Maybe You Should Know, Barons Court Theatre
We’re reaching the end of our Camden Fringe 2025 interview series now, but that doesn’t mean there still aren’t lots more great shows to tell you about. We’ve published over 100 interviews but that is just a section of what’s available over the four weeks of the festival. You can find all our Camden Fringe interviews here.
Not playing until the final days of the festival is Maria Speight‘s Maybe You Should Know. It’s not often that parenting, pain and laughter go together, but that’s what Maria promises with their new show. It’ll have you cringing, laughing and considering the maternal relationships in your life. We had a chat with Maria about their show and what audiences can expect from a night at Barons Court Theatre this summer (22 and 24 August, tickets here).
What can audiences expect from the show?
If you didn’t think you could laugh in a play about unresolved pain in parenting, think again. We like to take you from the depths of emotive drama to that cringe laugh when your mum is just too much. A middle aged man after a rehearsed read told me on his way out of the theatre “I need to go home and call my mum”. It’s set against the backdrop of the Homes for Ukraine scheme so it’s really relevant to society today. I have 8 siblings and I wonder what each of them might think of my portrayal of a mum (not our mum).
Is this your first time at Camden Fringe?
We’ve done rehearsed reads at the Cockpit and scratched a scene at Baron’s Court Theatre. We were also so lucky to have won the Play Lottery in May for a rehearsed read. We haven’t been booed on stage so we just kept going. This is our first proper staged production. We are by turns made up and terrified.
What was your inspiration behind the show?
I should pretend I’m just incredibly thoughtful and pensive but actually I was given two pieces of music to listen to in a writing class by playwright Marcelo dos Santos and told to create respective characters. Daniel and Julie (the characters) just appeared and I had to find a story to put them together because in most worlds a young New Yorker who loves rap, and an older woman with a classical music background, wouldn’t live together. I also am inspired by the constant fear of being a rubbish mum.
How long have you been working on the play?
We’ve been working on the play since last summer. I say we because while I wrote it alone, I’ve been very lucky to work with the same director and actors for a while. They are the experts at creating characters and having real live characters in your head makes writing so much easier. I’ve learned to let go when the director or actors make a choice. I’m lucky that’s been easy to do because they are such lovely and talented people.
Being a fringe festival, we all know sets have to be bare minimum, how have you got around this with your set and props?
The set has been almost planned in our heads and we’ve been typical Fringe-creators and found stuff in our own homes. Nadia, who plays Julie, seems to have an never ending supply of props including a real Maelzel metronome (it will make sense once you’re there). The problem is I am terrified of driving as I live in zone 2 London and there’s no need so I’m out of practice. Probably one of my biggest worries about the play is I know I’ll have to get in a car and drive the set back and forth. Unless someone reading this wants some free tickets to do a girl a favour?
How important is audience interaction to you?
In performance, you crave audience engagement through laughter, gasps, sighs, even tears. I’ll sit there wondering if it’s normal to laugh at my own writing but the actors’ delivery is so funny sometimes, or so touching that I connect with the emotion and not just the words. If the audience doesn’t respond I go away and question why and whether I should change it. I have the urge to tell an important story but theatre is also entertainment and I want to see the audience be entertained, as well.
Who would play you in the Hollywood adaptation of your future autobiography?
I love the casting process – as soon as I saw Aidan’s headshot I knew he was Daniel. Nadia is younger than her character Julie was originally written but I actually love the dynamic the smaller age gap brings. If a casting director was casting me, I’d be really flattered of course if it was someone stunningly gorgeous but I’d be more impressed if it was someone really funny. If Emily Blunt went my shade of blonde I’d be chuffed to bits.
If budget or reality was not an issue what is the one thing you would love to have in your show?
A piano. I’ve woken up in the middle of the night wondering why on earth I’ve written a play where a piano is a main character. We’ve developed a very artistic and creative way around not having one which we’re going to pretend was always meant to be that way. You’ll have to tell us if it works.
What is the most valuable piece of advice you have received during your career and how has it influenced your work on this show?
A fellow writer came up to me at the end of a rehearsed read and said “just keep writing”. I think he’s right.
Thanks to Maria Speight for sharing a glimpse into Maybe You Should Know, I’m sure it will have us all thinking about our own family relationships, whether for better or worse! Head to the Baron’s Court Theatre on Firday 22 or Sunday 24 August to catch the show.
