Agnieszka Wieclawska on ‘Dying To Meet You’ at The Courtyard Theatre
After the success of our 2025 Camden Fringe Interviews, we thought it only right to attempt a repeat for 2026. So throughout July we’ll be publishing new interviews each day to give a taste of what to expect from London’s best fringe theatre festival. The festival starts Monday 3 August this year, so we may give ourselves a couple of days off inbetween the end of the interviews and the first shows… then again, we might not.
You can find out more about Camden Fringe, along with details of every show playing this August here. You can also find all of this year’s interviews as they are published here.
What do you get when you combine a chaotic, high-energy murder mystery, WLW queer joy, fourth-wall-shattering audience interaction, and a protagonist who simply refuses to stay dead? You get Dying To Meet You, a wildly unpredictable theatrical thrill ride taking over The Courtyard Theatre this August for Camden Fringe 2026.
Co-produced by Anne Boulton, Sarah Chamberlain, and Agnieszka Wieclawska, the show subverts the tired “bury your gays” trope by literally resurrecting its heroine over and over again. Originally born from an abandoned novel draft, this reworked version combines rapid multi-rolling, improv-inspired prop work, and an unshakeable sense of fun.
We caught up with writer and actor Agnieszka Wieclawska to talk about cardboard body outlines, Chappell Roan soundtracks, and why front-row audience members should prepare to join the escape plan.
If you had to describe the vibe of Dying To Meet You in just one sentence, what would it be?
Watching Dying to Meet You is like riding shotgun in a getaway car; part of a chaotic and girly murder mystery in which no one wants to stay dead and somehow, you’re friends with the main character.
We’ve got resurrections, we’ve got actors multi-rolling, and we’ve bulldozed over that fourth wall. If you sit in the front row, the characters will speak to you!
Why is 2026 the absolute right moment for audiences to see this show?
On a lighter note, it’s so unexpected and fast-paced that you’ll never be able to predict our next move, perfect for those of you tired of sequels, prequels, and repeats crowding a lot of media at the moment. And unlike those who follow the “bury your gays” trope, we literally keep bringing ours back!
On a serious note, presenting shows about women choosing how to live their lives and queer WLW stories, of which there still aren’t many, feels important. The show also has a lot of humour and high energy that will let you escape a lot of the worrying news coming out globally.
We premiered Dying to Meet You in November 2025 to great feedback, and the three of us co-producers have come back for a new staging of the play, adapted to our wonderful new venue. So even if you saw it last year, you might find something new in it this time around!
How did the project transition from an old file on your computer to the stage?
Technically, the fact that it’s a play at all is already a new direction for this story. Tess and Leta have been defying death in the first chapters of a novel draft left abandoned on my computer for a few years. That story was narrated by Tess, and when I re-read it, I decided to rework it for the stage. I wanted to have a lot of fun, to make it unexpected, big, and to experiment with style and structure.
As I was thinking a lot about how we tell stories and the process of writing, I incorporated various elements of storytelling into the action itself, like Tess’s narration, the live and cyclical nature of theatre, the actors behind the characters, or the re-drafting process of the writer.
How do you handle rapid scene changes and vast locations on a festival stage?
We put no limits on our ambition and imagination. The play takes place across crime scenes, restaurants, and airports! We found that our audience is happy to go on the journey with us, and a few well-placed (and surprising) props help to set the scene. In that, we’re borrowing from the traditions of improv and I suppose the Bard himself!
What’s the weirdest or most unconventional prop used in your show, and how did it come to be part of the production?
In our show, Leta can survive death and awakes afterwards. We open the play on a crime scene around her; for practical purposes, we made a dead body outline out of cardboard instead of drawing the outline each night on the stage. It’s currently being stored at my flat, and it led to some very interesting questions when I was moving houses earlier this year!
What do you love most about playing Tess on stage?
Getting to interact with the audience has been amazing! I love seeing people’s reactions when they realize I’m actually asking them questions and want to involve them, or just spend some time sitting next to them. I think it gets a reaction because it’s a departure from what you’d expect in classical theatre.
If your show were a meal, what would it be?
The recent record-breaking longest Tiramisu in the world, an unexpected, unending serving of something you love that keeps you on your toes!
What’s on the unofficial soundtrack for rehearsals?
What I’m about to share with you is the 100% unofficial playlist we’ve been listening to a lot. Top spot is anything and everything by Chappell Roan (queer anthems!), also “You’re Too Cool for Me” or “Dying for You” vibes (clearly meant for us), some sweet romantic ballads, and the Mission Impossible theme accompanying Leta’s life!
What’s a review from a past audience member that stuck with you?
One memorable review from our previous staging was simple and perfect: “Tarantino on stage!”
Many thanks to Agnieszka for the chat. Dying To Meet You will play at The Courtyard Theatre from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 August as part of Camden Fringe.
