Selina Tseng discusses Between Strands at Rosemary Branch 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.
When we leave home to build a life across oceans and borders, what do we carry with us, and how do we process loss when we are far from the land that shaped us? Heading to Rosemary Branch Theatre for Camden Fringe 2026, Between Strands is a deeply intimate, moving, and surprisingly humorous solo show produced by Pebble Theatre.
Written and performed by Selina Tseng, the play arose from profound personal loss. Returning to the UK just one week after losing one of the most important people in her life, Selina faced a debilitating grief and isolation. Out of that silence came Between Strands, a love letter to Taiwanese culture, memory, family, and the shared ties that connect everyone living between cultures. Playing both herself and her vibrantly funny Taiwanese grandmother, Selina brings a tender, funny, and deeply comforting story to London stages this August.
We spoke with Selina about transforming personal grief into universal comfort, the unexpected comedy of playing a Taiwanese grandmother, and why success in August means helping people feel less alone.
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?
Between Strands asks a central, intimate question: What stories does your hair hold? On stage, this manifests through personal memory, cultural roots, and the physical strands of heritage that keep us connected across distances.
Why is 2026 the perfect time for this show to be seen?
Because more of us are living between cultures, places, and identities, Between Strands asks what we carry with us when we leave home.
What was the ‘eureka moment’ that made you realise this story had to be told right now?
The story began after I lost one of the most important people in my life last year. Just one week after they passed away, I returned to the UK, carrying a grief I didn’t know how to process. For six months, I struggled to do anything. Then, as I began sharing my experience, other people told me they had felt the same sense of loss and loneliness while living far from home. I realised I wanted to tell this story for everyone who has left home to build a life somewhere else, to remind us that even when we feel far away, we are not alone.
What is something a performer has brought to a character that completely surprised you?
One thing that completely surprised me was how alive the character of the grandmother became on stage. As both the writer and performer, I was amazed to discover that I could bring her to life in ways I hadn’t imagined while writing. I also found so much humour in her, creating moments that made the audience laugh that I never expected when I first wrote the character. It felt as though she had become a real person, suddenly appearing on stage in front of me.
What was it that drew you to this show and role?
This story is deeply rooted in my own life and experience, which is what drew me to perform both characters. Every moment on stage feels personal to me. I want to share the emotions I experienced with people who have gone through something similar, to let them know that their grief, memories, and longing are seen, and that they are not alone.
What is it about your character that you most enjoy?
I really enjoy playing the grandmother because I can be completely playful and funny with her. I bring in all the little things I remember from Taiwanese grandmothers, such as their expressions, the way they speak, and their exaggerated reactions. I love making her big, funny, and slightly over the top, and seeing how much joy she brings to the audience.
What does “success” look like for you this August, beyond just selling tickets?
Success would be seeing audiences come out of the theatre and share that they have experienced something similar, that the story moved them, made them emotional, or reminded them of someone they love. If someone tells us that the show helped them reconnect with a memory, think of their family, or simply feel less alone, and that they found comfort in it, then I will feel that the show has truly succeeded.
If you could perform this show anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
Taiwan. This story is deeply rooted in Taiwanese culture, memories, and people, and I would love to bring it back home and share it with Taiwanese audiences. I want to tell this story to the people and culture that inspired it in the first place.
If your show was a drink at the venue bar, what would be the ingredients?
A Pineapple Old Fashioned: whisky, pineapple syrup, Angostura bitters, and orange peel.
Many thanks to Selina for chatting with us. Between Strands will play at Rosemary Branch Theatre on Monday 3 (7pm) and Sunday 9 (2pm and 4pm) August.
