Belated – Etcetera Theatre

Celebrating a milestone birthday almost a year late might suggest poor organisation, but for Anna, it represents something far more purposeful: a refusal to let disappointment have the final word. In ‘Belated’, a postponed party becomes the stage upon which she takes stock of middle age, abandoned ambitions and the uncomfortable feeling that everybody else’s life has progressed more successfully than her own.

Anna once worked as a professional dancer but now teaches Pilates to wealthy and famous clients. Approaching her 51st birthday, she is contending with the demands of motherhood, the aftermath of a painful separation and the lingering frustration of creative aspirations left unexplored. Rather than quietly accepting that those opportunities have passed, she transforms her long delayed 50th birthday celebration into the solo performance she never previously found the courage to create.

Written and performed by Lola Fishbein, and co-written and directed by Mira Awad, the production combines storytelling, music, movement and direct audience engagement. Fishbein proves an assured and generous performer, sustaining the piece with considerable warmth and energy. Her background in dance remains evident in the physical confidence with which she occupies the stage, while her reassuring vocal presence lends emotional credibility to Anna’s reflections.

Fishbein establishes an immediate rapport with the audience from the start. By addressing us as party guests, she creates a relaxed intimacy that feels natural rather than imposed. Early suggestions that the evening might be a disaster cleverly expose the character’s insecurity, but Fishbein’s command of the room tells a different story, and she makes Anna’s need to be witnessed entirely believable, guiding the audience comfortably between comedy, vulnerability and moments of renewed self-belief.

The production is enriched by pianist Roi Erez, whose live accompaniment provides far more than incidental background music. His playing is gentle, precise and responsive, changing with the emotional temperature of the performance while never competing for attention. Erez gives contemplative passages the space they require and brings additional buoyancy to the show’s lighter moments. The unforced connection between musician and performer lends the evening both warmth and spontaneity.

What connects you to ‘Belated’, is not simply Anna’s catalogue of regrets, but the recognition that regret can become an excuse for remaining motionless. The production acknowledges how unsettling it can be to reassess one’s life at an age when reinvention is often presented as unrealistic, yet it carefully resists easy sentimentality. Anna cannot recover lost years or remake every choice, but she can decide what she does with the life still ahead of her.

Funny, tender and emotionally open, ‘Belated’ is carried by Fishbein’s confident performance and her convincing relationship with the audience. With Erez providing a beautifully controlled musical counterpart, this is a thoughtful and engaging solo show about stepping out of the wings and finally claiming the stage. It is very much worth seeing as it continues at Etcetera Theatre as part of Camden Fringe for a further two performances. Tickets are available at https://camdenfringe.com/events/belated

Reviewer: Alan Stuart Malin

Reviewed: 25^th August 2026

North West End UK / Theatre Muse UK Rating: