Jake Mace
Nathan Jonathan describes his upcoming EdFringe comedic theatre piece A Small Town Northern Tale as a Black British story about identity, belonging and ‘carving your place into a world that can’t quite place you’. Against the chaos of the 2000s: lads mags, MSN and questionable fashion, main character David tries to find his place but fails spectacularly. We caught up with Nathan for a pixelated pint to find out more about what inspired the show.
You can catch A Small Town Northern Tale from July 31st to August 24th at Underbelly Cowgate – Iron Belly from 12:40 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Nathan! You’ve billed your upcoming show A Small Town Northern Tale as a Y2K-drenched coming-of-age comedy-drama – tell us about what inspired the show and the journey you’ve been on with it so far.
Nathan: As a kid, I grew up in a Caribbean Jamaican household, then, quite suddenly, I found myself in a very white, very small Northern town. The culture shock was massive to say the least: It was the early 2000s, and casual racism was just… normal. Nobody questioned it. It was just everywhere.
It was a strange time for me. I ended up feeling like I didn’t belong in that town and then over time, I also started to feel like I didn’t quite belong to my Caribbean roots either.
In trying to fit in, I lost touch with part of myself. That’s really what made me want to write this. At its heart, A Small Town Northern Tale is about growing up in a place where you don’t fully fit, and what that does to you. I think that’s something a lot of people can relate to, no matter their background.
BUT. It’s also a love letter. To the working-class North, and to the 2000s, even though that era wasnt always okay. I still have a deep nostalgia for it, warts n’all.
The journey with this show has been a bit of a whirlwind. As for acting, i’ve performed on TV, Features, Theatre, and then I’ve been writing for a long time – novels, short stories, spoken word: but this is the first time I’ve written and performed something so personal, live, and on my own.
Putting everything together like this in such a raw, exposing way is probably the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done.
I’m proper excited to share it with people!
Jake: Tell us about what the audience can expect coming into the show, and what they might not expect about the show.
Nathan: You can expect energy. It’s high-octane, character-driven, and filled with proper belly laughs. If you grew up in the 2000s (or even if you only just about remember that era) there’s a good chance you’ll see something that makes you go “Oh my God, I forgot about that”
There’s Nokias, Lads Mags, cringey MSN chats, and one hell of a school disco just to name a few of my favourite bits.
But what people might not expect is the emotional weight underneath. This isn’t just nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, it’s about what gets lost when you’re trying to fit in. The show doesn’t shy away from talking about domestic violence, racism, or cultural erasure. There’s a turning point where the tone shifts, and audiences often tell me they didn’t see it coming. That’s kind of the point. You’re laughing… Then suddenly, you’re thinking.
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Nathan: I want them to leave thinking about the parts of themselves they might have hidden to fit in! And how common that experience really is.
It’s a show about growing up feeling a bit out of place, about trying to belong, and the cost of that. So hopefully, that gets people reflecting on their own stories, if so… Even better!
Jake: With Edinburgh Fringe 2025 just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Nathan: Getting in and amongst it! As an artist sometimes this world can feel a bit isolating, so I’m excited to meet other artists, to learn, to be challenged by their art.
Also, there’s something deeply satisfying about watching people connect with your work night after night. Edinburgh makes you sharper – it’s a creative bootcamp, and I’m ready for it.
Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Nathan: It’d be a WKD Blue or a Smirnoff Ice — the kind of sugary stuff you drank on the park with your mates around a tinny Sony Ericsson mobile phone blasting out bassline or Akon.
Too sweet, too fizzy, and probably warm from the corner shop shelf.
That’s the energy of the show. Fun with your mates on the park, just being young and idiotic, not a care in the world. But those nights stick with you where you’d figure out how the world looked from your little corner of it.
Man, looking back those nights were everything!
You can catch A Small Town Northern Tale from July 31st to August 24th at Underbelly Cowgate – Iron Belly from 12:40 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Image Credit: Charlie Lyne
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
