INTERVIEW: A Digital Pint with… Yoz Mensch, on Road Trips, Queer Joy Packages, And Why Their Grandpa Doesn’t Follow Them On Instagram

We first caught Yoz Mensch’s work back at Prague Fringe in 2024, where they took home the Brian’s Life Comedy Award for their clowning hour No Babies in the Sauna. Since, Yoz has put together and began touring My Grandpa Doesn’t Follow Me On Instagram, which they describe as a a vivid pilgrimage through familial grief to queer joy. With plenty to catch up about, we caught Yoz for a pixelated pint to find out more about the show.

You can catch My Grandpa Doesn’t Follow Me On Instagram at Underbelly Cowgate (Jelly Belly) from 20:25 (50mins) on August 5–17, 19–30. Tickets are Available Through the EdFringe Online Box Office.

Shay: Hi Yoz, tell us about your grandpa and why you have decided to bring this to the stage now?

Yoz: Pa is 80. He has two fake knees. He lives in an electorate nestled between painted Australian deserts and an ancient river – an electorate that just voted in far right transphobic racists. We have very little in common, other than snack choice and glib conversation.

In 2024, he offered to show me where Ma’s ashes are, culminating in a two-week UK road trip to far north Scotland. Two weeks stuffed into a closet so small I couldn’t help but leap towards my true self at the next passing place – pun very much intended.

From here the story wouldn’t wait. Every time I thought about this trip my eyes swam in excited seas. I needed to share my journey from repressed beardy saddo to trans baddie asap. The world had to know!

Shay: How has the creative process been of putting the show together? Give us an idea of the journey you’ve been on with it so far.

Yoz: During and after the trip, I chronicled as much as I could, ending up with thousands of words of prose. My director, Mary Angley, and I picked out the most important, moving or fun moments and built a dream scene list. They then told me to set aside my novella-like writing and lean into an improvisational development style—one we dabbled with for my previous work, “No Babies In The Sauna”. We identified that table work can hinder me and so this allowed me to concentrate on the core of a scene and build out the most important elements from within the piece. Dialogue, emotional beats, and punchlines all fell into place over 50+ mins of improv, fuelled by the writing and the primal urge to tell this story. We captured what I came up with, and slowly went over each scene again and again with similar methods, until we were happy with the resulting work.

Shay: What will be the first thing the audience sees, feels, and hears as they enter the space?

Yoz: Me, standing illuminated on the stage, holding up a wee sign on my phone that reads “Pa”, drenched in a train station soundscape – they may feel confused, or think “am i Pa?”, but no, none are. Pa has not yet seen this show.

Shay: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?

Yoz: A queer joy care package. A perspective formerly untapped. A song stuck in their head. A little more love for themselves and those close to them.

Shay: What journey has the show been on to find itself at EdFringe 2026?

Yoz: It debuted at Adelaide Fringe this February and was immediately very popular, which shook me with surprise. The work hit a nerve with all who witnessed it, and gained attention and momentum that presented an opportunity to bring it to Edinburgh. I was not expecting to bring it over this year, but am beyond chuffed that I get to.

Shay: With EdFringe now just around the corner, what are you most excited for?

Yoz: Getting everywhere on foot! I adore a walkable city. It’s the best way to take in the city’s grandeur and dogear hiding spots for the inevitable 4am game of hide and seek.

Shay: 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?

Yoz: A bubbly pink rhubarb sour – crisp, sweet, joyful – best imbibed after a long drive.

A reminder, you can catch My Grandpa Doesn’t Follow Me On Instagram at Underbelly Cowgate (Jelly Belly) from 20:25 (50mins) on August 5–17, 19–30. Tickets are Available Through the EdFringe Online Box Office.

Image Credit: Shaylee Leach