BABY IN THE MIRROR
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
★★★½
“a gentle, intimate hour with moments of truth and tenderness”
Joey and Lena have just moved into a new home. Cardboard boxes are still stacked around them, their lives mid-transition. They are also about to have a baby, with the help of their friend Ollie, who has stepped in as a sperm donor. It is an intriguing premise, full of questions about queer family, readiness, and desire.
SecondAdolescence’s debut play, Baby in the Mirror, begins with warmth and ease. Joey and Lena’s relationship is tenderly drawn, their banter light and affectionate. There is a genuine intimacy between them, and the dialogue has a softness and spark that makes it feel as if we have been invited into their living room to quietly watch. Ollie brings a flash of flamboyance and chaos, a counterpoint to the couple’s cosy dynamic. The rapport between the three is easy and believable, creating a tenderness in the intimacy that is one of the play’s most appealing qualities.
Gradually, it becomes clear that one of them is ready for the baby, and one of them is not, though neither can quite bring themselves to say it. Lena struggles with anxiety, culminating in a panic attack towards the end, while Joey quietly sits on their own fears.
The performances are the production’s strongest asset. Stella Marie Sophie as Lena carries a physical tension that says as much as the dialogue, curling into themselves in moments of distress. Joey is played with a softness and vulnerability by Zoë West, the conflict of wanting to be honest but not wanting to hurt their partner written across their face. Ollie, played by Derek Mitchell, has an infectious energy that stops the domesticity from becoming too still, though his presence sometimes threatens to tip the balance of the trio away from the central couple’s emotional journey. It is in these small physical beats and tonal shifts that the piece finds its emotional depth.
Stylistically, Baby in the Mirror feels like it is aiming for extreme naturalism. There are moments where the stillness, silences, and offhand rhythms of conversation land beautifully. Leaning further into that mode could strengthen the work. At times, the writing and direction seems hesitant to fully commit to it, pulling back into more conventional theatrical beats just when the awkward pauses or meandering chats are at their most revealing.
While the premise promises a probing look at what it means for queer couples to create a family, the story really centres the relationship itself. This is lovely to watch, but it leaves many of the broader ideas unexplored. The questions posed by the play’s premise remain mostly at the edges.
The ending is abrupt. It does not carry the charge of a deliberate cliffhanger, more the feeling that the conversation has simply stopped. This adds to the sense that the piece is an early draft of something with much more to say. The craft of the dialogue, the chemistry between the performers, and the gentle humour all suggest strong foundations. With further development, the play could dig deeper into its characters’ inner worlds, while bringing the social and political contexts into sharper focus.
As it stands, Baby in the Mirror is a gentle, intimate hour with moments of truth and tenderness, but it feels like it is only just beginning to scratch the surface of the family story it wants to tell.
BABY IN THE MIRROR
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Reviewed on 9th August 2025 at Red Lecture Theatre at Summerhall
by Joseph Dunitz
Photography by Ejay Freeman
