North-west artist, writer and performer Nathan Jonathan returns to the Edinburgh Fringe this year with a newly developed work They’re Just Small Town (Northern) Lads. Set in a small Northern town in the early 2000s and exploring themes such as masculinity, class, generational expectations and growing up, I can’t help but think this is a really pivotal time for this solo show to take to the stage, especially as there is so much media discourse about masculinity and boyhood right now. With a creative team that features direction from Amanda Huxtable, movement direction by Kate Valentine Crisp and dramaturgy by Owen Nicholls, Nathan has created a personal piece that features both humour and nostalgia, alongside deeper topics such as belonging and societal pressure. I recently had the opportunity to ask the creative some questions about the show, which is at Summerhall during the first two weeks of the festival.
What inspired you to write a solo piece of theatre about a mixed-race teenage boy caught between two contrasting models of masculinity?
I wanted to write the show I wish I’d seen growing up. I rarely saw mixed-race stories set in working-class Northern towns, and I definitely didn’t see boys trying to navigate completely different ideas of what being a man meant. It felt like a story worth telling.
With the play created from lived experience from working class roots, how have you reflected on your own experiences of growing up in creating this new piece of writing?
Writing it forced me to look back at my childhood with a bit more compassion. Some moments I’d always thought were just “normal” suddenly weren’t. But I also wanted to celebrate the humour, friendships and warmth that came with growing up where I did, not just the difficult parts.
How are you exploring the topics of community expectation and pressure to fit a certain mould?
The show asks what happens when the version of yourself that feels natural doesn’t quite match the version everyone else expects. Whether that’s because of your race, your background or simply who you are, I think most people know what it’s like to feel pressure to fit in.
Following the success of your Fringe debut A Small Town Northern Tale, what learnings are you taking into this year’s festival experience?
Last year I learned that making a good show is only half the job. This year I’ve spent just as much time learning about producing, marketing and all the other jobs that come with taking work to the Fringe. Hopefully that means I can enjoy it a bit more this time around.
Why is now the right time to tell this story?
We’re having a lot of conversations about masculinity at the moment, but they often happen in headlines or online. Theatre lets us slow down and see the human being underneath those conversations. My hope is that audiences recognise a bit of themselves in these characters, whatever their background.
Catch They’re Just Small Town (Northern) Lads at the 2026 festival
They’re Just Small Town (Northern) Lads sounds like it will offer a letterbox view into lived working-class experiences, as well as encourage conversations surrounding masculinity at a really topical time. Nathan is right, theatre does allow us to slow down and through relatable and recognisable characters, it also has the power to shift focus to the people and communities at the centre of the headlines. The show is based at Anatomy Lecture Theatre at Summerhall (venue 26) from 6th – 16th August. Performances start at 19:15 (1 hour), with the show on sale via the EdFringe website now.
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