“We kept running out of avocados and I’d have to run to Lidl in the pouring rain, fill up three tote bags, and head back.”
WHO: Laura Thurlow
WHAT: “Approaching her 30th birthday, after ten years of failed romances, Laura meets with the six ghosts who have broken her heart to exorcise them for good. A darkly funny, poetic monologue about letting go of the dream of ‘The One’ and loving yourself in their absence. The show explores gender, beauty and the fear that follows women who love men – their greatest known predator. How can you heal yourself while still compelled to chase the very thing that breaks you?”
WHERE: Pleasance Online (Venue 171)
WHEN: 15:00 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
My second Fringe, but I first moved to Edinburgh from Canada in 2016. Last year, I put on a wee poetry show for about a week, and also performed with The Loud Poets at the Scottish Storytelling Centre as a part of their “Best of The Fringe” showcase. The Fringe is an incredibly exciting time in Edinburgh that truly brings the city to a standstill. I have experience as a performer, but lots more as a local… working in a brunch restaurant… in 2019 I think I made 500 servings of avocado toast on a single day and I’m pretty sure that’s not an exaggeration. We kept running out of avocados and I’d have to run to Lidl in the pouring rain, fill up three tote bags, and head back. Anyways, it’s a time of year that gets your adrenaline pumping and there’s really nothing else quite like it. I love going to free shows and trying to find the oddest things I can in the programme that I just know I’d never manage to find anywhere else.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
It is very hard to convince people you flyer to in the city centre to come see your poetry show in Morningside. A bit of a niche discovery, but an important one all the same. I think I’ve learned the subtle art of flyering now, if I’ve perhaps not mastered self promotion. In any case, I’m thrilled this year to be in 2 venues with two rather different vibes – I think it will certainly make for an experience. The most important thing I think I learned, however, is to just not take it too seriously – to just be glad to have the chance to do the show in the first place, to relish opportunity to meet new and interesting people, and to take the time to see as many other people’s shows as I can.).
Tell us about your show.
I am nearly a one woman band, I’m afraid. This show is an expansion of my spoken word practice – a foray into drama, and plot. I am writer, performer, and tragically, publicist.
I do have the help of six other actors playing my exes in pre-recorded monologues – Charlie Blanshard, Daniel Camou, Demi Anter, Max Aspen, Mustapha El Yousfi, Toby Jeffries. (Max has also done the mix for said recordings!).
The conceit is that I’m going to listen to and share these six monologues in the hopes of healing something tragic and dramatic within myself – move on from my desperate preoccupation with love. I’m going to tell you some funny stories and I’m going to cry just a little bit. In Newcastle, at least, the audience cried with me. You will love this show if you love gossip and/or have ever tried to date a man.
The production premiered at the Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle, and will have some performances in London at The Queer Comedy Club and The Canal Cafe Theatre before heading up to Edinburgh. I’m then returning, mid Fringe, to do two shows at The Hen & Chickens Theatre in North London.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Amy Webber ! 14:40, Just The Tonic at The Mash House. Listen, my show is supposed to be funny, but it’s going to make you cry. Amy will just make you cry with laughter. She’s phenomenal. We performed on the same bill once like two years ago or something and since then I’ve seen her twice in London. She is, without question, the next big thing.
As well, I’d hugely recommend checking out one of King of More’s shows this year. @kingofmore, at least on Instagram. I caught their sold-out-show last year at Blunda Gardens and I don’t think before or since I’ve seen a performer with that amount of pure charisma flowing through them.
Finally, they don’t need my endorsement as they are a living legend – go see Jazz Emu and tell me all about it. I regrettably missed their show last year and I’m afraid given the timing overlap I’m going to miss them AGAIN this year. I may never recover.
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