Our next interview in our Edinburgh Fringe series sees us catch up with Jake Alexander, who is bringing Like a Good Neighbour to the festival. The show is described as “a warm, welcoming and hilariously self-conscious show about just that: being a good neighbour.”
How would you describe your show to someone discovering it for the first time at the Fringe?
Like a Good Neighbor is a monologue, interactive, immersive show about trying to save a stray cat, and all of the trauma that came after. It’s a story about friendship, bullying, and planning a wedding. It explores how we relate to each other in our communities every day, and the concept of the clothing chair. It’s about being there for one another, and if you join us for a performance, you may just get some help you need right now.
What moment, idea or frustration first sparked this show into existence?
Roughly three years ago I was living alone as my wife was out of the country on a performance contract and I heard a cat crying in the alleyway outside my apartment building. I went outside to help the cat, and that’s when I realized that I have a pathological need to be liked and help every person I come into contact with. The show became a musing on that need, and all of the times I’ve gone out of my way to get people to like me.
How has the show evolved from its earliest idea to what audiences will see now?
In a million small ways: first, my director and my wife, Hayley, pointed out that the show works best when it’s intimate: when the audience feels like they’re sitting in the living room listening to their best friend tell a story- a new draft was born . When we started working through that next draft, Hayley pitched the idea that I help some people in the audience in real time. That’s become a central part of the piece, and it’s where I have the most fun every night.
What makes Edinburgh Fringe the right place for this show right now?
The Fringe is the place to try the most creative and interesting aspects of a performance. This piece, with its immersive elements, and its story of brutal honesty in the face of rejection, is right at home at this festival. I can’t wait to share it with audiences.
What does bringing this particular show to the Fringe represent for you personally?
As long as i’ve been writing pieces for myself, i’ve wanted to bring a show to the Edinburgh Fringe. I studied abroad in Scotland in 2012 (University of Glasgow, shout out to the Cecilian Society) and I can’t wait to come back to the country that I fell in love with. I have so many friends who will be in town, and i’m thrilled be able to share this show and these stories with them and everyone else coming to the festival to see new and exciting art.
What has been the most unexpectedly challenging part of getting this show to Edinburgh?
Promotion and fundraising! Even though it’s just the two of us coming to the festival (myself and my wife/director/producer/tech op), it’s a huge undertaking. We have been so blessed by our community for donating to us, and helping us get to Edinburgh. We know there’s a ton of work ahead of us, but it’s been a real eye-opening experience to see just how many hands it takes to get to the Fringe.
If audiences leave the venue holding onto one thing, what do you hope it is?
That we can all help one another in a million different, small ways. That we are a part of a community, even if we don’t see it.
How do you think performing this show during a Fringe run will shape it?
Because so much of this show is thinking on my feet, i’m hoping it will bring about new ways in which the story unfolds. I like the moments that I can’t prepare for: the interactive and immersive elements of breaking down the 4th wall and helping the audience. I’m hoping more of that changes this show over time.
Who do you hope this show finds at the Fringe?
I hope it will find a community who want to keep coming back for more performances! The show will be different every night, and there’s always going to be new things to catch. I hope we find a group of theatre viewers who want to learn more about being a good neighbor.
Finally, if this show came with a warning label, what would it say?
This show heavily criticizes people who keep and operate and exist off of clothing chairs. If you are a person who falls into this category, be warned.
Like a Good Neighbour runs at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 8th-22th August 2026 (except 16th,18th & 23rd).