‘You’re fighting for equal rights or some shit: I’m still fighting for the right to exist‘. Sophie has a choice: remove her one remaining eye containing a tumour or risk cancer. Again. No brainer, right? But her parents have done everything to save this eye, in the hope she might see again. Can she do what she wants this time? A semi-autobiographical one-woman show from Jasmine Thien; a fully blind writer, poet and comedian. Shortlisted: Charlie Hartill 2025. Directed by Max Percy (Baklâ). Produced by The Project People.

Writer and Performer Jasmine Thein, and director Max Percy, speak with Corr Blimey about I Dream In Colour

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Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show/event/performance is?

Answered by Jasmine Thien (Writer & Performer):

Sophie has a choice: surgically remove her one remaining eye, or risk eye cancer. Again. Thing is, all her life she has been taught she has no agency over her own body…

I Dream in Colour is a semi-autobiographical, one-woman show exploring the intersection between gender, disability and immigrant culture, but at its heart it is a coming-of-age story of a young woman learning to recognise that she can make decisions for her own body and life.

Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?

Answered by Max Percy (Director):

Our creative team has been developing this show since 2022, with its first iteration at Camden People’s Theatre, and the second as a part of the Bloomsbury Festival – so by now we are a well-oiled machine for the show’s final version.

We’ve been interested in staging the inner life of the character, which will give the audience a detailed insight into how Sophie navigates the challenges of a cancer diagnosis that are made all the more difficult by societal and cultural attitudes towards ableism, racism and misogyny.

Our team is made up of a mixture of blind/disabled/neurodivergent creatives, some of whom are showcasing their work at the fringe for the first time.

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How does it feel coming to the Fringe?

Answered by Max Percy (Director):

I can’t wait to see how audiences receive this piece. Of course I’m both nervous and excited – but I think that this show says something remarkably different about who gets the platform to tell their story which I think is really important.

With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?

Answered by Max Percy (Director):

The piece is extremely daring with the portrayal of a disabled character, pushing the boundaries of what society feels that a disabled body can do in stories. Jasmine has written an immensely detailed, psychological drama and coming-of-age story of epic proportion. She performs the piece with skill and ease, in a captivating feat of acting.

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Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?

Answered by Jasmine Thien (Writer & Performer):

I Dream in Colour tackles themes and issues which are under-represented in theatre, for instance, everyday ableism, intersectional experiences, how intersectional bodies are viewed, the desexualization and sexualization of disabled people, and so on. We would love audiences to come away reflecting on these issues and how we may start shifting the cultural narrative around disabled and intersectional bodies.

Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?

Answered by Jasmine Thien (Writer & Performer):

Disabled people, BIPOC people, immigrants, children of immigrants, people from the British East Asian and Southeast Asian diaspora, women, and anyone who straddles these intersections will hopefully find a lot that resonate with them in the show. This is not a show for people who are not ready to confront the uncomfortable truths of what it is like living as a disabled, BIPOC woman in a deeply ableist, patriarchal world.

It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?

Answered by The Project People (Creative Producers):

We’re so lucky to be working alongside Jasmine and Max whilst also supporting 9 other incredible shows to be at Edinburgh Fringe this year in different capacities – so we’ll be pretty busy making sure that they are relaxing as much as possible before we’re relaxing! We’ll be making sure to have some social time with the artists we’re working with, as there’s nothing like a run at Edinburgh to bring you closer to your collaborators. We’ll definitely be trying to take in some of that beautiful Edinburgh scenery as well.

We highly recommend the two other shows we are Creative Producers on as well as ‘I Dream In Colour’ – ‘Alice Cockayne: Licensed. Professional. Trained Qualified.’ and ‘GISELLE:REMIX’, both at Pleasance Courtyard.

In your ideal world, how can we improve the Fringe, performance, and the industry?

Answered by The Project People (Creative Producers):

The Project People was created as a response to industry changing, and acknowledging that artists have to have multi-hyphenated careers in order for it to be somewhere close to sustainable. We’ve created a tiered structure of support for Edinburgh to acknowledge that everyone has different resources, no matter how brilliant their shows are. The Fringe needs to acknowledge this as well. The amount of budget and professional support a show has, does make a huge difference to the reach it gets on the ground. We want to work with other people to stretch the amount of expert support smaller shows with smaller budgets can get. That’s one way we’ll be able to start democratising who ‘succeeds’ at Fringe once again.

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