Stand-up poet, writer and broadcaster Kate Fox's latest show and poetry collection inspired by Dr Who

The poetry collection came out of a spoken word show that Fox first began developing back in 2017 shortly after her autism diagnosis. Alongside the publication of the book, Fox is on tour with the show over the summer and autumn which includes appearances at a number of Yorkshire venues.

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“I have this great love of Doctor Who and I realised that the Doctor – I suppose it was always obvious to me – was a neurodivergent character who thinks, feels and processes the world differently,” says Fox. “I think those of us who are neurodivergent have a sense of empathy with the Doctor as someone who does not socialise in expected ways, has a deep sense of justice and feels very passionate about things. So, when I decided that I wanted to make a show about neurodiversity, I knew it would have a Doctor Who connection for that reason but also because it is something joyous.”

It is a very personal collection and comprises a combination of spoken word pieces and poems. There is a through-line narrative which tells the story of ‘a girl called K’ charting the various challenges faced by someone who is neurodivergent including trying to find ways of fitting into a world that feels difficult to navigate. “With poetry you have the potential for honesty and also for an immersive sensory experience,” says Fox. “Some of my poems are quite rhythmic and they embody this idea that words can help to make things make sense.”

She says that creating the show and writing the book are a way of raising awareness and inspiring others. “It is about paying it forward, because the way I found my own identity as a neurodivergent person was from others being open about it.” The show, which she first began touring last summer, has been very well received. “I am a bit overwhelmed by the response to the show, but in a good way,” she says. “The reaction to it from the audience is different from reactions that I have had to some of my other work. It is maybe a bit more intense and personal reaction. In the time since I first started developing it, more adults and young people have received a diagnosis and have become aware of their neurodivergent identity and they are looking for positive representations so they are happy to see themselves reflected in work like mine.”

Several of the poems in the show and the collection take their titles from episodes of Doctor Who and in the final section of the book, which also appears in the show, Fox looks to the future and explores a universe where a neurodivergent-affirming world is possible. “It is a sort of a sci-fi story and it’s something I haven’t done before,” she says. “I have never told a made-up story but because it has more potential to inspire people, I thought I would try it and it definitely does something different. I can now see why people make things up. I always thought I would struggle to write fiction, I usually base things or write things that are related to me, but this might be the start of something… we’ll see.”

In many ways Doctor Who has always been about accepting and celebrating difference and Fox hopes that both her book and show will encourage more positivity around, and greater acceptance of, neurodiversity. “The show and the book, like all my work, are quite funny, uplifting and hopeful but underneath that, there is a recognition that a lot of us are still not accepted for who we are,” she says. “The message really is please be kind and accept others, just like Doctor Who does.”

Bigger on the Inside, published by Smokestack, is out now. Kate Fox will be appearing at the White Rose Bookshop, Thirsk on June 22, at Bradford Literature Festival on July 3, at Ripon Poetry Festival, September 21 and 22 and at Off the Shelf Festival, Sheffield, October 18.