If you missed the sold-out, award-winning buzz of last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, consider this your second chance to come and see it in London at the Soho Theatre (Upstairs). This Is Not About Me is a sharp, messy, and situationship coded story that will appeal to any young adult.
If you ever wondered what meta-drama (or metatheatre) is, then this show is an opportunity to observe a play that unravels itself by constantly reminding the audience that they are watching a performance.
At the heart of the story are Grace and Eli, two twenty-somethings whose decade-long history is a tangled web of friendship, intimacy, and eventual rupture. In the fallout of their separation, Grace—a writer—does what writers do: she turns the trauma into a script. But as she tries to fix their story on the page, the boundaries between memory and authorship begin to dissolve.
“A romcom with fangs that tears the genre open.” — The Stage
Why this may appeal to young Londoners:
- The meta-twist: this is not just a play about a relationship but a head-spinning look at how we romanticize or villainize our exes to make sense of our own lives.
- The visual appeal: Forget a boring black box set. This production is a texturally theatrical dream, featuring an intricately hand-crafted set adorned with crocheted red webs, puppets, and a bed maneuvered on a shopping trolley.
- The tech: The show uses live typing, film, and multimedia to dramatize the act of rewriting memory in real-time. It’s high-concept but feels deeply personal.
- Magnetic leads: Amaia Naima Aguinaga and Francis Nunnery reprise their roles with electric chemistry. Aguinaga’s Grace is a “vibrant force of chaos,” while Nunnery’s Eli provides a grounded, frays-at-the-edges counterweight.
At its heart, the play asks a gut-punch of a question: Who actually owns a shared history? Is it the person who lived it, or the person who dares to write it? This fierce, funny, and quietly brutal examination of the cost of turning your life into art is in London for few days and you should come and see it.
This is not about me is at the Soho Theatre (Upstairs) on 21 Dean Street until 18 April. Tickets: From £19.00. Age recommendation: 16+
Visit our events and activities area for more ideas of things to do with kids in London this season. or have a look at our theatre and dance page to see our selection of family friendly shows.