HAVING spent the early part of her working career in teaching, Debbie Bird decided to take the plunge and follow her dream of acting.

After going through drama school, it was her final project for her MA which sparked the inspiration for her one woman show, which will now feature at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Debbie’s show, called Buzzing, focuses on Julie, who is hindered by inhibitions, a perimenopausal body and the prospect of mature dating.

Not allowing the idea of a midlife crisis haunt her, Julie decides to dive into a new venture of hosting erotica parties.

The results? Well you will have to wait and see.

But for former teacher Debbie, the idea of the show has blossomed from her time at drama school.

“For the post-graduate course that I was doing I had to come up with a professional research project and it had to be a creating our own show,” the actress tells the Gazette.

“We did an afternoon workshop with a comedian and at the end of the workshop she made us come up with eight minutes of material and I didn’t have a clue what to do.

“I didn’t think that I was funny at all and I spoke to her and she said you have to write about what you know.

“Before doing the drama school I had worked for a company called Foreplay which specialised in adult material and I was one of the oldest people working there.

“People don’t really think about you having sex when you’re older, so I did this show around that and the girls were roaring with laughter and I went away and thought about it and I expanded it from there.”

Since that early version of the show, Debbie has been able to develop it and allowed the character of Julie to grow.

But for Debbie, the show is not just about sex, but it is about breaking down the stigma of what it means for woman of a certain age to be dating and being sexually active.

She added: “There is this group of women known as the ‘invisible women’ – women in their mid 40s early 50s and people don’t see them.

“You are seen as a mum, or someone’s wife, you aren’t seen as a sexual woman, but why not?

“The women who are my age get it because they can relate to it, but the younger people who are coming they find it fascinating because they have this to come and it makes them look at things differently.”

Buzzing will be performed at the Proteus Creation Space today (Thursday).

For more visit edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/1272364-buzzing.