Always on
This project successfully funded on 15th June 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
'Our Town Needs a Nando's' Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Aim
To prove young women’s stories matter by bringing a bold, female-led show to the Fringe and creating opportunities for new creatives.
‘Our Town Needs a Nando’s’ is a bold, emotionally nuanced and sharply funny new coming-of-age play about girlhood, friendship, identity and the small towns that shape, and sometimes suffocate us. Set in a place where school is a nightmare, boys are exhausting, and the only place open after 6pm is McDonald’s, the story follows five girls who are simply trying to survive growing up when the world around them expects so little of them.
Through fast-paced ensemble storytelling, the show tackles themes of queerness, identity, education and women’s safety. Teenagers are often dismissed or misunderstood, and this piece shines a light on the complexity of their lives while celebrating their resilience, humour and solidarity. The characters come from a wide range of backgrounds, ethnicities, sexualities and religions, reflecting the diversity of real classrooms and ensuring there is a little piece of us all within every character and real representation on stage.
The team behind our debut is an exciting ensemble of emerging talent: Written by BAFTA nominated, disabled, queer, northern writer, Samantha O’Rourke, Directed by exciting award-winning writer/director/performer Milly Sweeney and performed by a diverse group of emerging actors cast through an inclusive open call process.
Our Town Needs a Nando’s is a show about young women with big dreams and limited pathways in reaching them. We are creatives that grew up in small towns, with big dreams and no way of making them happen other than hard work and resilience. Gaining funding for this show would prove one of the main themes in the show that young women can be successful if they put their minds to it, not only allowing us to build our own platforms for our careers, but helping other underrepresented creatives get closer to their goals whilst telling a story that empowers the next generation of young women to do the same.
The money raised will go directly towards the essential costs of bringing Our Town Needs a Nando’s to the Edinburgh Fringe, including venue hire, marketing, set, costumes, and supporting our cast and creatives. As an emerging company, accessing traditional arts funding is incredibly competitive and often out of reach without an established track record. Like many new creatives, we are navigating an industry where opportunities can be limited — which is why your support is so vital in helping us bring this project to life.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made