You know me, I love a performer who goes off-script – but Nicole Sadler has taken that to fearless new heights. No script, no safety net, and certainly no guarantee she won’t be crying into a £2 pizza slice come curtain down. I caught up with Nic ahead of her daring new Fringe show, Exposure Therapy, where your deepest fears become her rawest material. It’s bold, bonkers, and blooming brilliant – and yes, I did ask if she’s got a trapdoor backstage just in case.
GRACE: Right then, Nic – let’s start bold: whose bonkers idea was it to do a show with no script about all your fears? Was it a wine-fuelled moment or do you just enjoy suffering?
NICOLE: Incredibly, there was no wine involved at all! The idea came last August when I was helping a friend flyer his show and he remarked at how good I was at coming up with things off the cuff. And we joked about how I could probably just do a stream of consciousness Fringe show next year.
And while it was a joke – the idea stuck in my head, doing something with no script and putting all of what I consider to be my strongest qualities to the test.
GRACE: Have you got a safe word in place? Or a trapdoor? Or is the plan to just emotionally freefall and hope for the best?
NICOLE: The last one, Grace. I do have two rules in place for the show – one of them being that I can veto anything that might cause permanent damage, but I’m gonna try really hard to resist that option. I’ve done my best to remove all forms of safeguarding and leave my fate up to the audience.
GRACE: Let’s talk practicalities. How are you prepping for this? Do you meditate? Do a little primal scream? Or just sob quietly into a Pret croissant?
NICOLE: This was one of my biggest worries going into this – how can I possibly prepare?
And then I had the genius idea to start doing street interviews as half a preparation technique and half a cheeky way to flyer. I’ve created a wheel with various options such as truth, dare, read from my teenage diary, tell me a fear, et cetera.
It’s actually been really fun and I’m gonna keep it up throughout August – so look for me and my spinny wheel!
But other than that, there isn’t really a lot of prep I can do, which almost feels perfect in a way. I considered doing preview shows but that felt a little bit like cheating. I want to feel out of my comfort zone. I don’t wanna feel like I’ve already done this a ton of times and that it’s an easy breezy ride.
GRACE: Be honest, what’s your biggest fear you’re dreading someone scribbling on a post-it?
NICOLE: Oh god – I try not to think about it. But I’m really afraid of… not a specific question, but being unable to rise to the challenge. Whether that be for lack of bravery, lack of skill to hold the audience, or just completely freezing and not being able to think of a clever way to interpret it.
I’m afraid that there might be a time or two where I fall flat and I can’t get back up – and the rest of the show loses that incredibly important energy flow.
GRACE: I can imagine this show is like a rollercoaster with no seatbelt. Have there been any moments where you’ve gone, “Oh no, this one’s too raw, I’m not ready”?
NICOLE: Oh yes, absolutely. There are tons of things that I already know are going to hit a nerve. I’m really hoping that the adrenaline just pushes me through it because there are so many things that I could talk about that I know would just make me crumble in front of a few dozen strangers.
GRACE: You know I love a theatre quote, and I saw you referencing E.E. Cummings – “it takes courage to grow up and become who you truly are.” Beautiful. But tell me this: when did you realise you were ready to grow up and face it all?
NICOLE: Oh, this is a lifelong journey, but I would say that I started this lifelong journey about a decade ago in my mid-20s.
There’s this stigma, at least for women, about growing older – how you hit your prime at 25 and you’re invisible by 40.
But when I was 25, I felt like I was just getting started – and now at 35 I am continually more and more the person that I was really meant to be every day.
GRACE: How do you recover afterwards? Gin, journaling, or just a long nap in the nearest bin?
NICOLE: Well, this one’s a little different for me because it’s a late show – the first two weeks are at 10:10pm and the third week is at 11:05pm.
Normally I would go to my favourite pizza spot on Southbridge (shout out to £2 Pizza Slice!) and then walk home since I live locally and give myself that time to process the show.
But I don’t know how I’m gonna feel now that it’s so late – I might be exhausted and have to take an Uber home straight to bed, or I might be so exhilarated that I’ll be out till 3am using up all that energy every night!
GRACE: Let’s sell it then. Why should my lovely Theatre Villagers come and see Exposure Therapy? What’s in it for the audience (apart from mild emotional panic and a free therapy session)?
NICOLE: Because this, my friend, is what the Fringe is all about!
Raw and honest performance art pushing boundaries and hopefully inspiring the audience to live their life with a little less fear and a little more bravery.
I can’t promise the show will be funny or dramatic or deep or clever – because every single one will be different and I’ll never know what I’m walking into.
But I can promise that you won’t see anything else like this at this year’s Fringe.
Exposure Therapy | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
GRACE: Well, I’m sold. Nicole, you absolute powerhouse – may the spinny wheel be kind, the post-its poetic, and your courage unshakable (but if you do need to cry into a croissant, I’ll bring the flaky goods myself).
To all my lovely Theatre Villagers: Exposure Therapy is a one-of-a-kind ride into the unknown, and trust me – you’ll want a front row seat. Go support this glorious chaos and give Nicole the kind of crowd she deserves.
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