Migration, motherhood and moral courage are the themes of writer and performer Joanna Orlowska’s new solo show Off Script, which follows a journalist called Anna who suddenly breaks script live on air. With the evolution of world media over recent years, I was interested to hear more about the darkly comedic piece and I recently had the opportunity to ask the creative some questions about the play. Off Script will be at the Edinburgh Fringe this year during the first week of the festival and will play at Paradise Green venues.
What inspired you to write a play about a journalist who dares to go off script?
It started from a question that stayed with me for a long time: what does it actually cost to tell the truth in a system that rewards you for fitting in?
Journalism felt like a very sharp lens for that, because it sits somewhere between language, power, and responsibility.
I was interested in that moment when someone goes off script: not as a big, heroic gesture, but almost against themselves. Like something slips, or something refuses to stay quiet anymore. From there, the piece became less about journalism itself and more about that tension between who we are inside and who we learn to be in public.
What can you tell me about the central character Anna? How would you describe the personal torment that she is going through, throughout the narrative?
Anna is someone who is very good at functioning. She knows how to meet expectations, how to use the “right” language, how to stay composed.
But underneath that, there’s a kind of quiet mismatch growing between her inner life and the version of herself she presents.
Her torment is not dramatic or loud. It builds slowly. It’s what happens when you keep adjusting yourself, again and again, until you’re not quite sure what is still yours and what is performance. At some point, staying silent starts to feel more unbearable than the risk of saying something.
How have you developed the piece alongside writer and dramaturg Somebody Jones and director Grace Evangeline Holme?
It’s been a very close and evolving process. With Somebody, the work was often about asking quite simple but difficult questions, what is really happening in this moment, what is necessary. She helped me see the structure more clearly and not hide behind things.
With Grace, it became more about the body and rhythm: how the text actually lives in space, where we hold back, where something breaks or shifts. She has a very fine sensitivity to tone, which helped us find something quite contained, but never static.
I’ve felt very supported by both of them throughout. There was a lot of trust and honesty. It made the process feel very focused but also safe in a way. It’s rare, but when it happens, something really opens.
With themes of belonging, language and moral courage, what do you hope will be the impact of the work beyond your Fringe performances?
I don’t think the piece gives answers, and I’m not sure it should. But I hope it creates a kind of recognition.
Especially for people who have lived between languages, or had to reshape themselves to belong somewhere.
If there is an impact, maybe it’s in making space for that discomfort, and in noticing those smaller moments where we still have some choice. Not necessarily big actions, but the quieter decisions about whether to stay within the script or step slightly outside of it.
As a Berlin-based actor and theatre-maker, what are you most looking forward to performing at the festival this year?
This work was developed in quite an intimate way, and bringing it into a much bigger, more international environment feels exciting but also a bit exposing. In a good way.
I’m curious how it will land with audiences who come from very different backgrounds, and what kind of dialogue that creates. I think that’s the part I’m most looking forward to: the moment where the work stops being just mine and starts meeting other people’s experiences.
Catch Off Script at the 2026 festival
It was fascinating to hear about the origins and evolution of Off Script and also find out a bit more about how the piece is exploring morality and the impact of speaking up. The play is based at The Annexe at Paradise in The Vault (venue 29) from 7th – 14th August. The first performance on 7th starts at 22:15 and every performance thereafter starts at 21:35 (50 minutes), with the show on sale via the EdFringe website now.
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