A COMEDY  performer from  Totnes, is taking her one-woman-show to the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe next month.

Lilly Burton, born and raised in the town, will be presenting her show  All Aboard at Termination Station  -  a “funny” look at abortion rights, and Burton’s own experience of having three abortions.

As an executive committee member of Abortion Rights UK, Lilly can talk both seriously about the recent changes and threats to UK and US abortion rights, but also reflect on the power of comedy and theatre to shed light on what is still a societal taboo.

Celebrating reproductive rights through song, dance and self-reflection, the show  aims to reclaim people’s voices and empower those with lived experiences of abortion. 

The autobiographical comedy cabaret theatre show derives from award-winning performer and writer Burton’s personal experiences of abortion. 

After a lack of education, understanding and feelings of loneliness at 19 year-old Lilly almost missed the legal cut off due to the negative stigma surrounding the procedure. 

At a time where the pro-choice movement is being threatened on a global scale and 1 in 3 women will have an abortion before the age of 45, this frank, funny and heartfelt performance demonstrates the vital importance of body autonomy.

The show was first performed in 2019 and has since been redeveloped and rewritten for Burton’s Edinburgh debut following experiences of subsequent abortions.

 ‘I wanted to make a show that challenges the notion that we are victims of our decisions to terminate, a show that is proud of being brash and blasé whilst being vulnerable and honest,’ said Lilly. 

‘Why can’t I laugh about my own abortion experiences, why does no one want to talk to me about them and how do we make it less scary and taboo for everyone else to talk about theirs?”

The production  is for every person who felt lonely, who felt isolated, who felt relief, who felt shame. Every person who bled a lot or not that much. 

The person who thinks about it often, and the person who rarely thinks about it at all. The person who felt guilt, the person who felt. This is a cry to arms that will have you slamming down your pints in support of reproductive rights.

 ‘One of Lilly’s many talents is her ability to intertwine the act of storytelling with social justice,’ said Abortion Rights UK.

‘Her unique voice is impactful, vulnerable, and heart-warming. It is a voice that brings humour and a humanising honesty to an experience that is often incorrectly portrayed and villainised in the media.’

All Aboard at Termination Station opens at Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One in Edinburgh from August 2 until August  28.