Psychological Collapse Explored in "Diary of a Mad Man" at Edinburgh Fringe

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Mark McAuley's one-man show, adapted from Gogol, will play Assembly Roxy at the festival.

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Mark McAuley's one man show Diary of a Mad Man will have its world premiere at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, preseented at Assembly Roxy this August.

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Tracing the psychological collapse of a corporate worker through Instagram reels, Diary of a Mad Man is a darkly comic and absurd one-man drama exploring a craving for status fueled by far-right rhetoric. Adapted from Nikolai Gogol ’s farcical short story and transported to contemporary Ireland, the production will make its world premiere at the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The production will run at Assembly Roxy, Roxyboxy from August 5-31, 2026, excluding August 18, with performances at 1:20 p.m. Written by Derek Masterson and directed by Mark McAuley, the play follows a protagonist whose failure at promotion breeds a lethal obsession with race hierarchy and his CEO’s daughter.

Through high-energy physicality and direct audience interaction, the play highlights a vicious cycle of digital radicalization: the more erratic the character becomes, the more the audience is entertained. Set within a mental asylum, the production replaces traditional diary entries with a series of projected Instagram reels, tracking his increasing follower count as he descends into paranoia and rage in pursuit of viral validation.

The show critiques society’s failure to provide sufficient mental health support, reflecting on collective responsibility to protect vulnerable individuals in an increasingly volatile digital landscape.

McAuley is an award-winning actor, writer, and director whose recent stage credits include Exhibition (2023). His screen work includes Vikings, Into the Badlands, and Saol. His debut feature, aWake—which he wrote, directed, and starred in—is currently streaming on Amazon Prime UK. He previously appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 with A Fear and Loathing Actor in Dublin.

Writer Derek Masterson is an award-winning Irish playwright and screenwriter whose plays include Bound, Exhibition, A Nice Bed to Die In, and Queens of Pimlico. His work has appeared at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, Dublin Theatre Festival’s “Play On,” and in New York with The Break Away Project. His film credits include the documentary Visionaries and The Black Keys. The production has a running time of 60 minutes and is recommended for ages 16 and up.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/scotland/article/DIARY-OF-A-MAD-MAN-to-Make-World-Premiere-at-Edinburgh-Fringe-20260527)._