If you asked Leila Navabi to describe her new show, Relay in one sentence, she wouldn’t lead with the obvious, or state that it is a critically acclaimed punk-musical one-woman show that stormed the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and made The Guardian’s ‘10 Best Shows to Catch.’ For her, the real sell is something much simpler, and maybe a little unexpected: hope. “I’d like to think I’m selling them hope more than anything. It’s a true story about defying the odds.”
That might sound surprising for a show that, by all accounts, is packed with everything—love, queerness, ambition, and even the complexities of making a baby—but for Navabi, none of it feels scattered. Even when it looks like chaos from the outside, she’s clear that, at the time, it all made perfect sense. There’s a kind of quiet confidence in that perspective, like she’s less interested in how things appear and more grounded in how they actually felt while living them, she shares,“Though in hindsight it definitely was [chaos], it actually all felt very sensible and methodical at the time.”
Relay is rooted in her reality, but it doesn’t present itself in a straightforward way. Instead, it leans into flipping expectations—especially around what a “normal” family looks like. That duality is intentional. It reflects her life, but also plays with structure and storytelling in a way that mirrors that same idea of turning things on their head. Nothing is quite where you expect it to be, and that’s exactly the point. She notes,“It is my reality for sure, but I like to think the show stylistically fits the whole flipping everything on its head thing too.”
Then there’s the label she gives it: a punk-musical. And she means that in every sense. Not just in sound, but in structure and attitude too. It’s not trying to fit neatly into one box or follow a traditional format. There’s a certain energy to it—unpolished in the right ways, a bit rebellious, and fully aware of itself. It feels like a refusal to simplify something that was never simple to begin with.
And what makes the show particularly interesting is how it moves between humour and something much heavier without losing its footing. Navabi doesn’t pretend that balance comes easily. She credits collaboration, creative input, and support in helping shape that tone. But she also points to the nature of the story itself—real life, with all its highs and lows already built in. That natural rhythm seems to carry through into the performance, allowing it to be funny without dismissing its weight, and emotional without becoming overwhelming.
There’s also a clear sense of growth when she talks about where Relay sits in her journey. Compared to Composition, which she describes as more of an exploration—a space to try things out and see what worked—Relay feels more assured. There’s a confidence there now, a clearer understanding of what she wants to say and how she wants to say it. It’s less about testing the waters and more about owning the space she’s in.
“‘Composition’ was an exploration… and ‘Relay’ feels so much more assured to me. Confidence, I guess?”
Despite her experience across TV, radio, and stage, it’s live performance that seems to hold her attention the most. Not because it’s easier—if anything, it’s the opposite—but because of what it demands. There’s something about the relationship between performer and audience that keeps her curious, she says, “I do find live stage work both the most challenging and the most rewarding… being curious is when I feel the most like myself.” It’s immediate, unpredictable, and constantly shifting. That sense of curiosity, she says, is when she feels most like herself.
Her time at the Edinburgh Fringe seems to have solidified that feeling. It wasn’t just another step in her career; it was the moment everything clicked into place. The kind of clarity that doesn’t necessarily lock you into one style or format, but confirms the direction entirely. For Navabi, it wasn’t about deciding how she would make work, but knowing that she wanted to keep making it—consistently, endlessly, without hesitation.
What’s been most surprising, though, is the range of people connecting with Relay. While she naturally expected it to resonate with audiences who see themselves reflected in its themes, the response has gone far beyond that. One moment that stands out to her is an 82-year-old woman calling it “the best thing she’d ever seen in her life.” It’s the kind of reaction that shifts your understanding of your own work, proving that connection doesn’t always follow the lines you expect it to.
And maybe that’s where Navabi’s approach becomes most clear. She’s not choosing between pushing boundaries and reaching people—she’s doing both. There’s no interest in creating work that only fits one category. Instead, she’s focused on making something that challenges and connects at the same time, and she’s fully aware of how rare that balance can be.
There’s a sense of gratitude in the way she talks about it all, but also a quiet certainty. Not just in the work itself, but in the fact that this is what she’s meant to be doing. “I’m only really interested in doing things that hit both briefs simultaneously” she shares, “and I’m in a state of constant gratitude that that is what I get to do for a living.”
Get tickets to Leila Navabi’s New Show, Relay
Written by Angel Joanne Okonkwo
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