EdFringe Talk: In the Bushes

Posted in *EdFestivals 2025, *Written Interviews by

“Audiences are curious and eager to chat with artists on the streets, making this festival in particular, warm and human.”

WHO: Léa Tirabasso

WHAT: “One of Europe’s most exciting female choreographic voices comes into its own, in this uncompromising and surrealistic piece. Plunged into an absurd world, In the Bushes celebrates the incomprehensible and magnificent contradictions of life. Quirky and witty, it mocks the idea that we are exceptional and questions our humanity with ferocious joy. ‘Masterfully choreographed’ (BroadwayWorld.com) ‘Powerful’ (WritingAboutDance.com).”

WHERE: Main Hall at Summerhall (Venue 26) 

WHEN: 16:35 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

It’s my first time presenting my own work on the Fringe. But it’s my sixth visit as an audience member! I’ve been coming to support my partner’s company and his show, and I’ve loved every experience of it! Audiences are curious and eager to chat with artists on the streets, making this festival in particular, warm and human. I really enjoy its atmosphere; the buzz, the excitement, and the curiosity of everyone involved in discovering new shows. That sense of emulation is exhilarating. However, I do want to visit Edinburgh outside of the Fringe to fully see the city beyond the festival frenzy!

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2024 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

That dreams can evolve and transform.
That even a dream does not have a fixed identity.

Tell us about your show.

In the bushes is a dance piece I imagined and constructed in collaboration with 6 incredible dancers and performers – Catarina Barbosa, Georges Maikel Pires Monteiro, Karl Fagerlund Brekke, Laura Lorenzi, Mayowa Ogunnaike and Stefania Pinato. The composers are Johanna Bramli and Ed Chivers, the lighting designer is Ben Moon and the costume designer is Jennifer Lopes Santos. The team is made of old and new collaborators. Between 2023 and 2024, we researched the movement language of the piece, its conceptual focus and its creative impulses. We then premiered the work in Marseille (FR) and in Luxembourg (LU) in November 2024, and performed it at The Place in London last March.

Our starting points were: what do we do when we (need to) hide? What is the difference between humans and animals? (Surprise: there are none). But the exciting thing for me is that every time I see the work, new questions and understandings arise, what the piece is and means evolves and transforms. Ultimately, I wonder whether the question of the piece wouldn’t be: What is left of humanity when nothing makes sense anymore?

Looking ahead, we’re exploring opportunities to share the piece at upcoming festivals. I’m excited to see where it goes next…

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

Theatre Re, The Nature of Forgetting, The Pleasance Courtyard Grand: It is one of the most beautiful pieces of physical theatre I have ever seen. Telling stories through movement; depicting memory loss, love, and time without using any explanatory words is truly brilliant and beautiful. They have been touring the world and are back to Edinburgh.. a must see, and feel. Full disclosure, the show’s director is the partner I referred to in Question 1!

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