Tilted in association with Soho Theatre presents
Brown Girls Do It Too: Mama Told Me Not to Come
Created by and starring Poppy Jay and Rubina Pabani
March - September 2025
The Funniest Women in Britain
The Times
★★★★‘life enhancing’
Evening Standard
★★★★ ‘riotously funny’
The Stage
★★★★ ‘gasps of joy’
The Guardian
Brown Girls Do It Too (Mama Told Me Not To Come) is travelling to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2025 and, back on home turf, is part of the opening season in London’s newest venue, Soho Theatre Walthamstow, in September 2025.
Rubina and Poppy will be testing brand new material for the show in three unique work-in-progress performances at Soho Theatre Dean Street in March, April and May, where anyone is invited to watch, laugh and even give feedback in an informal conversation with the much-loved podcasters and performers. If you are a Brown Girls Do It Too fan, this is for you. You’ll get to meet Rubina and Poppy, chat with them about their new ideas, and even contribute your own!
You can then watch them bed in all the new material through a sneak preview of the show, also at Soho Theatre Dean Street, in mid June, before Brown Girls Do It Too sweeps into Edinburgh and back into London for its grand finale. Fierce, funny, and hilariously frank, Poppy and Rubina aren’t afraid to tackle the burning issues (literally – looking at you, Jolen bleach) of being a woman.
In this laugh-out-loud, moving show, they dive into the messy realities of life: heartbreak, fantasies, sexpectations, culture clashes, female empowerment, families (mums feature heavily, funnily enough), role models, social media, and smashing taboos.
With their trademark honesty, wit, and infectious energy, Poppy and Rubina reflect on what it means to be Brown British women and explore seminal moments in their lives from first orgasms and loves to racism and intergenerational trauma.
Their award-winning, groundbreaking BBC Sounds podcast Brown Girls Do It Too (‘Podcast of the Year’ 2020 and ‘Best Sex and Relationship Podcast’ 2023 at the British Podcast Awards, and ‘Best Podcast’ at the Asian Media Awards 2021) built a huge following of fans who loved their honesty and openness — and faced enormous backlash online for breaking the silence on sex in Asian communities when it first aired.
With songs, sketches, and some very graphic content, this is a wild, unapologetic celebration of Brown British womanhood – genital warts and all.
Please note: This show contains language and content some may find offensive, including strong language and adult themes.-
PRE-EDINBURGH PERFORMANCES, SOHO THEATRE DEAN STREET
10th - 14th June 2025
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UNDERBELLY COWBARN, EDINBURGH
30th July - 24th August 2025
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SOHO THEATRE WALTHAMSTOW
9th - 13th September 2025
Reviews
The mix of chit-chat, liberation sexology and the comedy of cultural identity, is a potent one.
★★★★ - The Guardian
as life-enhancing as it is entertaining
★★★★ - The Standard
a perfect blend of comedy and heartfelt conversations, which feels both liberating and comforting
★★★★ - Abundant Arts
refreshing and riotously funny
★★★★ - The Stage
if I can bring my mum to a show about rimming and wanking over Keanu Reeves, and she still insists on getting cast autographs post-show, then it must be a hit.
★★★★ - Tribal Arts
Audience Feedback
Cast and Creative team
Writer and performer: Poppy Jay Writer and performer: Rubina Pabani Co-director: Sam Hodges Co-director: Aneesha Srinivasan Set and costume designer: Rosanna Vize Lighting designer: Bethany Gupwell Sound designer: Jasmin Kent Rodgman Dramaturg: Pia Furtado Movement director: Sundeep Saini
