INTERVIEW: Harriet Madeley, ‘Outpatient’

Ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024, we’re chatting with a range of creatives who will be heading to the city over August to find out more about their shows. Today we’re chatting with Harriet Madeley about Outpatient.

Can you tell us a bit about you and your career so far.

I did an English degree before training as an actor, and my work has always involved a mix of writing and performance. I set up Crowded Room with Mark Knightley in 2016, craving more control over my work. Since then, we’ve been making theatre, film and audio work from real stories, often collaborating with the people the shows are about. We’ve worked with a real mix of communities, always looking to tell stories that promote discussion on challenging topics. This the first time I’ll be writing from my own experience.

What is your show about?

OUTPATIENT is a comedy about the fantasies of human minds and the fragility of human bodies. It follows Olive – a naïve, somewhat self-obsessed writer – who is interviewing patients in palliative care wards for a ‘hot take’ article about death and dying. She believes we should all get better at talking about death, because really why is it such a big deal… until she’s diagnosed with a life limiting illness of her own, which it turns out, she can’t deal with at all. Olive promptly implodes her life – pushing away the love of her life, auditioning for a reality singing competition and playing fast and loose with the law… until finally (too late?) attempting to claw her way back to reality. The show ventures into some dark and painful territory but it’s very much a comedy, exploring how little we know ourselves until we’re forced to.

What was the inspiration for Outpatient and what’s the development process been to get to this stage?

OUTPATIENT is based closely on what happened to me when I was diagnosed with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis in 2018. I began writing it years ago, before freaking out and sticking it in a drawer. Over the past year, I’ve been working to develop it with a brilliant team of people, and we’ve just headed in to rehearsals ahead of our previews at the end of July. Summerhall will be its first full run.

What made you want to take Outpatient to the Fringe?

I’ve always wanted to take a show to Edinburgh. Practically speaking, I’ve just had a baby and my partner is on maternity leave, so it seems like now or never! But more importantly, I think this is an ideal Fringe show – it’s light on its feet and easy to engage with but it packs an emotional punch that’ll keep people talking about it.

Apart from seeing Outpatient, what’s your top tip for anybody heading for Edinburgh this summer?

Embrace the chaos and see as much as you can across all art forms – you might be surprised by what inspires you. Oh and pack a box of Alka Seltzers.

Why should people book Outpatient?

I think it will make people laugh, and that it in reminding them of their imminent deaths, it will leave them feeling more alive. Who doesn’t want to feel more alive at 10:30 in the morning?

When and where can people see the show? 
OUTPATIENT will be on at the Anatomy Lecture Theatre at 10:30am from 1st-26th August. Preview tickets on 1st August are just £10, and you can also book 2 for 1 tickets on the 5th or 6th August.