Riki Lindhome brings Dead Inside to Soho Theatre

Actor, comedian and singer-songwriter Riki Lindhome brings her critically acclaimed solo show Dead Inside to London, charting a deeply personal decade-long journey through fertility treatment, loss and eventual motherhood. The show explores how we process experiences that are often lived in private  and what it means to find connection, and even laughter, on the other side.

Dead Inside covers a decade of your life -  egg freezing, pregnancy loss, adoption and surrogacy. How did you decide what to include and what to leave out?

It was really about what served the story. There’s so much that happened over that period, but not everything translates to the stage.

I focused on the moments that felt both specific to my experience and also representative of the emotional journey - things that could connect with an audience, even if they hadn’t been through fertility treatment themselves. 

A lot got left out, but what stayed felt essential.

Humour is central to how you tell this story. Was there ever a moment where you wondered whether it was too soon to find the funny side?

For me, humor tends to come after I’ve had some distance from the experience. When you’re in the middle of something painful or uncertain, you’re not necessarily thinking, “This will be funny later.” But once there’s a little bit of space, you can start to see the absurdity in certain situations.

I think there’s a difference between laughing at something and being able to laugh about it. The show really comes from that second place. It’s not about minimizing what happened - it’s about finding a way to hold both the reality of it and the unexpected humor that exists alongside it.

The show ends with the birth of your son via surrogacy. How has becoming a mother changed your relationship to the story you're telling on stage every night?

It’s changed my perspective more than the content itself. The events of the story are the same, but now I’m telling it from a different place.

There’s a sense of distance and also a deeper awareness of how much that period shaped me. At the time, it felt like I was just trying to get through something. Looking back, I can see how many different versions of the future I had to let go of, and how that process changed my understanding of control, expectation, and resilience.

Becoming a mother doesn’t erase any of that - it just adds another layer of context to it.

Surrogacy is still widely misunderstood. What's the one thing you wish people understood about it that they typically don't?

I think there’s a tendency to view surrogacy as a simple solution, or a kind of final step that resolves everything. In reality, it’s its own complex and often emotionally layered process.

It involves a real relationship with another person, not just a logistical arrangement. It’s something that requires trust, communication, and care on both sides.

You've said you want audiences to feel less alone. Have you heard from people going through similar experiences who felt the show spoke to them?

Yes, quite a lot, and that’s been one of the most meaningful parts of performing the show. People will come up after and share their own stories, sometimes things they haven’t talked about openly before. It really reinforces how much people are going through privately, and how powerful it can be just to acknowledge it out loud.

The show is produced by Ali Wong and Bill Hader, two people who know a lot about confessional comedy. What did they bring to the project?

They’ve both been incredibly supportive and have a deep understanding of how personal material works in a comedic context. They’ve also been very encouraging in terms of trusting the material and continuing to refine it. Also, honestly, it's just so cool to have their endorsement.

Riki Lindholme will be performing Dead Inside at Soho Theatre from 31^st March – 18^th April. Tickets available HERE.