Saving Myself Brighton Fringe 2026 arrives as a world premiere — and it is exactly the kind of bold, unsettling new writing Brighton Fringe exists to champion.
A solo play about a young woman attempting to reclaim her body and her future after violence, Saving Myself plays the Grania Dean Studio at Lantern Theatre on 2, 3, 9 and 10 May 2026.
Written by debut playwright Tim Stubbs Hughes, directed by Julia Stubbs and performed by Jessamy James, the production places one performer — and one story — at its centre.
The Play
Set over a single night, Saving Myself centres on Lilly — alone in her flat, surrounded by books, half-remembered rituals and an unlit candle.
Since childhood, Lilly has been blamed for things going wrong: pets that disappeared, toys that broke, the silences that followed her through her family home. Over time, these stories became facts — shaping how others treated her and how she learned to understand herself.
After a violent assault, she reaches breaking point.
With no one left to turn to, she fixates on the idea that something inside her — a demon, an inheritance, or the damage left by trauma — has to be destroyed.
Moving between realism, poetry, folklore and ritual, the play unfolds in real time as Lilly fights to take back control of her own body and story.
Raw, darkly comic and genuinely unsettling, Saving Myself asks what happens when care is replaced by superstition — and what it costs a woman to save herself.
The Team
Tim Stubbs Hughes makes his playwriting debut with this production. Drawing on folklore, poetry and myth, his work offers a tense and layered exploration of survival in the aftermath of violence. His next full-length play and I looked at the sky is planned for an autumn 2026 London Fringe premiere.
Julia Stubbs, director and producer at 20 South Street, brings her precise, text-driven approach to new writing. Her recent production of Mari Lloyd’s Still Here was named one of the top twenty shows across Wales in 2025 by The Edit, while her previous Brighton Fringe productions have consistently received strong critical response.
Jessamy James plays Lilly, delivering a performance that carries the entire piece. Her work across theatre and screen reflects a commitment to complex and emotionally demanding roles — most recently playing the title role in an all-female Richard II at the 2025 Camden Fringe, a production that earned an OffFest award nomination.
Content Information
Saving Myself is suitable for audiences aged 16 and over.
The production contains strong language and references to sexual violence, trauma, misogyny, social shaming and coercive control.
Practical Details
📍 Grania Dean Studio, Lantern Theatre, Brighton
📅 2 & 3 May — 7pm
📅 9 May — 9pm
📅 10 May — 5pm
🎟 £12 / £10 concessions
🔗 https://www.brightonfringe.org
🔗 https://www.lanterntheatrebrighton.co.uk
📞 Box office: 0333 666 4466
Produced by 20 South Street in association with Grey Swan.
The Takeaway
Saving Myself Brighton Fringe 2026 is not easy viewing — and it isn’t trying to be.
It is a focused, intimate and deeply unsettling piece of theatre that asks difficult questions about identity, belief and survival — and refuses to offer simple answers.
For more Brighton Fringe 2026 shows, see our full Brighton Fringe guide.
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