Edinburgh Fringe debut for acclaimed production on OCD, psychological abuse, and haircutting “Split Ends”
24 June 2025
Newsdesk
Share with:
A “Sarah Kane rave” piece that confronts OCD, psychologically abusive relationships, and haircutting. Claudia Shnier’s visceral trauma party show follows success at the Brighton Fringe for its Edinburgh Fringe debut.
Australian writer, director, and performer Claudia Shnier presents her one-woman autobiographical show Split Ends at the Pleasance Courtyard at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025, running from July 30 - August 17. It then transfers for a run at the Camden Fringe 2025 at the Water Rats for an August 18-20 run.
Inspired by her own life, Split Ends follows Shnier’s journey through OCD, coercive control, and the abuse of power.
After Claudia came to the UK to study a Master’s at RADA, she fell in love and became obsessed with cutting her hair. Working her way out of that relationship, she has crafted this acerbically funny and genuinely shocking play about a relationship with a vacuum and its ability to hoover up hair, which turns sour into a psychologically abusive one.
Told through puppetry, musical numbers, and physical theatre, Claudia has created a unique insight into power dynamics and mental health. Broadway World labelled it “as unsettling as it is unforgettable” and Theatre and Arts Review said it was “not a play for the faint-hearted, it deserves to be seen and understood.” It was shortlisted for the Best New Show Award at the Brighton Fringe 2025. Expect shocks, laughs, and lots and lots of hair.
Claudia Shnier is an interdisciplinary artist who trained classically in Australia before coming to the UK. This is her first full solo production since graduating from RADA and represents the breadth of her artistic ability, with her at the helm of the entire creative process.
Claudia Shnier, writer, director, and creator of Split Ends says: “I have given my whole heart to this piece. It has been incredibly healing and empowering to give voice to an experience that I wasn’t able to for such a long time.”
Claudia Shnier presents… Split Ends Written, directed, and performed by Claudia Shnier Sound design, composition, video design, and editing by Claudia Shnier
Claudia’s life is consumed by her split ends until she falls in love with a hairy Vacuum. The Vacuum would shed his hairs, leave, reappear, malt, leave, appear, cheat, shed, shed. She waited for him to pull the plug on what they had because she couldn’t.
In an exploration of control, love, and the addiction to people who hurt us, award-nominated Split Ends uses physical theatre, puppetry, and multimedia to question when we are in control or incredibly out of it.
About Claudia Shnier Claudia Shnier is a multi-disciplinary performer based in London. Born in Sydney, Australia, where she was classically trained, Claudia expanded upon her acting skills after her undergraduate training and began writing, devising, stand-up comedy, and sound designing. She moved to London to complete her Masters in theatre making at RADA, during which she was able to hone these skills and utilise them when creating her own work.
Her work has predominately gravitated towards autobiographical content, exploring themes of sexual assault, her body, power, obsession, and experiences with mental health. Despite the heaviness of the themes in her work, she finds the levity in her content by interweaving clowning, stand-up comedy, physical theatre, and soundscapes to both emphasise and contrast rhythms of the work, providing questions and a more nuanced discussion for audiences.
Theatre credits include: Sasha, The Hero Leaves One Tooth (KxT bAKEHOUSE); Putana, Tis Pity She's a Whore (The Company); and Carla, Softly, Surely (Subtlenuance Theatre). Film credits include: When I’m Famous, The Famous Film Company; Book of Job, Phoenix Blue Productions; and Parish Malfitano, Bloodshot Pictures.
Split Ends is Claudia Shnier’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut. She first performed it at the Brighton Fringe 2025 where it received four-star reviews from Broadway World, CT Director, and Theatre and Arts Review. It was also shortlisted for Best New Show Award at the Brighton Fringe.
Dates: 30 July - 17 August 2025 Time: 12.30pm daily Duration: 60 mins Age: 18+ (guideline) Event warning: Contains references to mental health disorders, sexual content, self harm
Camden Fringe SPLIT ENDS The Water Rats 328 Grays Inn Rd, London WC1X 8BZ Tickets: £10 here
Dates: 18 Aug - 20 August 2025 Time: 7.00 pm Duration: 60 mins Age: 18+ (guideline) Event warning: Contains references to mental health disorders, sexual content, self harm
We and our partners use cookies on our site to personalise content and improve your user experience. More information can be found in our Cookies Policy.
