Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Forgive Me
Tamsin Shasha
Genre: Autobiography, Solo Play, Solo Show
Venue: Summerhall – TechCube 0
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Tamsin Shasha’s autobiographical solo show follows a mother trying to understand her autistic son’s relationship with gaming while navigating her own late ADHD diagnosis. Combining pole performance, song, recorded dialogue and beautiful video imagery, it is an ambitious and heartwarming exploration of maternal love and intergenerational neurodivergence.
Review
Forgive Me examines the relationship between a mother and her autistic son, and the distance that develops when she cannot understand the gaming world that provides him with refuge, stimulation and connection.
Tamsin Shasha emerges in high-heeled pole-dancing boots, singing a heavy-metal song and using the pole as if it were a microphone. It is funny and impactful, but what I enjoy is the anger she expresses. This will not be a quiet or apologetic account of motherhood.
Although this is an autobiographical solo show, Shasha’s son, called Troy in the performance, is present through his recorded voice and video projections. His mother asks him to come downstairs to go swimming, but he remains absorbed in his games. Importantly, he is not simply spoken about: he contributes his perspective on having a mother who does not understand what gaming provides for him.
Shasha combines audio, video, song, pole work and audience participation. Her energetic movement communicates the mother’s restless and overwhelmed internal world. The pole becomes more than a piece of equipment: it represents her internal escapism and somewhere she can release her anger, claim freedom and be heard.
The mother describes her son’s autism diagnosis and how an NHS course helped her understand him. Her own ADHD diagnosis at nearly 60 then creates a deeper understanding of them both. A surreal audience exercise using a mask depicting a gorilla draws on Theory of Mind and brings humour to this emotional material.
One of the most beautiful sequences shows mother and son swimming together. Filmed underwater and bathed in blue and purple light, it reveals how their relationship improves as they begin to understand one another. Swimming moves from being the mother’s attempted escape to somewhere they can reconnect.
However, the production needs greater clarity and stillness. The letter the mother reads to her son feels like its natural ending, yet it continues with an audience gameplay sequence. By then, we understand what gaming provides for him. This section distracts from their relationship and reduces the letter’s emotional impact.
Nevertheless, Forgive Me is an ambitious and heartwarming exploration of gaming, maternal love and intergenerational neurodivergence.
