By Grace Hatchell
Rise Above Performances brings A: to Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026, an immersive audience-interactive production exploring mental health, self-awareness and human connection.
A makes its international premiere at Edinburgh Fringe 2026 after Sacramento success
Some theatre asks us to sit back and watch.
A seems to be asking something more difficult, and possibly more necessary: to look inward.
Following its world premiere in Sacramento, California in October 2025, Rise Above Performances is bringing A to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 for its international premiere. The production will play daily at 16:45 at the Dunedin Theatre, venue 41, from 7th to 30th August.
Described as a bold, immersive theatrical experience, A begins with a simple question: what is your “A”?
From there, the show explores the personal struggles people carry, using raw storytelling, audience interaction and immersive staging to examine themes of mental health, self-awareness and human connection. Rather than placing the audience at a distance, the production invites them to reflect, engage and feel part of the experience.
That sense of shared reflection appears to sit at the heart of the piece. A is presented not simply as a performance, but as a journey between cast and audience, with a post-show talkback designed as a safe space for further conversation. Its stated mission is to help break silence and build understanding around mental health and personal struggle.
The production arrives in Edinburgh after a widely praised Sacramento premiere, where audience responses described the show as powerful, personal, raw and memorable. One audience member called it “the kind of theatre that stays with you,” while another described the experience as feeling less like a show and more like “a mirror.”
Performed by an ensemble representing three major California arts communities — Sacramento, Berkeley and Los Angeles — the cast includes Ethan Z Lang as Ryan, Emily Groin as Emile, Valerie Guillory as Michelle, Maya Jones as Miracle, and Connor Mozart Tell as Chester.
The production is directed by Kenne Guillory, marking his third Edinburgh Fringe endeavour and his first as director. His work with A continues a wider mission to create immersive theatre that sparks dialogue and builds empathy through shared human experience.
For me, this feels like the kind of Fringe work that sits slightly outside easy description. It is not just selling a story or a concept, but asking audiences to bring part of themselves into the room. That can be uncomfortable. It can also be where theatre becomes most alive.
There is something powerful about a production travelling from a community-rooted premiere in Sacramento to the international stage of Edinburgh Fringe. It suggests a piece with local feeling but wider reach, one shaped by specific voices while speaking to something many people may recognise in themselves.
A will play daily at 16:45 at the Dunedin Theatre, venue 41, during Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026, from 7th to 30th August. The production is presented by Rise Above Performances and continues the company’s work around mental health, addiction, empathy and shared understanding
A: What Is Yours? | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
About the Author
