ADEY

This year marks Pleasance’s first year of Bridges Festival, a mentoring and creative support programme for new writing. The programme means that Pleasance can meaningfully develop the work of four of the best writers from Pleasance Scratch Nights.

ADEY

Graduating from drama school in 2023, Bethlehem is now navigating one of the toughest industries by herself – but she’s never truly alone. Living at home with her traditional Eritrean mother Tsehaynesh, Bethlehem doesn’t know what privacy is! Being a stoic woman of culture and strict upbringing, Tsehaynesh struggles to understand Bethlehem’s career in the arts and what it takes to be an actress, poet and writer. But, perhaps Bethlehem and Tsehaynesh share more in common than they think. Will the endless self-tapes and poetry re-drafts be worth it?

Winner of Binge Fringe Black Performers Award 2026, Edinburgh Fringe

‘ADEY is the instantly welcoming, deeply humanising show I've been craving’ Binge Fringe ★★★★★

‘The truths about identity which Wolday-Myers speaks can be challenging at times, but the ultimate message is one of belonging… and she extends an open-hearted welcome to all of us, too.’ The Wee Review

‘A powerful spoken word piece about silence and breaking inherited cycles establishes an idea that runs through the whole performance: what it takes to speak for yourself when family, culture and society have already formed expectations about who you should become.’ Fringe Review

‘A lovely, gentle piece and I enjoyed the poetry very much. A powerful story of family, culture and dreams.’ SINNERS Media

Bethlehem Wolday-Myers is a poet, actress and playwright from north London. Being of Eritrean and English descent, Bethlehem is particularly passionate about bringing Eritrean stories to stage, and is heavily inspired by her heritage overall. Bethlehem has worked with BBC Radio 4, NTS Radio, Brixton Radio, the National Youth Theatre, RADA, London Bubble Theatre Company and now the Pleasance Theatre.

Bethlehem won a national poetry competition in 2024, having her work published in the anthology titled Body Odyssey and received an award for Best Poet/Spoken Word Artist 2026 with the MainstreamUK. ADEY was first born at London Bubble Theatre Company, as a part of their theatre making project MAKE SPACE!, where Bethlehem had one week to create and put on this show. Most recently, ADEY won the Binge Fringe Black Performers Award 2026 for her Edinburgh Fringe debut, and in October 2026 will go on to perform an excerpt of ADEY in Belgium as a part of AALFIE VII (Asmara-Addis Literary Festival in Exile) alongside Lemn Sissay.