EdFringe Talk: King of More: Veza

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2023 by

“For someone not traditionally trained and starting to dabble in arts only in my late 20s and early 30s, it was a big deal and I admitted my dream of being actually in the Fringe one day.”

WHO: King of More

WHAT: “There is secret connection among all of us. What is it? Where is it? What colour is it? From the creator of the last year’s sold-out show, A Divination, comes a premiere show about connections. Humans are connected by invisible links, which might emit love, joy, solidarity, closeness. But these connections could also turn into unhealthy links, co-dependency and lack of freedom. Exploring our invisible threads, we can recognize that we are in it together across time and space. Find out what is Veza through Bosnian music, interactions, quasi-workshop, yarn, laughter, tears and quantum physics.”

WHERE: Paradise in The Vault – The Vault (Venue 29) 

WHEN: 18:40 (50 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It is not my first time at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. My first official experience was several years back when I had a role in a super fun immersive show called Swell Mob with Flabbergast Theatre. And last year I had my first short-run solo shows, one in Paradise Green and one in Blunda Gardens. But I still feel pretty new and green in it all, even though I have done it a couple of times. It started for me in Scotland when I was studying in Glasgow and decided to try out dance classes. And then 11 years ago, as one of my first symbolic moves towards doing performance as something a bit more than a hobby, I did a short piece in what I called ‘the fringe of the Fringe’. It was a random event in a café in the Meadows that was just happening during the Fringe and was in no way a formal part of the festival. Just a bunch of friends deciding to put a show together. I decided to do a little act called ‘The Abstract’ where I called myself publicly ‘a dancer’ for the first time.

For someone not traditionally trained and starting to dabble in arts only in my late 20s and early 30s, it was a big deal and I admitted my dream of being actually in the Fringe one day. So, calling it ‘The Abstract’ back then was both pretentious and foreshadowing. The piece ended with me walking off from the café’s terrace and into the park in full-on rain! I still remember the increasingly distant sound of the confused audience clapping tentatively while they wondered if I would ever come back to take a bow as I walked off. I never did and just wandered off into the park, wet from the rain, full of joy and feeling that something magical was happening. I was becoming a performer. So…here I am back again, more than a decade later, still wet, now some kind of a jester and in the official programme of the Fringe.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

What I learned from last year is to really start early with your Fringe marketing. Have I absorbed this lesson though? Absolutely not. Here I am writing this interview mere hours from the Fringe start. And emailing media and reviewers only now when they are all completely booked out and overwhelmed. So if you can learn something from my mistakes it is not to email media contacts at the last minute with your ‘come see me in a basement of a church or a yurt’ emails while they are all having panic attacks before the Fringe even starts.

On the other hand, I learned that it does not all make sense. Last year I had one show where I did posters, flyers and contacted the media (late of course, as per the previous point) and struggled with ticket sales. But then I had another show for which I did 0 promos, no flyers, no posters, emailed no one, just showed up and it was completely sold out.

Also, I learned that anything is possible in the Fringe. One day last year, standing wet in the rain (a running theme I guess) desperately flyering 5 minutes before the show I was just about to cancel it as I sold no tickets. Just before I called it off with the venue’s ticket office, two women showed up to buy tickets. I guess they took pity on me. So, I changed my mind and quickly ran backstage to slap some rushed makeup on and do the show for these two people. By the time I was back on stage literally a couple of minutes later, there were 11 people in the audience?! How these people appeared across time and space in a blink of an eye, I had no idea. But it remains one of my most fun and touching shows.

So whichever approach you take (rational, strategic and timely planning OR ‘there is only chaos’), make sure that you have fun. Whether you are a punter, a performer, a tired reviewer or that lady that sells haggis from a truck, feel and use the palpable energy and magic of the Edinburgh Fringe for joy.

Tell us about your show.

Actually, I have two shows in this Fringe. My King of More: Veza in Paradise in the Vault and the return of King of More: #FOMO Clinic in Blunda Gardens. But since the form cannot deal with the complexity of two shows and since Veza is my premier, I will focus on that one here (but do check out my #FOMO Clinic as well through arcane and mysterious means of just googling it). I created and developed the show myself and I am the solo performer. The idea for this show came last year in a long all-night journey by bus throughout the whole of Bosnia under a full moon during which an old song ‘Tajna veza’ (meaning secret connection) kept playing in my mind.

I was also at the time doing an act as a grandma teaching yarn yoga for arthritic fingers. So those two things married and had a child in my mind – my show Veza. I had two work-in-progress sharings of Veza in the Burning Nest festival and PLU – People Like Us Summer Camp, with great audience response. The Fringe is the first full show premiere. Veza explores human, quantum and divine aspects of the invisible threads that connect us while entangling the willing audience in yarn. It is a bit difficult to really describe it as it has many features. That is why I decided to put it in the Cabaret and Variety category primarily as it is fun and gives you variety. It is a comedy but also emotional. It is stupid but also wise. We might sing, we might dance. It is immersive if you want it to be. It tackles a range of topics from ghosting, co-dependency, war and free love. So, come and be a part of it.

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

Definitely check out things at the @lucyhopkins and @bobslayer Blunda Gardens. It is a vortex of Fringe magic and I suggest hanging at the bar and seeing where it leads you. I could mention some of their fabulous performers:

@revoltingrosy (on Instagram) is fabulous while reading her grandpa’s sexy letters and encouraging you to rediscover the lost erotic art in Smutty Letters. You will laugh, feel hot and creative. @arkem_mark_walton (on Instagram) is equally amazing in Fractal Bumhole! If the title does not sell it for you, Arkem’s talent across multiple characters will. Although he is scheduled at the same time as my #FOMO Clinic (him in the Bus, me in the Yurt), don’t have FOMO and just come several times to Blunda Gardens and see us both. Another BlundaBaby is the hilarious @ViggoVenn. I first watched him years back in a small LA dive bar and cried laughing at the idiotic yet brilliant infinite costume reveals and discussing the water content of a cucumber. Now he won Britain’s Got Talent with those same legendary endless hi-vis vests.

Another show you should check out is Importance of Being…Earnest? by @SayItAgainSorry. I actually never managed to see the full show yet and will make sure to do so this year. But I saw loads of clips, I love the idea and auditioned for it once (even if unsuccessfully). The premise and cast are brilliant as the audience gets to fill in for a missing actor!

What all of these shows have in common is blurring the line between performers and the audience. This is something I am passionate about and I love the unrepeatable power of each immersive and interactive show, different in their unique way based on what the audience members bring and how the performers respond. This is something I explore in my shows – the audience’s agency and ability to have a say in what happens. We know we are stars, but in these types of shows you get to realize that you as audience members are stars as well.

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