Sophie Todd on PERDITA
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.
If you think Bridgerton cornered the market on Regency-era scandal, high society gossip, and dramatic affairs, it’s time to meet Mary Robinson. Long before modern pop culture fell in love with the era’s aesthetics, Mary was the 18th century’s original tabloid “wicked woman”; a brilliant actress, author, and trailblazing feminist whose life was defined by soaring theatrical success, extreme debt, royal affairs, and a ruthless press pack eager to tear her down.
Heading to the iconic Old Red Lion Pub and Playhouse‘s Shakefest, their festival within a festival for Camden Fringe 2026, PERDITA brings her forgotten legacy back to the stage. Produced by Classic Vagabonds and written by Sophie Todd, this production is a high-energy Regency romp that shifts gears into a powerful, heavy look at systemic exploitation. We caught up with Sophie to discuss a cosmic coincidence in her hometown, parallels to modern icons like Britney Spears, and celebrating the unapologetic lust for life of a true historical titan.
If you had to describe the vibe of your show in just one sentence, what would it be and how does it manifest on stage?
Think Bridgerton is scandalous? Meet Mary Robinson, the 18th-century original tabloid “wicked woman.”
Why is 2026 the perfect time for this show to be seen?
Mary’s story has been buried for too long, and with the popularity of female-led Regency taking center stage in pop culture right now, why not come and see a true story from that time that really delves deep into scandal and sexuality? All with a celebration of the love of theatre.
What was the ‘eureka moment’ that made you realise this story had to be told right now?
I stumbled across Mary’s painting at Chawton House when I was playing Elizabeth Bennet on a tour of Pride and Prejudice. We had been given a tour by a historian on site and I was fascinated by her story. After ordering some literature online to read on the road, I was amazed to discover she spent the last years of her life in my hometown and is buried in a church I have spent years driving past on the way home!
Later, while explaining the story to one of my best friends on a trip to my hometown and telling them how I wanted to write a play about her, we discovered that we were walking right by the house where she died. It was then I knew I had an almost cosmic duty to tell her story.
Is this version how you originally envisioned it or has it changed drastically since you first put pen to paper?
Completely! The story began as a one-woman show, but I soon realised that I needed the talent of other actors to help bring all the rich and wonderful characters I was coming across in my research of the London Georgian Theatre scene to life.
What is something the other performers have brought to these historical characters that completely surprised you?
They bring so much life and humanity (and sometimes, hilarious comedy!) to people who could easily just be dry historical figures from a textbook. For example, Dorothea Jordan and David Garrick are both theatre legends, but having actors in the room to breathe life into them makes us remember they were indeed real people with real wants, dreams, and desires.
If your show had a soundtrack, what songs would definitely be on it, and why?
Tracks by Amy Winehouse, Billie Holiday, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, and Courtney Love. These are incredibly talented, trailblazing women who were all dragged through the public eye in a press ecosystem run by powerful men. Just like Mary was.
What does “success” look like for you this August, beyond just selling tickets?
We really want the audience to have a great time at our show. We start off with a real, high-octane Regency-style romp, and then the story gets pretty insane and heavy when we discover all the mad things that happened to this incredible woman. She was put into prison at 17 due to her husband’s crimes and the fact she had to legally go with him, she lost a child, was dragged relentlessly through the press, faced extreme debt, illness, and an untimely death.
But through all that, we also want to celebrate her incredible stage career, her lust and joy for life, her written works, and her trailblazing fight for women’s rights. If someone leaves the theatre, has a great time, and tells another person about this woman’s story, I think we’ve done our job.
Can you share a “fake” review of the show from someone close to you?
“I thought that people from Regency and Georgian England were all about decorum? But what about Mr Darcy!!?” – Grandmother
Are there any plans for what comes next after the show has finished its run?
We would love to take the story further! It’s such an exciting time as we are getting the show together at the grassroots level, and taking it on to other festivals and venues are the next steps. For me as a writer, the wealth of research has unearthed so many other forgotten stories from this world that are desperate to be told. So watch this space!
Many thanks to Sophie for chatting with us. PERDITA plays at Old Red Lion Pub and Playhouse for Shakefest, the venues festival within a festival for Camden Fringe.
