THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME – Soho Theatre

★★★★½

THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. is the critically acclaimed debut play by Hannah Caplan, currently running at Soho Theatre (Upstairs) from Wednesday 25 March to Saturday 18 April.

I’m always slightly apprehensive when a show is described as a two-hander. Holding a room with just two performers can be a challenge, particularly in an intimate space (this one seats just 90). But my attention was immediately captured by this story, and the at first, unclear but enticing narrative. The play follows Grace and Eli, charting their relationship from childhood through to their mid-twenties, spanning intimacy, rupture and repair. Grace, a writer, seeks closure by writing a play about their relationship—but the process proves far more complex than she anticipates.

It was a surprise to recognise the actor playing Grace (Amaia Naima Aguinaga) as someone I went to school with. A year or two below me, I remember her appearing in several school productions. London is, after all, not that big—but it’s genuinely heartening to see artistic success so close to home. Aguinaga and Francis Nunnery (Eli) share an excellent chemistry, making the jokes land more sharply and the emotional moments hit all the harder.

Striking multimedia is used in It's Not About Me

Despite its simple initial setup, the staging is richly layered, combining puppetry (a personal favourite), audio and projection within a beautifully handmade set. As Grace and Eli attempt to turn their shared yet differently remembered history into art, both begin to lose control of the narrative. The production reflects director Douglas Clarke-Wood’s background in video design through WoodForge, alongside Caplan’s practice as a fibre artist. These influences shape the show’s striking use of multimedia and its hand-crafted, crocheted set.

The structure of the 75-minute, no interval show is deliberately self-conscious and meta. Eli is required to submit to Grace’s framing of events, and the characters step outside the action to interrogate plot and character. Eli even rebels against his own depiction, but the power dynamic remains clear: Grace is in control of this story. With Grace framing events and using the creative process as a form of therapy, the play repeatedly pauses to question authorship, memory and control. Time fractures, shared experiences shift, and the narrative continually reminds us that truth depends on who is telling the story.

Tickets: THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. - Soho Theatre (until 18 April)

THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. will transfer to New York later this year after its Soho London run, with performances planned at 59E59 Theatres, 11 May to 7 June 2026.