Conducted by Emmie for Theatre and Tonic

Following its critically acclaimed premiere at Edinburgh and subsequent runs at Soho Theatre in London and the Soulpepper in Toronto, Haley McGee shares a gripping story about how our relationship with mortality shapes the way we live. Now it returns to London’s newest venue, Soho Theatre Walthamstow, for a strictly limited run this year. We caught up with Haley to find out more.

1. Where did the inspiration behind your show Age is a Feeling begin?
I started working on the show in 2019. I wanted to make something about aging and the science of aging, but it didn't take much time thinking about aging before the theme of mortality took over. I was coming into midlife, taking stock and asking if the choices I'd made in the past were ones that I wanted to keep making.

2. Your show premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. What was it like to debut your work there, and how has it impacted its development since?
Candidly, debuting in Edinburgh is extremely anxiety-inducing for me. I don't read reviews because I don't have the stomach for them — even the good ones — but, of course, I'm aware of how powerful they can be, especially in a place like Edinburgh. I woke up on tenterhooks every morning waiting for the reviews to drop. It took about a week before they did. And the good ones were very helpful in terms of driving people to the show.

Doing a show in Edinburgh girds your loins as a writer-performer. It’s a rigorous exercise, and you can’t help but be refining both the writing and the performance, doing it day after day in that environment where you’re also constantly engaging with artists, seeing loads of work, and being inspired.

3. Age is a Feeling touches on subjects of aging, regret, and mortality, which are considered taboo subjects in society, especially mortality. Has it enabled you to have a better relationship with it personally?
Hands down, yes. I used to jolt awake in the night scared of dying too soon. In fact, as a child, I had dreams about being buried alive. (I was deeply affected by a song in The Mikado, where somebody is about to be buried alive.) Part of the impetus for writing the show was wanting to live the rest of my life without this crippling fear of dying.

4. Hospices, mystics, and trips to the cemetery influence your work. Was there part of the creative process that struck a particular chord?
One of the things I learned from someone who trains hospice workers is the idea that the one promise we’re all given when we’re born is that one day we will die. It is the great equaliser. And the research around hospice workers brought into focus that being aware of life’s fragility makes your experience of living much richer and focused.

5. What have audiences' reactions been to the subject matter of your work?
In the main, audiences have responded very positively to this show, and I’ve been very moved by people sticking around afterwards, or writing, to tell me how it touched them personally, how it reflected something that they’ve experienced in their life.

6. You’ve also become a mother since you debuted the show — has this impacted your relationship with the piece and if so, how?
Before, I really resonated with the protagonist in the show, and now I find myself slipping between connecting with the protagonist and her mother. The parts that I wrote about the mother take on a new meaning now that I am also somebody’s mother.

7. What do you hope audiences will take away from watching Age is a Feeling?
I hope audiences leave feeling enlivened, with a renewed sense of hope going back into their lives—the die isn’t cast. There is still so much to enjoy. Go and grab it.

Age is a Feeling plays at Soho Theatre Walthamstow from 5-7 March 2026.

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