“There will be people who are going to ‘not get it’, give it a one-star review, or generally find it distasteful—you just have to move on without blaming anyone or losing your stride.”
WHO: Khai Ramli
WHAT: “Money can’t buy love, but £19.99/month can get you a mail-order bride directly from the wasteland of Asian stereotypes. Follow her journey as she strives to become unforgettable, but what lies beneath her shiny surface? And how is she forced to transform, destroy and rebuild herself in order to survive? An irreverent, no-holds-barred, bouffonesque myth about the violence our culture inflicts on bodies of colour. Winner of the Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Fund, Best Show (Offies, 2021) and Best Performer in a Play (The Stage Debut Awards, 2022). ‘A stand-out show’ ***** (Stage). ‘Beautiful’ **** (BroadwayBaby.com).”
WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard – Beneath (Venue 33)
WHEN: 15:40 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
I went up last year with Flabbergast Theatre’s Macbeth at Assembly Roxy and was completely blown away by the energy and the #SpiritoftheFringe! This is my first year going up with a show that I have conceived, written, produced and will be performing—I’m amazed to have even made it this far. If it wasn’t for Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Fund, The Keep It Fringe fund and our crowdfunder, we would not have made it this far. So we really feel like even getting here has been a huge accomplishment.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
You’ve got to keep the show going for the people who need to hear it, who are going to love it and be inspired and maybe even changed by it. But also, there will be people who are going to ‘not get it’, give it a one-star review, or generally find it distasteful—you just have to move on without blaming anyone or losing your stride. That’s the reason why the fringe catalogue is half an inch thick, there’s something out there for everyone! I think this is an especially important lesson for us as we take ‘Unforgettable Girl’ to the Fringe—the piece seeks to confront difficult truths and it won’t do so without leaving a few bruised egos.
Tell us about your show.
‘Unforgettable Girl’ revolves around our main character: Vaccine is a mail order bride who breaks out of an Amazon prime box in the beginning of the show. Contrary to the promise of a woman for sale, Vaccine makes the audience laugh, squirm and wince, and reveals our shared complicity and desperation in the face of a tyrannous standard of beauty and femininity that renders women like Vaccine irredeemable. The piece engages with bouffon, a form sometimes called the ‘anti-clown’—historically they were outcasts of society who had no stake in preserving humanity’s dignity and often only had power when they were entertaining and performing. Louise Peacock once said that while we make fun of the clown, the bouffon makes fun of us (with diabolical humour).
‘Unforgettable Girl’ has ignited and excited audiences; from our 2-night run, we received critical acclaim including a 5-star review from The Stage, an OffFest Award and Best Performer in a Play by The Stage Debut Awards.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
There are so many amazing shows to see! One of my favorites this season is Theatre Ad Infinitum’s ‘Beautiful Evil Things’—if you want to be swept away by the electrifying energy of a kick-ass performer (Deb Pugh) and also immersed in a feminist retelling of Greek myths, check it out!
LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!
INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!
Get Your Coats On 