If you reviewed your own show, how would you describe it?
Endometriosis: The Musical is an absurdist pop-rock musical with a big heart. It’s genuinely hilarious, it doesn’t pull punches on subjects many people are squeamish about, and it’s got a score you’ll want to listen to on repeat.
Tell me a little more about your show and what audiences can expect?
I always say audiences can expect to laugh, cry, and leave singing – and I know that sounds like a cliché, but it’s honestly true. I’ve watched a lot of tears get shed at this show over the years, and I’ve heard just as many guffaws – the kind of laugh that comes from somewhere deep, when you see a universal truth reflected back at you from the stage.
Can you talk about some of the creative team involved?
The show is written by me, Maria Bartholdi (book and lyrics), with music and lyrics by my longtime collaborator Kristin Stowell. Kristin and I have been creating together since first grade when we formed our garage band The Ripped Nylons – fun fact: it’s where we get our production company name today! The show is directed and choreographed by Nikki Mirza, who has also done the incredibly difficult work of helping us reimagine the show as a 60-minute piece. Around the three of us is an incredibly talented cast and creative team who bring this absurd world to life every night.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your work, both in terms of creation and performance?
Kristin and I are heavily influenced by sketch comedy and the absurdist comedians of the ’90s and 2000s. Shows like The State, Stella, and Children’s Hospital are huge for us. But the show also draws directly from our own experiences navigating healthcare as two people with endometriosis. Audience members sometimes come up afterward and say, “Surely that didn’t actually happen to you at the doctor!” And we always have to tell them: yes. All of it. Every experience Jane goes through in the show is real.
Looking at this production, how would you say it links to previous work personally and thematically?
Kristin and I have always used comedy to talk about hard things, and this show is the most personal version of that. Endometriosis: The Musical began at the Minnesota Fringe in 2022, where it swept all three top awards, and went on to a run at Theatre in the Round in Minneapolis in 2025. Edinburgh is its international premiere. Thematically, our work lives where absurdity and the truly heartfelt meet. We’re drawn to the moments where the funniest thing and the truest thing turn out to be the same thing. Here, that subject happens to be a disease that shaped my own life before I even had a name for it.
Why is this an important story to tell?
Endometriosis affects roughly 1 in 7 women (nearly 200 million people worldwide) yet it takes an average of a decade to diagnose. Kristin and I wrote this show because no one was talking about it. I didn’t even know I had endometriosis when we started writing. The show diagnosed me before any doctor did. We’re bringing it to Edinburgh because the silence around women’s health is global – and so is the audience that needs to help break it.
What would you like audiences to take away from seeing this production at the Fringe?
First and foremost, we want people to leave knowing what endometriosis actually is, and knowing some of its key symptoms so they can recognize it in themselves or in someone they love. Second, we want people to start talking: sharing their own experiences with women’s healthcare and feeling a little less afraid to open up. And we want people to walk into their next doctor’s appointment ready to advocate for themselves. At its core, this show is about education and empowerment.
Do you tend to take inspiration from events happening in the world around you in terms of your work? Do you think artists have a responsibility to respond to what’s happening?
We’re telling this story at a moment when healthcare is in crisis and women’s health in particular is treated as either taboo or an afterthought. I do believe we have a unique calling as artists to use our lived experiences as space to talk about how we can change the world for the better. And for Kristin and I, that is turning our pain into art that can help someone. And even though we talk about very difficult things in this show, it’s a joyful responsibility. To share our truth – and to be funny enough that people actually stay in the room for the hard parts.
What do you do to relax in August?
See as much theatre as humanly possible! That’s the thing we’re most looking forward to – being audience members ourselves, getting to be surprised, delighted, and inspired by other people’s work.
How do you feel about the current arts landscape in your country and your part in it? Does it excite you and inspire you to keep pushing the boat out?
Healthcare is in crisis in the US, like much of the world, and women’s rights are being scaled back year by year. It’s a frightening time to be an American, and a more frightening one to be a woman. That’s why it matters to speak up – to let people know they aren’t alone, and to put accurate information into the world at a moment when disinformation is everywhere. We focus on one specific disease in this show, but the problem is systemic and chronic – much like endometriosis itself.
Why are arts festivals such as the Fringe so important for international exchange?
Because the silence around women’s health isn’t an American problem or a British one, it’s everywhere, and so is the audience that needs to see this story. The Fringe puts artists and audiences from all over the world in one place, which is incredible. We wrote this show in Minnesota about very specific experiences that turned out to be completely universal. A festival like Edinburgh is where you see that play out in real time – from people whose lives might look nothing like ours but whose healthcare stories sound exactly the same.
What can the wider arts community do to get more people involved in their specific disciplines?
Make space for more stories from marginalized communities. Get people excited to see theatre again by showcasing new, boundary-breaking work! We do not need another remount of Oklahoma. Every time someone makes a show like this and an audience shows up and laughs and cries, it widens the door for the next person to also bring something new and exciting.
Have you got your eye on any other shows that are part of the programme?
We are excited to see any shows that also focus on women’s health! Any musicals! And amazing improv!
What’s next for you and how are you feeling about the future in general?
We’re hopeful this musical can have a life well beyond the festival. We’re looking forward to meeting programmers, artistic directors, and producers from the US and UK to talk about how we bring Endometriosis to a wider audience.
How can Edinburgh audiences keep up with you beyond the festival?
The best way is to follow us on Instagram and TikTok @endomusical! Our website endothemusical.com also has links to more socials, photos, videos and stills from past productions. Also: come see the show and say hi! We would love to make new friends!
Anything else?
If anything you see on our stage looks or feels familiar – the pain, the dismissals, the years of being told “it’s normal,” it’s worth getting checked out. We made a very silly comedy. But we have also helped people find a diagnosis. And, in the end, that is what makes this show so, so worth it.
Endometriosis: The Musical, Gilded Balloon, 5-31 Aug (not 17, 24), 4pm