BOOST: Watch ‘Irene Cleans Up’ at EdFringe 2026 – “A sharp exploration of class, confidence, reinvention and the assumptions we make about one another…” (Ad)

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Irene Cleans Up is an original new comedy making its Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut after being written, developed and successfully previewed in Abu Dhabi.

At first glance, it’s a funny, character-led story about an ordinary London cleaner who unexpectedly discovers an extraordinary palate for wine. Beneath the humour, however, lies a sharp exploration of class, confidence, reinvention and the assumptions we make about one another.

When two sommeliers make a wager over whether Irene can be transformed into one of their own, she is thrust into a world she never imagined entering. As the deception unfolds, the play asks whether expertise is something we’re born with, something we’re taught, or simply something other people decide we possess.

Set against the rarely explored world of elite wine, the production has partnered with Edinburgh wine merchant Great Grog, who will provide the wine for Press Night and host two Taste Like Irene Shiraz tasting events inspired by the play. The tastings focus on Shiraz, a wine referenced throughout the production, and include a discussion on the pathway to becoming a professional sommelier.

Alongside the story runs a wider theme of reinvention. Middle-aged women are too often written off, both on stage and in life, yet Irene Cleans Up celebrates the idea that it is never too late to discover new talents or change direction. Writer and director Rebecca Taylor Al-Samaraie wrote her first full-length play in her fifties, making the production itself a reflection of the themes it explores.

Following its Edinburgh Fringe run, Irene Cleans Up transfers to the QE2 Theatre in Dubai in October 2026, continuing the journey of a play created in Abu Dhabi for international audiences.

You can catch Irene Cleans Up at Studio at Paradise in Augustines on August 7th – 15th from 19:10 (90mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.

Irene Cleans Up

Irene Cleans Up is about a middle-aged London cleaner with a remarkable palate for wine, and decades of social conditioning telling her to stay in her place. When a highly successful and fiercely competitive sommelier bets she can transform Irene into an elite expert, an unlikely partnership begins. As ambition, class and confidence collide, both women confront what it means to change direction later in life. Warm, funny and sharply observed, Irene Cleans Up is a new play about reinvention, female friendship and the courage to redefine yourself after years of expectation when it matters most.