Bathroom – Etcetera Theatre

‘Bathroom’ is a beautiful, deeply affecting piece of theatre, defined by vulnerability and an acute understanding of what happens when love is strained by emotional distance, language and cultural difference.

Written and directed by Yijing Zou, this intimate two-hander explores the challenges of living and working abroad as a non-native speaker. Its storytelling is compassionate without becoming sentimental, gently confronting racism, the expectations we place upon our partners and the cumulative toll of navigating a multicultural environment. Inspired by Edvard Munch’s 1896 painting “Separations”, the production asks a painful question: “what remains when love can no longer bridge the space between two people?”

Jinyu Dan, playing Siwen Yao, and Bowen Sun, as Shiming Liang, are exceptionally well matched. Both deliver strong, emotionally exposed performances, finding tenderness and frustration within a relationship in which neither person can be easily labelled right or wrong. Their chemistry gives the production its emotional weight, while Zou’s writing allows the conflict to unfold with sensitivity and complexity. Zitong Yin also deserves recognition for the careful subtitle operation, an essential contribution to this multilingual production.

The production’s limitations lie almost entirely in its poor staging, and the visibly restricted budget results in technical choices that do not always serve the quality of the material. Lishen Cai’s sound design is occasionally too dominant, overpowering important moments onstage rather than deepening them, and their video projections are thoughtfully conceived and contain some compelling ideas, but their execution was cheap and distracting, drawing attention away from the actors at precisely the moments when simplicity would have been more powerful.

These shortcomings are frustrating because Zou’s artistic vision is clearly present, and with much greater resources and a more refined technical treatment, this could become an exceptional production. Even in its current form, however, it remains a moving and beautifully written examination of love, displacement and the painful distance that can exist between two people sharing the same room.

‘Bathroom’ was performed as part of Camden Fringe Festival and now transfers to the Edinburgh Fringe. Tickets can be found on the Edinburgh Fringe website: www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/bathroom

Reviewer: Alan Stuart Malin

Reviewed: 4^th August 2026

North West End UK / Theatre Muse Rating: