TikTok sensation Callaghans Questions brings their hilarious, historically and scientifically accurate exploration of all things sex, #Hysteria to Lambeth Fringe next month.
A ‘professionally over-qualified person’, Sierra Callaghan has five Honours Degrees in Psychology, Education, Sciences, Fine Arts (University of Toronto, OISE, University of Royal Holloway) and a Masters of Film and Media (DeMontfort University via Raindance Film Festival).
They relocated to the UK from Canada in 2016 to begin a career teaching biology. The incredible engagement Callaghan’s students showed prompted the creation of a science education based TikTok page called Callaghans Questions, amassing more than 170,000 followers.
This passion, and Callaghan’s experience as an award-winning writer, performer and Drag King, led to #Hysteria.
Where: Bread and Roses
When: 20-21 Oct
Ticket link: https://lambethfringe.com/events/hysteria-a-history-of-human-sexuality-with-callaghans-questions
Callaghan and their producer Ray Wilson tell us more.
#Hysteria sounds a very sex positive show with a definite slant of humour. Where did the idea come from to create it?
Callaghan: Very sex positive. Very pro education, pro empathy, pro facts, pro science. The running joke for a long time has been that I am a sort of human Google.
I would never profess to know everything (that would be profoundly arrogant) but, particularly as divisive misinformation and AI continue to poison the well of public knowledge, I have more and more people in my life turning to me for information.
I was a science teacher for a decade so I take the responsibility of providing evidence based, empirically backed, unbiased information quite seriously.
I think education, particularly about something as integral as how the body works, is a human right and one that must be accessible to all.
There is a pervasive myth that if young people have access to sex education that they will become sexually active despite the fact that all available evidence points to the opposite.
People who have access to quality sex education make safer, more informed choices about how, when and who they have sex with.
Even if someone has made the decision to remain celibate or wishes to wait to experience that part of life, there is so much more to sex education than just the ins and outs (wink) of how it all works.
Now that we have done the show for weeks at a time, for audiences of hundreds of people, I am consistently disappointed (though not at all shocked) by how many have taken the time to tell me they didn’t know about any of the anatomy or function of body parts that they themselves have!
And this is in no way me blaming people for not knowing; most adults have been done a grave disservice where this sort of education is concerned. It’s something we all remain so precious and puritanical about and if I have one mission in life, aside from being endlessly entertaining and chivalrously charming of course, it’s to be the antidote to ignorance.
People deserve to know how their bodies work, deserve to know the difference between what is healthy versus indicative of a problem, deserve to know that pleasure is not only permissible; it is an essential aspect of healthy relationships.
Be that a relationship with others or with yourself. You are fundamentally entitled to ownership and autonomy of your own body. You cannot have that if you don’t know how it all works.
Ray: For me, and the Panad side of things, it’s a very on brand idea for us. We love using genre, and humour or silliness in particular, to explore complex social issues.
Taking on the chaos that is sexual education and misinformation through this very silly 50 minutes has been such a joy for us, all the way through script stage, rehearsals, previews and final ‘proper’ performances.
The initial idea itself was quite simple, as we wrapped our 2024 Edinburgh Fringe season and toasted our successful run Callaghan (as they often do) went “not to not enjoy the fact we’ve just finished this show, but I have an idea for next year”.
My very sleepy brain still wanted to know what it was, and they said I think we go through the history of sex education, we do it incredibly scientifically and historically accurate, but it’s a comedy. I was immediately all in.
Thanks to their (at that time) insomnia, the first draft of a script was with me within about a week, and it felt like a winner. I’m super excited for this Lambeth run and then pushing this show into 2026!
Why should audiences choose your show, and what might they expect?
Callaghan: After our first preview at Gilded Balloon this August, we were approached by a gentleman who reviews 100s of Fringe shows each year (158 reviews for the 2025 Ed Fringe alone) and he told us we had created “the perfect Fringe show” which is a fairly enticing description if I do say so myself.
The show combines comedy, burlesque, drama, just the right amount of audience participation, genuine earnestness and my sharply honed improvisational skills to create a laugh out loud hour that will leave you not just entertained, but educated! And, if I’ve done my job right, maybe even a little aroused (wink).
Ray: Consistently after every show it has been lovely to hear the audience feedback, both from those who didn’t know half of what we covered and from those going “thank you for talking about Henrietta Lacks!” The general consensus is it is engaging, enjoyable, informative and cathartic.
I think for me, it’s the catharsis that’s the special bit of #Hysteria – there’s a very deliberate, poignant shout out for the importance of being better trans allies (and allies to all marginalised communities in general, but as a trans producer that stands out for me) and we have consistently seen glasses raised by audience members, claps, whoops, cheers, “yaas queens” – it’s brought tears to my eyes on multiple occasions.
That catharsis and group experience of the facts we sometimes find ourselves yelling into the void being recognised and appreciated that is pretty special.
Do you find fringe festivals inspiring?
Callaghan: So inspiring. I am consistently awed by the calibre of skill, ingenuity, wit and dramaturgy I see at Fringe Festivals. Talent, as I believe Bob Ross once said, is a pursued interest and being surrounded by other performers doing amazing work invigorates me like nothing else.
The only difficult part is not always getting to see all the shows I wish to support due to chronological limitations!
Ray: My love of theatre truly grew out of growing up in Edinburgh surrounded by the Edinburgh Fringe each summer (I know, I was a lucky child!) It was the first place I dared take my own work as an emerging producer, and fringe festivals hold a super special place in my heart.
It’s also the best opportunity to see such a wide array of generally pretty incredible theatre. Every fringe there’s always one show I see that has a pretty monumental impact on me, either personally, professionally or both.
What’s next for the show and Callaghan’s Questions?
Callaghan: The plan is to keep refining the show; making the jokes sharper and adding any bits of education we’ve gotten feedback about highlighting while remaining at the 50 minute mark.
A somewhat Herculean task I must admit; I could make this show three days long with just what I know candidly about the topics I touch upon.
The plan as it stands is to do a full run at Ed Fringe 2026, finances allowing. It is very important to me that artists be paid appropriately and I literally could not do this without my spectacular team (shout out to Katie Bonham, our incredible director, and of course my producer Ray).
And so, if anyone is able to support the show and the wonderful people who make it happen – please come and see us at our final dates this year in Lambeth!
We also have merch available – it’s cute, doesn’t break the bank and is really helpful for trying to drag us out of some of the financial chaos that is a year of fringe-ing.
If you can’t make the show, feel free to pop us an email/DM if you’d like to support but can’t see us in person! I’m sure we can work out some way of posting you a cute uterus comic.
The plan for Callaghans Questions is eventually to make it into a full blown educational entertainment series, focused on decolonizing the curriculum for a range of audiences (there is a huge focus on educational content for children, but I’d also like to make something for adults who have just as much right to enjoy learning new things after they have left school).
I want to make learning fun with a focus on the interconnected nature of knowledge and the use of education to drive empathy and solutions focused, growth mindsets. As I have been known to say, ‘there is no room for shame when growing your brain’.
Ray: #Hysteria will return in 2026, we’re keeping everything crossed for a full run in Edinburgh next year, and also Brighton Fringe was an absolute blast with the best audiences so I would be very surprised if we don’t end up there again for at least a couple of nights! For now, watch this space and catch us at the Bread and Roses this October whilst you can.