Camden Fringe 2026: Bathroom at Etcetera Theatre

When thinking of bathrooms in Camden, you may picture a toilet paper-less dingy pub stall. However, the play Bathroom, shown at Camden Fringe, is anything but. Bathroom, directed by Yijing Zou, is an intimate portrait of a young Chinese couple who have moved to London in pursuit of their dreams, only to find hardships in their way.

Shown entirely in Mandarin, with English subtitles projected at the top of the stage, it’s an ambitious premise for a fringe show. This directorial decision not to sanitise its portrayal of the immigrant experience by making it too easily accessible is sophisticated for a new production. It quietly reminds theatregoers that the British public would be just as incomprehensible to this young couple. Flipping the script by making the audience the ones unable to understand the language is a brilliant choice.

The staging is one of the show’s greatest strengths, making brilliant use of projection. Early in the play, the male protagonist has a “conversation” with an Englishman in a pub, represented by a distorted projection on a white sheet. The way the garbled figure fades in and out leaves the viewer feeling as drunk and confused as the protagonist does. The projected man ends up making a racist remark, which becomes a central plot point. Similarly, projection is used as a visual metaphor when the female protagonist is reprimanded at work due to her lack of English language skills. She returns to their tiny flat and takes a shower as the words she cannot understand literally wash over her in the form of falling projected letters. Pooling all around her but never soaking through, her skin impervious to these foreign characters. It’s a striking visual depiction of language barriers.

These moments, centred on the immigrant experience, are some of the most compelling. However, the play places greater focus on the dynamic of the relationship: the woman who is an ambitious overachiever and takes charge of the relationship, the man who’s a creative soul full of potential but lacking drive. “A rabbit is still a rabbit no matter how it bares its teeth,” he tells her at some point. In some way, the play tries to be a rabbit, to make itself soft and cuddly, about modern dating and about being young, broke and in love. It’s well-trodden ground. Had Bathroom bared its teeth and committed to being a searing look at the East Asian immigrant experience in London, as told through the story of a young couple, it would have gained a greater edge.

The two actors deserve credit for their precision. Their timing with the subtitles is impeccable; every line lands in sync. However, this means they don’t have room to play with their dialogue, as they’re at the mercy of their marks. The individual stories of these two characters presented more interesting narrative points than their relationship together: like the fishbowl present on stage, beneath the surface, there were glimmers of darker and deeper waters Bathroom could have plunged into.

Overall, Bathroom can somewhat be summarised in its main male character: brimming with potential and clearly guided by a talented director, but ultimately too hesitant to push itself all the way.

Sara Belkadi
Photos: Courtesy of Etcetera Theatre

Bathroom was at Etcetera Theatre. For further information, visit the theatre’s website here.