Fresh Meat actress takes five-star one woman show to her hometown

Nation.Cymru Team

After its sold-out, five-star Cardiff premiere, a Welsh actress’s one-woman show will visit her hometown ahead of its nationwide tour.

Welsh actress Kimberley Nixon (Fresh Meat, Under Salt Marsh) will return to her hometown of Pontypridd on 30 May to launch the tour of Baby Brain, the darkly comic one-woman show she has co-written and stars in.

The Pontypridd performance opens a tour that travels to the Rik Mayall Comedy Festival in Droitwich the following night, then on through Poole, Manchester and Camden, before appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe (Assembly) in August.

Baby Brain tells the story of new mother Cass as she navigates postpartum psychosis through stand-up routines, voice notes, and devastating emotional honesty.

The 55- minute show breaks the fourth wall, playing with theatrical form to immerse audiences in Cass’s struggle to distinguish reality from delusion.

It was co-written by Nixon, with writer-directors Tim Clague and Danny Stack of Nelson Nutmeg Pictures.

The show had its world premiere at Porter’s, Cardiff in March, where it sold out and earned a five-star review, prompting an additional performance to meet demand.

Baby Brain has been endorsed by Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP), the UK’s leading charity for women and families affected by the condition.

Postpartum psychosis affects approximately 1-2 in 1,000 new mothers, often within the first weeks after birth, and remains one of the least-understood maternal mental health emergencies.

Perinatal OCD

Nixon, who has spoken publicly about her own experience of severe perinatal OCD and built a 300,000-strong Instagram community around maternal mental health, drew on her broader advocacy in shaping the show.

She said: “There’s something a bit terrifying about doing this show in Pontypridd. Everyone you’ve ever known is suddenly in the audience, including the woman who taught you in primary school. But it also feels like exactly where Baby Brain should start its tour.

“The show is about being a mother, and Pontypridd is where I first learned what that meant. I can’t wait to bring it home.”

Danny Stack, co-writer and director, said: “The reaction to the show has been extraordinary. We sold out Cardiff, hit 150% on our Kickstarter, and at every preview people stayed behind to talk to Kim.

“Postpartum psychosis is a deeply unsettling condition, no laughing matter at all, but we use comedy to really understand what a new mum is experiencing. Getting APP to endorse Baby Brain means everything; the people
who understand this condition better than anyone telling us we got it right.”

Industry responses to the show have called it “genuinely funny throughout” (Lee Walters, Ffilm Cymru Wales) and “a brilliant piece of writing and performance” (Porter’s Theatre).

Preview audiences, including staff from Mother & Baby Units, described it as “extraordinarily moving,” “well crafted, very clever,” and “you feel the effects of psychosis firsthand.”