Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Lover on the Radio
Catalytic Productions
Genre: New Writing, Solo Show, Theatre
Venue: Paradise in The Vault
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
A late-night show with late-night themes, this one-woman show uses a communication tower switchboard to answer questions on life, sex, and death.
Review
Lover on the Radio is a truly singular show at the Fringe this year. Written and performed by Gayané Kaligian, this one-woman theatre piece is a 50 minute snapshot of an unnamed woman who operates a switchboard at a communication tower on the night shift. She acts as a phone sex operator, radio DJ, and prayer request hotline. As the show goes on, she becomes more agitated and tired, almost forgetting which phone line is which.
As the lights come up, the audience sees Kaligian sitting at a table with three brightly-coloured phones in front of her, and vinyls spread all over the floor. Kaligian’s character begins by putting on different personas for each phone line, playing as the person the caller wants to hear the most. Even as the radio DJ, which the character seems to resent the least, at first acts as a ‘manic pixie dream girl’ with a broad, yet niche music collection and an arsenal of ‘cool girl’ quips. Kaligian chooses to make these switches between personas somewhat belaboured and unconvincing, which works for the character, who comes across as a real person who is uncomfortable with and tired of only saying what people want to hear. Performing as someone who is themselves performing is a difficult balance; if the character’s acting is ‘too good’ the story can lose realism. Kaligian maintains this balance well throughout the whole piece.
The show was lacking in plot, yet this is not necessarily a weakness. It felt more like a performance-art piece than a play. The storyline showcases vignettes of the basic needs of the human psyche: sex, emotional connection, and spiritual connection. Somehow, whilst completely alone on stage, Kaligian is able to both highlight the value of human connection and the importance of being shamelessly yourself (even if you like ‘chick rock’).
In order to perform the entire piece alone, Kaligian does all of her phone interactions with pre-made recordings. For the majority of the play, she is able to seamlessly insert her lines in between (and sometimes naturally overlapping with) the recorded lines. There was a minor issue with a recording looping at the end, which Kaligian did not react to at all, but it took a moment for her to re-sync her lines. Being such a tech-heavy show, it was impressively well-timed up until this moment.
Lover on the Radio fittingly runs late at night, adding to the atmosphere of the character’s graveyard shift. It is a good show to watch at the end of a busy Fringe day, and even better to watch at the start of a night out in nearby Cowgate. There’s good music, good energy, and a healthy dose of existentialism.
