+3 Interview: pool (no water)

Posted in Plus 3 2019 – Features, Written Interviews by

“I love that you can start seeing shows at 10am and not end up getting home until 6am the following day.”

WHO: Abbye Eva, Director

WHAT: “‘The line of the machine. The purple of the bruise. It appeals. It tempts.’ A group of bohemian artists. They have a friend who was plucked from obscurity and is now renowned, respected and rich. She has a pool in LA now – did you hear? It’s fantastic, fantastic, fantastic. Until one booze-fuelled skinny-dip leads to a terrible accident. Mark Ravenhill’s dark, witty comedy explores how jealousy can tear apart relationships and cause old friends to do the unthinkable.”

WHERE: The Royal Scots Club – The Hepburn Suite (Venue 241) 

WHEN: 21:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I’ve lived in Edinburgh for nearly five years now, so I’ve experienced the Fringe both as a tourist and as a resident. I love that you can start seeing shows at 10am and not end up getting home until 6am the following day. I love all the creative new ways people come up with to try and get you to take their flyer. I love getting all the recommendations and the general buzz around the city. I love living off of wine and chicken nuggets for a month. It’s magic!

This is my first time directing at the Fringe, so I’m excited to be sharing a little part of me with the festival.

What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’18?

I finally got a chance to see Sleep No More in New York – it was scary, beautiful, exhausting and just amazing! You turn up at what appears to be an abandoned hotel, you’re given a mask and you have three hours to see as much of Punchdrunk’s MacBeth-y masterpiece as possible. You can wonder up and down floors, explore pitch black rooms and even have exclusive interactive experiences with actors.

Tell us about your show.

pool (no water) is written by Mark Ravenhill. When you pick up the script there are no character descriptions, no stage directions and lines aren’t split up or assigned. Essentially we build the characters from the text, which is pretty exciting. It’s about a group of artists who struggle to get by while their one successful friend lives it up in L.A. They go out and visit her but there’s a hideous skinny-dipping accident and they end up doing some morally questionable things. It’s very human, sad and weirdly funny.

The Grads have been bringing shows to the Fringe for years. The company was founded by a group of Edinburgh University alumni in 1954 who were former members of the Drama Society. Since then, they’ve provided a great base for people to come together, create shows and have a blast doing it. I’ve been working with them for a couple of years now.

The show will just be on for the first week of the Fringe – so catch it while you can!

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

Ooooh, first up – Are we not drawn onward to new erA by Ontroerend Goed. I saw their show LIES a couple of years ago and it was truly wonderful – I got super into it. I’m really excited to see their latest work.

Another show I’d recommend is Bull by Arbery Productions. It’s a fab play and they are a really innovative company.

Finally, for something truly different and a little scary, Coma by Darkfield. I saw both Seance and Flight and both were amazing immersive experiences.

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