Bex Turner talks Momma’s Got a Brand New Toy Kitchen at Aces and Eights
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 happens when a surreal comedian decides to stop filtering herself, embrace absolute honesty, and perform a live “neurotypical exorcism”? You get Momma’s Got a Brand New Toy Kitchen, the striking new show from comedian Bex Turner, heading to Aces and Eights on August 26th for Camden Fringe 2026.
Known for her high-intensity, anarchic comedic style, Turner is stepping onto the stage as her truest self after years of feeling lost in the comedy circuit. Momma’s Got a Brand New Toy Kitchen explores the raw, vulnerable, and often heavy process of unmasking as an autistic individual, complete with water-spraying rituals, surreal crowd dissections, and relentless jokes.
We sat down with Bex to discuss the bravery of unmasking on stage, learning to manage neurodivergent burnout during festival prep, and why true success looks like being “Billy Big Balls” with a Soho Theatre run.
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?
I’d say a ‘deliciously confrontational, creative vibe’ where I try to keep a strong flow of intensity happening without many lulls, manifesting on stage by me quite often fully directing the narrative to the audience and allowing them to participate, but only in ways I see fit (jokes and making people laugh being my top priority!).
Why is 2026 the perfect time for this show to be seen?
I feel that 2026 is the perfect time for this show to be seen as it’s reflective of me, being truly me for the first time in a long, long while. There were a few years where I was feeling a little bit lost within comedy. This is the first year I am just trying to do what I want. That’s not bad, I don’t think.
What was the ‘eureka moment’ that made you realise this story had to be told right now?
A whim that sort of paid off was when I decided to introduce spraying myself with water each time I did relatable/normal material. It was originally just going to happen when I conducted a ‘normal/neurotypical’ exorcism at the end of the show. But audiences seemed to love it!
How challenging has this role been for you?
I feel that it has been challenging in the sense that I will be trying to be the most honest I’ve been in a while. A pal who saw a preview mentioned that it’s extremely brave to attempt to completely unmask as an autistic individual. And it has been, I’ve been bringing up a lot of experiences that shaped how much I mask my emotions and feelings… which isn’t always ‘fun’.
How does being autistic/neurodivergent affect the creative process?
I feel the biggest thing is that my brain doesn’t have the capacity to take on lots of previews in a month. In 2024 I organised so many work-in-progress shows that I ran out of steam, and because I couldn’t give adequate marketing to my shows, it ended up with me not being able to do any promo as I was completely worn out. I also used to struggle a lot with the days when I couldn’t think of anything to write or devise; I too often blamed myself for not being ‘productive’.
How important is audience interaction to you?
I’d say for me, the audience’s reaction is way more important; like all comedians, there’s a certain desire to be loved and ‘seen’ by their audiences. Getting the audience immediately attached is desirable but so rare, particularly in the early development stages. The bits of audience interaction I do have almost feel TED Talk in nature, as if they, the audience, are being dissected.
What does “success” look like for you this August, beyond just selling tickets?
For me, success is building notoriety. It’s so hard for comics outside of London to be seen as the ‘hot ticket’ of the season. True success would be to feel included. I constantly feel like the odd one out, so for once I’d like to be top billing… and to do Mach Fest and have a Soho Theatre run… so I could be Billy Big Balls (for once).
If budget or reality was not an issue, what’s the one piece of scenery/set you’d love to have in your show?
A big rotating fridge that has various bits of stage craft trickery, like a trap door or a way to do a quick change, or a fridge panel that could have some sort of stage illusion with a prism mirror. I’d also like to have a costume made just for the posters and flyers. I feel that’d be a mad lad move.
Write a one-sentence “fake” review of the show from your pet:
“Meow, meow, meow. I like the use of metaphors to decipher the performer’s autistic struggles.” 4/5 paws. — Chunky, Russian blue cat.
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how has it influenced your work on this show?
I feel that it was the importance of completing the groundwork first, e.g., who is your target audience? Think about the Who, What, Where, Why, When, and How in a new show. My own valuable piece of advice for comedy would be to do a month or two of just ‘new material’ nights. When I did that a few years back, it really taught me to be less upset when a gig goes poorly, because literally the week after you’ll have another chance to perform.
Many thanks to Bex for the chat. Momma’s Got a Brand New Toy Kitchen will play at Aces and Eights on Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 August as part of Camden Fringe.
