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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.
As Camden Fringe 2026 gets ready to kick into gear, performer and creator Lola Fishbein brings her debut one-woman show, Belated, to the Etcetera Theatre (25, 27 and 28 August). Directed and co-written with Mira Awad, Belated invites audiences to Anna’s 50th birthday celebration—which she’s finally throwing, exactly one year late.
What begins as a joyful, slightly chaotic party quickly unspools into a tender confession, an uplifting celebration, and a comforting reminder that nobody is truly running behind in life. We caught up with Lola to talk about overcoming self-doubt, stepping out of comfort zones, and why this show is a love letter to imperfect timing.
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?
Belated is a birthday party for anyone who’s ever felt behind in life.
Anna has finally decided to throw herself the 50th birthday celebration she’s always imagined… she’s just a year late. What starts as a party gradually becomes a confession, a celebration, and an invitation for the audience to recognise a little bit of themselves. One minute we’re laughing, the next we’re sitting with something surprisingly tender. Just like life, really.
Why is 2026 the perfect time for this show to be seen?
I’m not sure there ever is a “perfect” time, and that’s partly what the show is about.
So many of us carry around the feeling that we’re late: late to find love, late to change careers, late to become who we imagined we’d be. I know that feeling intimately. Belated gently asks what might happen if we stopped measuring ourselves against everyone else’s timeline. Maybe life isn’t asking us to arrive on time. Maybe it’s just asking us to arrive.
What was the “eureka moment” that made you realise this story had to be told right now?
The funny thing is that I’ve been developing this piece for over a decade, so “right now” has actually been a very long time coming!
For years I thought I was waiting to become someone who was ready to make a solo show. The irony is that I already was. I’d trained as a professional dancer, I’d spent years performing, creating, and telling stories. On paper, I had plenty of reasons to believe I could do it. But somehow it never felt like enough.
Hiding became so familiar that I almost mistook it for who I was. Eventually I realised that confidence wasn’t going to arrive first, I simply had to begin. In many ways, that’s exactly what Belated is about.
You mentioned this has been ten years in the making. What took you so long?
For years I thought that question sounded like criticism. Now I hear it differently. Some things simply need the time they need. We spend so much of our lives believing we’ve missed our chance that we forget life isn’t a race.
Is this version how you originally envisioned it or has it changed drastically since you first put pen to paper?
It’s changed enormously, thankfully!
Working with director and co-writer Mira Awad encouraged me to dig deeper, trust the silences as much as the laughs, and allow Anna to be wonderfully imperfect. Somewhere along the way, the show stopped being about throwing a birthday party and became something much more universal.
What is it about your character, Anna, that you most enjoy?
Anna refuses to give up on herself. She can be funny, infuriating, vulnerable, and gloriously hopeful, sometimes all within the same minute. I admire that she keeps choosing life, even when it hasn’t gone according to plan.
How challenging has this role been for you?
It’s definitely the most exposing thing I’ve ever done. Although I’m accompanied on stage by a wonderful pianist, Roi Erez, who also wrote the music for the show, when you’re telling a story this personal, there’s nowhere to hide. It’s terrifying… but it’s also incredibly freeing.
How important is audience interaction to you in the space?
Very! I’m not interested in embarrassing anyone or dragging people on stage. What matters to me is creating the feeling that everyone in the room has been invited to Anna’s birthday. Once people feel included rather than simply watching from a distance, something really special starts to happen.
If you had to describe your show as a colour, what would it be?
Any colour, as long as it’s loud and bright; just like Anna! She refuses to fade into the background. I think we could all do with being a little louder and brighter sometimes.
If your show had a soundtrack, what song would definitely be on it?
“Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen has to be there. It’s joyful, rebellious, and just a little bit chaotic, which feels like Anna’s spirit in a nutshell.
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career?
I’m not sure about my entire career, but recently someone I really admire said to me “If you feel out of your comfort zone, if you’re not at ease, then it’s a good sign.” I’ve thought about that a lot while creating Belated.
Belated is my love letter to imperfect timing.
What does “success” look like for you this August, beyond just selling tickets?
Of course I’d love full houses. But success, for me, is hearing someone say afterwards, “I thought it was just me.” If people leave feeling a little less alone, a little less ashamed of their own timing, then I’ll feel the show has done exactly what I hoped it would.
Many thanks to Lola for giving up her time to chat with us. You will find Belated at Etcetera Theatre on Tuesday 25, Thursday 27 and Friday 28 August.
