons of Gobby Girl Productions and Katy Koren of Gilded Balloon.

ABOUT ME:

My name is Lois-Amber Toole, and I'm an Offie-nominated, queer, working-class actor-writer from Newcastle.

I have dedicated my life to being an actor-writer, and I'm over the moon to bring SLAY to Gilded Balloon. I am the 2026 recipient of the Keep It Fringe Fund 2026, created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and the Show Support Fund, established by internationally acclaimed comedian Tim Minchin alongside his wife, Sarah Minchin.

My screen credits include Killers Anonymous (Amazon), Vera (ITV) and Bloodshore (PlayStation 5). As a writer, I have been invited to discuss my playwriting at the United Nations, I have two television shows in development and currently in BBC Comedy Camp with New Writing North. 

ABOUT THE TEAM

ANNA MORRIS - DIRECTOR

Anna Morris is an award-winning writer, comedian and actor. She's the writer and performer of Fringe First Award-winning play SON OF A BITCH, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 and transferred to the Southwark Playhouse. As a comedian, she's written and performed five character comedy shows at the fringe and has performed all over the UK and Australia. As an actor, credits include: The Windsors, Mitchell and Webb Aren’t Helping, Lee and Dean, Outnumbered, Bad Bridesmaid and Count Arthur Strong. SLAY is her debut as a Director.

GINA LYONS - PRODUCER 

Gina Lyons is an award-winning scripted producer who produced the pilot for the BBC's In My Skin, which won a BAFTA Cymru award, and the pilot for Dreaming Whilst Black, which went on to be nominated for an International Emmy. Gina's first series producer role was for the 10-part comedy series Dinner With Parents with Big Talk Productions for CBS/Amazon Freevee.

Gina was selected for the Edinburgh TV Festival Foundation's newly formed class and social equality working group, Impact Unit. The group was inspired by the festival's recent MacTaggart guest lecturer James Graham. 

Gina produced the feature film  'Go Away,'  which stars Michael Socha and Hugh Bonneville.

In 2023, Gina was named as one of Film London’s Lodestars, a celebration honouring the bright futures of creative Londoners.

A working-class girl who had lunch vouchers at school, Gina is passionate about working with storytellers from diverse backgrounds.

KATY KOREN - PRODUCER 

Katy Koren is the Artistic Director at Gilded Balloon, Scotland’s leading producer of live comedy and entertainment. Run alongside Karen Koren, Katy’s mum, Katy is passionate about providing a supportive platform for new and established artists every year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as well as at year-round events across Scotland. Katy specializes in running first-class cultural events and venue operations, providing unique experiences for artists, staff and audience alike.

WHY I LOVE THIS PLAY (and hope you do too!)

As an actor living in London, I found it impossible to keep my head above water. I wanted to be seen. I wanted to work. I was told early on that "all I would play is a scummy Geordie" and I would "have to lose that accent if I wanted to work in this town".

I couldn't afford to live there, and I also wasn't auditioning. If I was going to believe the voices in my head that were telling me I wasn't good enough for this industry, I was gonna give it one last stab - write a solo show that showcases myself and what I have to say.

hi slay xx

Between the shifts on the fishy restaurant floor where I was a waitress and my dead retail job, I wrote SLAY on receipt paper, and it is my passion project.

I love writing it, and I love the joy of performing it. It's fast, daft, messy and heartfelt. 

Whether you’re Gen Z, a millennial, or you’ve got one living in your house eating all your food, you’ll probably recognize someone in this play.

WHY THIS PLAY IS IMPORTANT 

- SLAY explores PTSD as a condition in young people who grew up in the age of the internet 

- SLAY continues the conversation of women's safety and sexual violence against women, with 1 in 4 women (about 25.6%) having experienced rape or sexual assault since the age of 16.

- SLAY confronts the epidemic of violence against women; with 1 woman being killed by a man in the UK every three days, and a woman being killed by a male partner/ex-partner at least once a week.

- SLAY addresses the ongoing dialogue on rape culture, incel culture and the manosphere at large.

- SLAY puts women in comedy at the forefront, with an all-female award-winning team, while women in comedy only make up 10-20% of the industry.

- SLAY is written and performed by a queer, working-class woman from Newcastle. Geordies only make up 0.08% of this workforce.

WHY THE EDINBURGH FRINGE?

Edinburgh Fringe is on my bucket list, but it has always been a financial barrier why I couldn't make it work. Edinburgh is the biggest arts festival in the world, and as a girl who wants to be "seen", the Fringe felt like the next natural step for me in my career. Edinburgh is a unique opportunity for audiences and industry folk to see my work. My goal is to secure representation, future interest from venues and networks and meet other brilliant, like-minded artists. 

THE VENUE

Gilded Balloon is one of Scotland’s leading and best-loved entertainment production companies, and it has been a dream come true to work with Katy and Karen Koren. As one of the key venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every August, Gilded Balloon is respected internationally for presenting a stunning annual showcase of theatre, comedy and cabaret.

WHY CROWDFUND?

I was unsuccessful in my Arts Council grant application to fund a research and development phase, and so the creative team is undertaking rehearsals unpaid. Working for free isn’t sustainable long-term for anyone. The only way I can get this show to the Edinburgh Fringe and pay the creative team is with your help! Without our talented team, this show would not exist. It's very much the product of a collaboration between some amazing, funny women who are just as passionate as I am about the show.

I am a working-class artist and have always worked full-time in addition to my pursuit of acting and writing work. For the run-up to Fringe, I have worked as a barista, alongside writing, rehearsing and pulling the show together.

I hate asking for help, but I really want to pay my brilliant, hard-working team fairly and make the show the best it can be for audiences. I am also incredibly grateful to the Artists Services team at Edinburgh Fringe, who encouraged me to ask those who are passionate about the arts and believe I’m capable of creating something fantastic, to help by contributing anything they can.

WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES

Paying my Creative Team: My incredible team have a wealth of experience in the industry, creating and producing sell-out shows, and I want to be able to value their talent. They are a team of working-class, disabled, neurodiverse & queer artists and want to help create a highly accessible show.

Reaching audiences: Your money can help us reach diverse (in all senses of the word) audiences - because everyone deserves to enjoy theatre.  It takes a lot of on-the-ground marketing effort to reach people, and that costs money. Street teams, outdoor advertising, press, PR.

BSL Intepreter: Our brilliant director Anna Morris is partially deaf. We want to ensure the d/Deaf community can not only access the piece, but that other d/Deaf Artists are inspired to create their own work with no barriers. We will organise a captioned performance but we’d love to be able to fund a BSL interpreter during the run if possible.

Putting on an Edinburgh show is expensive:  This is just a basic list before we've even got there: Creative team,  venue guarantee & marketing contribution, Edinburgh fringe registration, transport, accommodation (which is incredibly expensive in Edinburgh), publicity photos, PR and marketing as mentioned above, lighting hire, Stage Manager and technician fees, props, costume, set...and more!

Any contribution to the show would be greatly appreciated. Please take a look at the rewards we can offer below, and we would be happy to keep you updated on the progress of SLAY! Thank you, lots of love, THE SLAY TEAM xoxo

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 5th August 2026 at 10:40am