Edinburgh Fringe Chats (#57): Diana Salles, DELUSIONAL - I KILLED A MAN

8 Jul

Conducted by Emmie for Theatre and Tonic

As anticipation builds for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025, we’re catching up with a range of exciting creatives preparing to bring their work to the world’s largest arts festival this August. In this series, we delve into the stories behind the shows, the inspiration driving the artists, and what audiences can expect. Today, we’re joined by Diana Salles to chat about their show, Delusional - I Killed A Man

Can you begin by telling us about your show and what inspired it?

Delusional is a one trans-woman show about grieving and rebirth… it navigates the ongoing cycle I live through in my journey transitioning from male to female. The show moves through the parallel of rediscovering myself, shedding that old male body, physically and mentally, and daring to welcome, learn and celebrate what it means to be a trans woman in this world we live in.
At first, it came from the need to express, that artistic need to throw it back at the world, hoping to resonate, to connect, feel understood, maybe to provoke as well. The creation, the process, the chaos, the circus… it all gives me a reason to keep going: “I’m going to make something that calms my heart, shakes up minds, inspires and maybe makes a difference.” That alone is a pretty good reason to stick around, isn’t it?

What made you want to bring this work to the Fringe this year?

VISIBILITY! I must say I’ve been dreaming of bringing a solo show to this festival for years, I knew this was a work that needed to exist, to speak, and to carve out space where there often is not enough…

As a contemporary circus artist, I find myself in dialogue with all kinds of people. Circus always attract a diverse and remarkably open-hearted audience, it’s an art form that is from everyone to everyone you know? Being traditional or contemporary, we all love the risk circus shows performs, even more when it proposes, thought provokes.

I realised DELUSIONAL would not only hold my own truth but invite others to reflect, to laugh, to feel uneasy, and maybe to leave the theatre seeing the world slightly differently.

Bringing this work to the Fringe feels like planting a flag that says: I’m here, this story matters, and so does the freedom to tell it on my own terms.

How would you describe your show in three words?

Unapolagetic, Insightful and Tremendously Delusional. Ops, that’s more than three.

What do you hope audiences take away from watching your performance?

I hope it moves people, cheers and inspires, and also shows what it means to navigate a transition, to see that we are all, somehow, in constant motion, shifting and reinventing ourselves. I want people to leave feeling braver in their own skin.

What’s your top tip for surviving the Fringe?

Deep breaths and good laughs… also some pints! Don’t think too much, just keep going!

Where and when can people see your show?

So! I’ll be performing Delusional at Summerhall, Main Hall, from 31st July to 24th August, every day at 15:05. I’ll be there ! waiting for you all to come get a little delusional with me!