Maya Shoham makes their Edinburgh Fringe debut with In Other Words, a bold and imaginative solo show exploring language, identity and the limits of expression. Blending humour with philosophical insight, the production offers a unique theatrical experience.
Written and performed by Shoham, the show dives into the power of words and how they shape perception, emotion and selfhood. With a playful yet thought-provoking narrative, In Other Words examines what happens when language itself begins to break down.
In Other Words runs at Just The Tonic – Mash House – The Attic from 6–30 August (not 18th) at 4.00pm, with previews on 5–6 August. Tickets are available here.
You’re the writer and performer of In Other Words at Just The Tonic – Mash House – The Attic, what can you tell us about the show?
In Other Words tells the story of Maya Shoham (played by me, Maya Shoham) trying to articulate a feeling she can’t seem to find the words for.
So she does what any normal person would do — invite an entire audience to help her invent new words.
Absurd, nerdy and meta, the play explores self-articulation, our dependency on words and being understood, and the magical power theatre has.
The piece explores language and how it shapes identity and perception, what first sparked your fascination with this idea?
It all started with a letter — a birthday letter. The most profound birthday letter ever written.
It had the usual “happy birthday” and “wishing you all the best”, but when it got to the familiar “this is who you are to me” section, something shifted inside of me.
My friend lent me his point of view of me and described me with the most beautiful and complex adjectives one could hope for. I couldn’t ignore how the words made me feel.
I felt like I was being created through them. I started writing the play the moment I finished reading the letter, tears still in my eyes.
Words are that powerful. I felt I had to do something about it.
I started writing about how words shape who we are, how they build the worlds around us, and how lost we can feel when the right words don’t exist.
How does being bilingual influence both the themes of the show and your performance style?
As a bilingual person, I know what it feels like when words get “lost in translation”.
There are things I can say in Hebrew that I simply can’t say in English. I realised that it’s not just the meaning of the word that disappears, it’s the human experience of it.
So I started wondering what happens when the word you need to describe something doesn’t exist in the language you’re using, or worse, what if it doesn’t exist at all?
That influenced both the themes of the play and the performance. I move between desperately wanting to be understood and accepting that maybe some things can’t be translated or articulated perfectly.
The show blends comedy, surreal storytelling and philosophical questions, how did you strike that balance when creating it?
I’m a person who likes talking about serious things in an unserious way.
I do believe theatre can be the most powerful artform there is, but I don’t think it needs to take itself too seriously.
Theatre is make-believe. We all agree to believe what’s happening on stage, even when we know it isn’t real.
You have to have a certain amount of humour to go to the theatre, so the subjects I explore feel like they also need to be humorous.
I don’t want to feel dreadful at the theatre, or make other people feel that way.
Let’s ask ourselves the most challenging, existential questions and find a way to laugh at the answers, and let’s do it together.
As both playwright and performer, how do you navigate the tension between the version of yourself on stage and the one crafting the narrative?
That’s a great question, and one I’m still figuring out.
Where I stand right now, I think the way to navigate the tension is by welcoming it and bringing it into the show.
Maya the writer had a comfortable setting when writing these vulnerable feelings and thoughts that Maya the performer has to say out loud.
Maya the performer has to stay true to the writer’s intentions, even when she has feelings of her own.
So we have two Mayas, and both come into play in the show, each taking the wheel whenever she feels like it, occasionally getting in the way of the other.
The tension is ultimately what propels the play forward.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see In Other Words?
I think in today’s age, we’re all dependent on words, maybe even co-dependent.
Maybe words carry too much weight, or maybe they don’t carry enough. Maybe we’re all using them wrong.
Either way, I think it’s time to examine our relationship with them.
I hope this show can do just that, and maybe even give us all a little more freedom and grace with words.
