Credit-Rah Petherbridge © Rah Petherbridge Art & Photograhphy 2025
By Grace Hatchell
Bryn Woz is returning to Edinburgh with a solo comedy stuffed with burlesque, filthy poetry, scandalous confessions, audience interaction and enough romantic history to make your family WhatsApp group go suspiciously quiet.
She will perform at Assembly Roxy – The Snug from 5 to 31 August 2026, except 18 and 25 August, at 9.10pm.
Nine-ten at night is probably wise. You cannot unleash a woman called Entendre Entendre at half past two in the afternoon while people are still digesting a baked potato.
Welcome to the memoir launch from hell — or heaven, depending on your hobbies
At the centre of SMUT is Entendre Entendre, a washed-up burlesque superstar with a memoir to promote and a romantic archive apparently requiring its own filing cabinet.
The book recounts her many lovers.
And when I say many, I am not being judgemental. I am merely respecting the capital letters in the press release.
Entendre’s tales unfold through song, striptease, poetry, storytelling and audience participation. There will be glamour. There will be gossip. There may be moments when those in the front row suddenly develop a passionate interest in the ceiling.
Bryn Woz brings the character to life in a show where burlesque, confession and comedy collide. It is directed by Rachel Resnik, whose credits include A Drag Is Born and Clown Gym.
That title alone suggests she knows how to manage chaos.
It starts with smut, but then the feelings turn up
Now, I know what you are thinking.
“Grace, is this just an hour of saucy stories and strategic feather placement?”
Apparently not.
Because beneath the outrageous memoir launch, the swagger and the removal of various garments, SMUT gradually becomes something much more revealing.
As Entendre shares each story and sheds each layer, the show begins digging into sexual agency, loneliness and the emotional armour people build when they would rather not let anybody see what is really going on underneath.
Which is sneaky, really.
You go in expecting dirty limericks and emerge contemplating human vulnerability while fastening your coat.
It sounds as though the comedy does not abandon its bawdy heart, but allows something tender and uncomfortable to creep in around the edges. The jokes may be filthy, but the questions underneath them are rather serious.
Why do we perform confidence?
What do we hide behind?
And how many sequins does it take to disguise an existential crisis?
The answer may be “more than you would expect.”
Bryn Woz has done some extremely committed research
Many of Entendre’s adventures are drawn from Bryn Woz’s own life.
During the years she describes as her time as a proudly “loose woman,” Woz gathered a collection of strange, hilarious and sometimes dark romantic experiences.
She even admits that, on occasion, she went to bed with somebody partly because she thought the experience might produce a good story.
That is dedication.
Some writers sit in cafés with notebooks. Bryn Woz appears to have taken a more immersive approach.
By placing those experiences in the hands of Entendre Entendre, she found a way to become even bolder, funnier and more fearless on stage. The exaggerated persona provides cover, but it also creates space for honesty.
Sometimes it is easier to tell the truth while wearing false eyelashes and behaving like a woman who has never once apologised for taking up the entire sofa.
From Hollywood Fringe to Edinburgh
SMUT is Bryn Woz’s first solo show, but it has already travelled a fair distance in its high heels.
It premiered with a sold-out run at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and was later selected for the Elysian Theater’s Edinburgh Percolator series. The show made its international Edinburgh Fringe debut at Zoo in 2025 and now returns for a full run in 2026.
It has also earned a four-star review from The Scotsman, which praised the show for being funny, rude, moving and powerful.
That is quite a combination.
Like finding a heartfelt letter tucked inside a novelty thong.
Who is Bryn Woz?
Bryn Woz is a multidisciplinary performer, writer and award-winning director with years of experience in comedy, drag and burlesque across Los Angeles and New York.
She has won awards for acting, directing and stand-up comedy, and her film work has travelled internationally.
Her first feature film, Her Side of the Bed, screened at several festivals and was distributed in North America and overseas. Her more recent film, Under the Influencer, was accepted into 17 festivals and won five awards.
Two of her films have also screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
So, no pressure on the rest of us, then.
Outside performance, Woz is a swing dancer, enthusiastic traveller and conversational Italian and Spanish speaker. She identifies as queer, both as a sexual orientation and because she considers herself “a bit of a strange bird.”
She has also been cross-dressing since childhood, and her work continues to move between masculine and high-femme drag.
Her first acting job involved trying to bully a child out of his lunch money before being eaten by Godzilla.
Show business is a funny old career.
One minute you are inside a monster. The next you are taking a memoir called SMUT to Edinburgh.
Why SMUT stands out at Edinburgh Fringe 2026
The Edinburgh Fringe has no shortage of comedians talking about dating, sex and terrible decisions.
Usually into a microphone, beneath a light that makes everybody look mildly unwell.
What makes SMUT sound different is the theatricality of it all. Entendre Entendre is not simply telling stories. She is staging her own legend, complete with music, burlesque, poetry and a memoir launch that sounds one champagne cork away from a public inquiry.
Yet the show also appears willing to puncture that legend.
Behind the confidence is loneliness. Behind the performance is vulnerability. Behind the corset is presumably another, smaller corset, because burlesque costumes appear to contain more layers than a winter bed.
It sounds bold, funny and gloriously indecent, but not empty.
There is a heart beneath the feathers.
Possibly slightly bruised, but still beating.
Grace’s verdict
I am intrigued.
Not merely because the show contains scandal, striptease and somebody called Entendre Entendre, although these things certainly do not hurt.
What interests me is the promise that the production goes somewhere emotionally unexpected.
A loud, sex-positive comedy that gradually reveals the fear of being truly seen could be a potent little thing. It may make audiences laugh, squirm and then realise, with some annoyance, that they have started feeling something.
The Fringe is at its best when a show looks like one thing from the doorway and becomes something richer once you are inside.
SMUT appears to arrive wearing sequins and carrying a dirty poem.
But I suspect it may have something rather more vulnerable hidden in its handbag.
Bryn Woz: SMUT | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Bryn Woz: SMUT — Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Venue: Assembly Roxy – The Snug
Dates: 5–31 August 2026, excluding 18 and 25 August
Previews: 5 and 6 August
Time: 9.10pm
Performer: Bryn Woz
Director: Rachel Resnik
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bryn Woz: SMUT about?
SMUT is a sex-positive solo comedy featuring Bryn Woz as her burlesque alter ego, Entendre Entendre. During the launch of Entendre’s memoir, audiences hear strange, funny and sometimes dark stories about her many lovers.
Is SMUT a burlesque show?
Burlesque is a major part of the production, but the show also includes comedy, songs, poetry, confessional storytelling and audience interaction.
Is SMUT returning to Edinburgh Fringe in 2026?
Yes. The show made its international Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2025 and returns for another run in August 2026.
Where is Bryn Woz performing at Edinburgh Fringe 2026?
Bryn Woz will perform SMUT at Assembly Roxy – The Snug.
When does SMUT run?
The show runs from 5 to 31 August 2026, excluding 18 and 25 August.
What time does the show start?
Performances begin at 9.10pm.
Does SMUT include audience participation?
Yes. Audience interaction is part of the show, although hiding behind a taller member of your party may or may not be effective.
Is SMUT only about sex?
No. Alongside its explicit humour and burlesque, the show explores loneliness, emotional vulnerability, sexual agency and the ways people protect themselves from being truly seen.
Who is Entendre Entendre?
Entendre Entendre is Bryn Woz’s larger-than-life burlesque alter ego and the supposed author of the memoir at the centre of the show.
Who directs SMUT?
The production is directed by Rachel Resnik.
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Bryn Woz Brings SMUT to Edinburgh Fringe 2026
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