KRISTINA LIBBY
I Almost Died for This?! is a one-woman show about a good girl who meets her soulmate, gets in way over her head, suffers a brain injury, and comes roaring back.
"Honest, funny and brave. The audience leaned in, laughing and crying with her.
No spectacle, just soul."
FORBES
"A tender and quietly powerful piece about love, loss, and choosing connection over isolation." - AllAboutSolo
About
KRISTINA LIBBY
Kristina Libby is an artist, writer, and technologist whose work spans storytelling, public art, and emerging technologies. She is the creator of the acclaimed Floral Heart Project, a nationwide public art initiative for which she was awarded as a Top 10 Public Artist for Social Change and a Hero of 2020. Her essays and commentary have appeared in major outlets worldwide including the New Yorker, the Boston Globe, Elle, and McSweeney’s. This summer is her inaugural year at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, performing at the SpaceUK, with "I Almost Died for This?!"
THIS SHOW IS FOR YOU IF YOU...
LIKE TO LAUGH ABOUT THE TRAUMA'S AND INDIGNITIES OF LIFE
Kristina brings stories about the candid truth of dating in DC, Seattle and New York City... and the less than perfect experiences that will appeal to people who love shows like Sex in the City, and Girls.
LOVE A GOOD STORY, A LOT OF PLOT TWISTS AND BIG EPIC FALLS.
Kristina has a yarn that starts with a search for self, scales to a massive fall from the sky, a life or death decision, and a twisty road back from recovery.
For fans of Mike Birbiglia.
WERE SPOON-FED THE STORY OF A PERFECT HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Kristina takes aim at the good-girl myths that were spoon-fed to women about how to act and what they would receive if they did exactly what they were told. Plus, she looks deeply at personal intuition vs societal rules and has a lot to say.
For anyone who is or has yet to become a feminist.
ONLY VAGUELY LIKE FLEABAG AND WITH A MUCH HAPPIER ENDING
JOIN KRISTINA TO LAUGH, CRY AND CONTEMPLATE
JULY
59E59TH STREET THEATER - NYC
STILL WANT TO KNOW MORE?
SHE SURVIVED A BRAIN INJURY, ALMOST DIED, AND LOST HER SOULMATE …. NOW SHE’S BRINGING TELLING THE STORY AT EDINBURGH FRINGE
Moth StorySlam winner New Yorker humorist, and internationally acclaimed artist Kristina Libby brings her award-winning solo show I Almost Died for This?! to Edinburgh Festival Fringe — a true story about her very expensive lesson on the costs of being a good girl.
At a moment when women are publicly renegotiating the terms of the lives they were handed, I Almost Died for This?! arrives at Edinburgh Fringe with a question that cuts to the bone: what does it actually cost to be a good girl?
The answer, in Kristina Libby’s case, was nearly everything. Her one-woman show traces a real-life arc that begins her search for the soulmate she was promised by every rom-com she ever watched, and ends after a traumatic brain injury, a near-death experience, a trip to one of the world’s most dangerous countries, and a pandemic art movement that swept the globe, with something nobody told her to want: herself.
“I was raised to be the good girl. I did everything right. I nearly died. Turns out that’s a show.” – Kristina Libby
Funny, at times furious, and deeply frank, the show takes direct aim at the fairy-tale myths pop culture feeds women: that compliance leads to love, that love leads to fulfilment, and that the Disney ending is just a few more good behaviors away. Fans of Fleabag, Lessons in Chemistry, Sex in the City, Annie Ernaux’s Nobel Prize winning writing, and Hannah Gadsby’s brand of autobiographical gut-punch will find a lot to recognize, and a lot to argue about over a drink afterwards.
“A lot of people are shocked by what I did. But, interestingly everyone seems to relate, have opinions, and importantly talks about how they have been there too. I’ve been comforted to know my plight is relatively universal. I just almost died making the mistakes, so that now you won’t have to let things get so bad.” – Kristina Libby
ABOUT KRISTINA LIBBY
Libby is a Moth StorySlam Winner, a New Yorker humorist, and the winner of NYC United Solo Festival’s Best Storytelling Show. As the creator of the Floral Heart Project, she built a nationwide public art movement in the middle of a pandemic that earned her recognition as a Top 10 Public Artist for Social Change and a Hero of 2020. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, Elle, and McSweeney’s. Her work has been covered on NBC, ABC, PBS, and CNN. She is not, she would like you to know, a good girl anymore.
ON STAGE
Directed by Padraic Lillis (Founding Artistic Director, The Farm Theater; NYU faculty for a decade).
The show was developed in Matt Hoverman's Go Solo workshop.
FAQs
What is I Almost Died for This?! about?
It's a true story about internationally acclaimed performer, writer and artist Kristina Libby who did everything right — found the soulmate, checked the boxes, only to have everything fall apart spectacularly. Then she got a traumatic brain injury, nearly died, traveled to one of the world's most dangerous countries, and accidentally started a public art movement in the middle of a pandemic. The show is funny, at times furious, and asks one question: what does it actually cost to be a good girl?
Who is Kristina Libby?
Kristina Libby is an internationally acclaimed artist and performer, Moth StorySlam winner, New Yorker humorist, and winner of Best Storytelling Show at the NYC United Solo Festival. She is the creator of the Floral Heart Project, a pandemic public art memorial recognized as a Top 10 Public Artist for Social Change. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Elle, The Boston Globe, and McSweeney's and more.
Where is the show performing at Edinburgh Fringe 2026?
The Space UK on the Mile, Edinburgh. Performances run August 7–22 at 11:20am and August 24–29 at 6:35pm. The show is 55 minutes.
When is I Almost Died for This?! at Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
August 7–29, 2026, with two performance slots: 11:20am (Aug 7–22) and 6:35pm (Aug 24–29). Tickets are available at edfringe.com.
What awards has the show won?
Best Storytelling Show at the 2025 NYC United Solo Festival. Forbes called it: "Honest, funny and brave. The audience leaned in, laughing and crying with her. No spectacle, just soul."
Who is the show for?
Fans of Fleabag, Hannah Gadsby, Mike Birbiglia, and Annie Ernaux. Anyone who was raised to be a good girl — or loves someone who was.