Episode 296: Edinburgh Festival Series - 116 Grams; A Play To Lose Weight

It’s the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series Elaine chats with the performer and creator Letícia Rodrigues about her show 116 Grams: A Play to Lose Weight which is at the Edinburgh festival this year. - TW small discussion around eating disorders. 116 Grams: A Play to Lose Weight Part of São Paulo Showcase 2026 Studio at ZOO Southside 7 - 30 August 2026 20:20 (60 mins) 116 Grams: A Play to Lose Weight ‘Gorda’s body fits nowhere, and losing weight may be her only chance at belonging. How much must we lose to be acceptable?’ 116 Grams: A Play To Lose Weight is based on performer Letícia Rodrigues’ own life story: a fat girl who dreamed of being Britney Spears and, even after so many years, cannot be Britney Spears, and cannot seem to be anything that is not her weight. Beneath the calculations, the circuits and the sweat, Leticia’s investigation leads her to the essential question: is she a modern, chained Prometheus, or rather a whale out of water, gasping for breath? The only thing that seems to matter is the need to shrink, to kill, half of this body that occupies more space than it should - according to society, advertising, and the world. Brought to the Edinburgh Fringe as part of the São Paulo Showcase 2026, 116 Grams: A Play To Lose Weight tells a deeply impactful story of self-introspection and the true impact of society on human bodies, minds, and spirits. Gorda has one objective for the hour - to lose 116 grams. A peculiar training session where theatre meets workout, the performance revisits fragments of memory and theory as she runs, calculates, and performs. What begins as a physical task slowly unravels into a performative experiment about discipline, control, emotions, and the absurd demands placed on our bodies – especially women's bodies. This body - Gorda’s body - is pushed to its limits: but is this really a show about losing weight? Or is it actually about the very nature of performance itself? An innovative and sensitive production that speaks to the universal experience of feeling assessed and criticised by the spectre of society, 116 Grams: A Play To Lose Weight invites audiences to reflect on the place of people rejected by conventional beauty standards, asking us to consider who is allowed to perform, and who is allowed to be seen. Tickets - https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/116-grams-a-play-to-lose-weight OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES Equity Toolkit: Link Stellar Quines: Link Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership Email – [email protected] Instagram - @persistentandnasty Twitter - @PersistentNasty Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE Resources Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK ArtsMinds - BAPAM Freelancers Make Theatre Work Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE