“The pandemic taught us to dream big and go for it, because you never know when the world, or YOUR world, will come to standstill.”
WHO: Chantelle Micallef Grimaud
WHAT: “It’s just another day in the office when news that a colleague has been sexually assaulted reaches the boardroom. Emotions run high, but deadlines need to be met. Walking Home is a devised performance exploring the politics and tensions within the issue of sexual violence against women and people of marginalised genders. Shedding a light on the community’s role in this conversation, it’s built on real experiences collected from people of diverse genders, nationalities and walks of life.”
WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot – Wine Bar (Venue 14)
WHEN: 17:30 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to come up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for a number of years, twice as a performer and several other times as a punter. I love the energy, the creativity and I always leave the festival truly inspired and ready to create. What I love about this festival is that anyone can participate. I have seen the most beautiful work there but I’ve also seen, what I consider to be, some of the wackiest, daring and nonsensical pieces too. But they stay with me and I’ve taken something valuable from each and every one of them.
This year I return as a producer and director and – not going to lie – I am excited but also a little scared. I know I’m in for a tough month but I’m sure it’ll be truly rewarding. I have a great team with me that I am truly grateful for.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
I myself am 31 and the other half of Prickly Pear Productions, my partner-in-crime, Zoe Farrugia, is 30. We spent our 28th, 29th and 30th years improvising, thinking outside of the box and trying to make theatre and projects happen during the pandemic. We managed, and we’re really proud of ourselves but I think by the end of the pandemic we were ravenous to get certain projects going again and we went all out chasing any opportunity we got a whiff of. The pandemic taught us to dream big and go for it, because you never know when the world, or YOUR world, will come to standstill. So, I’d say that’s the lesson we learned and now we’re here for this massive ride.
Tell us about your show.
Walking Home is a devised, political piece which explores the social issue of sexual violence against women and people of marginalised genders in public spaces.
Zoe and myself, at Prickly Pear Productions, started thinking about creating this piece when the world was angered and grieving after the rapes and murders of Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa and Paulina Dembska, to name a few. We knew we had to do something with the cries, the outpouring of emotions and the stories and experiences people were sharing with friends and strangers over social media.
So, we did. Thanks to the support of Arts Council Malta, we carried out months of research and development which included a lot of reading, interviews with professors in gender studies, psychologists and activists and theatre-makers. We also published a survey and collected over 40 responses from people of different genders, all over the world. They shared their experiences and their opinions with us, which we took into a devised process with our fantastic cast of four actors, a movement director and intimacy director. Together we went through all the research and explored several forms until we settled on a language for the piece, we all connected to.
The actors were all asked to write sections that represented the characters they each had crafted. I then went away and connected the pieces, wrote the in-betweens and solidified the structure. The team gave me feedback throughout the writing/crafting process and the final result is a truthful reflection of our collaboration. We’ve performed six previews of the work so far in our native country; three at Teatru Astra in Gozo and another three at Spazju Kreattiv, Malta.
We’re excited to be premiering this work now at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, with an entirely Maltese team.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Oh Lordy, there are so many. We think you should definitely check out F-Bomb theatre’s The Beatles were a Boy Band, happening at Gilded Balloon. It also discusses the issue of sexual violence against women and won a fringe first last year. They are also the team behind the FemiFringe guide at this year’s fringe! Do you need anymore reasons to see this show?!
On a lighter note, we think you should see Jesus L’Oreal: Nails It! I know him personally so maybe I’m biased, but Chris is hilarious and I’ve seen him perform as Jesus L’Oreal maybe four times now? It’s hilarious, respectful, witty, brilliant work.
We’re also really looking forward to seeing Laura Ramoso in Frances at the Pleasance Dome. Her reels are posted to my girls’ group every other day. We love her.
And we can’t help but suggest God Catcher the musical. It’s a show we are co-producing with the insanely talented Petrichor Productions team. It’s a retelling of the Greek myth of Arachne, the only mortal who ever dared to defy and successfully beat a god. It’s a show that addresses themes like the erasure of the female narrative and what happens when we hold abusive power structures accountable. It’s full of great songs too, promise!
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