Review: Am I Losing my Mind or Just my Figure?  Etcetera Theatre

First performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, Sam Holland-Bunyan’s solo show exploring a woman’s path to motherhood was incredibly well received, earning a transfer to London with the Pleasance. 24 years later, co-writer and performer, Genivieve Labuschagne, has reworked the production with Bunyan, reviving it for its new life. 

When Fin (Labuschagne), a native North Londoner on the brink of her thirties, falls pregnant unexpectedly, her world shifts. She is an unconventional thinker with an equally unconventional career as a zero-hour cycle courier, largely unaffected by her friends getting married and starting families. She returns from a party, drunk and a bit sad, admitting that she was asked, by other women, when she would be settling down. This questioning is a rite of passage for women hitting their 30’s. Considering her emotionally distant on/off boyfriend and her having no clear ambition to be a mother, the pregnancy comes as a shock. Her Catholic parents (illustrated animations, created by Bunyan and projected onto a screen flanking the stage) react to the news as you might expect: mother panics that Fin is unmarried, whilst dad, stunned, mainly coughs in response to Fin’s questions. Despite this, Fin is excited and hopeful, and you can’t help but feel that too.

Design by Tabby Bunyan consists of a clothes rail, a tall stool doubling as different objects throughout the show (Fin’s bike, a hospital bed, as well as a statue of Mary Magdalene at one point). Costume is simple: jean shorts, a grey vest with a jacket, a messenger bag and a helmet for when Fin is biking around. 

It feels as though every word is intentional; not in a clinical way – quite the opposite, actually. The text is unpretentious and sincere. The characters don’t cast the net out too far: in fact, the world here is not that big at all, but not suffocatingly so. It’s all Fin and her journey from early pregnancy, to miscarrying and full circle to giving birth to a baby girl. We enter Fin’s small world: it feels like a safe space. 

Bunyan’s direction makes the show feel spontaneous, yet intentional awkwardness is leaned into rather than shied away from. It all feels very authentic, the opposite of showy. 

Labuschagne shoots the audience a few awkward smiles whilst moving her ‘bike’ across the stage. This happens with each scene change, but this is not merely an actor manoeuvring set, it’s a part of the show, almost reaching clowning territory with a reliance on movement and facial expressions. This is a reminder that theatre can be effective without hefty monologues and reams of detail, as long as you believe in the story you are telling and have a skilled performer to pull it off. Tick.Tick. 

My sole criticism is the heavy inclusion of Fin’s Northern and inexperienced midwife, Maggie. She just doesn’t add all that much to the story aside from providing some laughs, when ideally, more focus could be placed on Fin’s experience of birthing a new life. 

Labuschagne’s performance is a versatile and quietly powerful one. Gliding through the scenes, her ability to convey Fin’s charmingly awkward disposition and emotional journey throughout is really something to behold. An utterly crushing twist takes her from upbeat to heartbroken and is superbly acted. Her comic timing is also impressive. Every beat hits, and no opportunity is missed to speak directly to the audience.

Bunyan and Labuschagne are evidently a formidable team. Subtlety is key here, in both performance and Bunyan’s direction. There’s a lot of heart in this show, and I have a feeling that Camden Fringe is just the beginning for this reimagined play’s journey.

Director/Writer: Sam Holland-Bunyan
Performer/Co-writer: Genivieve Labuschagne
Designer: Tabby Bunyan
Lighting Design & Technical Stage Manager: Abhinav Shankar Mishra

Am I Losing my Mind or Just my Figure? has completed its run at the Etcetera Theatre
as part of Camden Fringe 2025.