A writer best known for The Golden Girls and Gilmore Girls is bringing a very different piece of work to Soho this September.
Stan Zimmerman’s Right before I go. arrives at Soho Theatre after a run at the Edinburgh Fringe. Built around real suicide notes and first-hand accounts, it is a stripped-back, serious piece of theatre about suicide, grief and the things people often struggle to say out loud.
There are only three London performances, so here are five things worth knowing.
1. Yes, it really is written by the man behind The Golden Girls
Stan Zimmerman has spent much of his career writing comedy. His credits include The Golden Girls, Roseanne, Gilmore Girls and the Brady Bunch films.
Right before I go. came from somewhere much more personal.
Zimmerman began working on the play after the suicide of his friend Kevin Gill. Faced with the silence and discomfort that can follow a suicide, he wanted to create something that made the subject easier to talk about rather than easier to avoid.
It is quite a leap from Stars Hollow and Miami retirement homes, but that contrast is part of what makes the project interesting.
2. The London cast is seriously good
The Soho run has pulled together a cast with credits across television, musical theatre and the West End.
Dominique Moore will be familiar to plenty of families from Horrible Histories, while Claire-Marie Hall comes from the Olivier Award-winning Operation Mincemeat. They are joined by Iz Hesketh, Emrhys Cooper, Tosh Wanogho-Maud, Gerard McCarthy and Paul Bigley.
Zimmerman himself also appears in the production.
Previous performances of the play in America have featured Vanessa Williams, Olly Alexander, Christine Taylor and Patrick Page, while its Edinburgh run included Wendie Malick and Emily Kuroda.
3. There isn’t much hiding behind scenery
This is not a production built around elaborate sets or theatrical tricks.
Performers sit on stools and read from music stands, putting the focus almost entirely on the words.
Those words come from real suicide notes and accounts involving people from very different backgrounds, including veterans, bullied teenagers, celebrities, LGBTQ+ people and people who survived suicide attempts.
On paper, that sounds like it could easily become uncomfortable for the wrong reasons. Reviews from Edinburgh suggest the production manages the material with considerable restraint. The Scotsman praised it for avoiding the sense of voyeurism the subject might have created.
4. Don’t rush for the exit when the play finishes
The actual performance lasts around an hour, but the evening does not stop there.
Each show is followed by a 30-minute discussion involving the cast, the audience and a local mental health professional.
It is an unusual addition, but it makes sense here. The production is not really trying to wrap its subject up neatly in 60 minutes. The post-show conversation gives people time to respond, ask questions or simply hear other perspectives.
The final London performance also falls on World Suicide Prevention Day, 10 September.
5. You only have three chances to see it in London
This is a very short Soho Theatre run.
Right before I go. plays on 5, 9 and 10 September 2026, with performances at 2.30pm.
The venue is Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, and the show has an age guidance of 14+.
The running time is 60 minutes, followed by the 30-minute discussion.
With such a brief run, this feels less like a conventional West End transfer and more like a chance to catch a much talked-about Fringe production while it is passing through London.
Book tickets for Right before I go. at Soho Theatre
For anyone who knows Zimmerman mainly through The Golden Girls or Gilmore Girls, this will probably be unexpected. It is serious, deliberately simple and likely to stay with audiences long after they leave Dean Street.