Author Archives: Dan Lentell

+3 Interview: Meeting at 33

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2017, Plus 3 2017 - Features by

“Inspired by my mum’s battle with alcoholism – she is now 9 and a half years sober!”

WHO: Hannah Samuels, Writer/Director/Performer

WHAT: “Alcoholics’ recovery meetings are happening all around us, all the time. While the people in those rooms never chose to be there, they are privy to some remarkable personal storytelling. Created through extensive anonymous interviews with addicts and retold verbatim, Meeting at 33 offers a unique opportunity to experience a recovery meeting. Unveiling a subject that is too frequently taboo through hope and humour, light and shade, we invite you to consider the universal addictive tendencies which live within all of us.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

WHEN: Varies (45 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

As a company, this is our first time to Edinburgh! But many of the company have been involved in Edinburgh shows in the past – couple of first-timers though, they don’t know what they’re getting themselves in for…

Tell us about your show.

Second Circle Theatre are bringing: 16 true stories, 8 company members and 2 alcoholics’ recovery meetings to Edinburgh – which one will you attend?

Meeting at 33 consists of two verbatim plays which have been developed through extensive anonymous interviews with addicts. They were inspired by my mum’s battle with alcoholism – she is now 9 and a half years sober!

I wrote the plays to challenge the “popular image” of the alcoholic on the park bench, and instead to portray the truth of what is it to live with alcoholism.

We have developed an innovative, flexible structure allowing different combinations of stories to be told at each ‘meeting’. This has enabled us to communicate the many different experiences of what it is to be an alcoholic. With tea, biscuits and life-affirming verbatim storytelling, we invite you to consider the universal addictive tendencies which live within us all.

Meeting at 33 is premiering in Edinburgh, but we are hoping to tour afterwards as we strive to promote awareness of alcoholism!

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

Check out Unpolished Theatre’s Flesh and Bone, 14.00, Pleasance Dome (winners the Charlie Hartill Special Reserve this year!)

Also go and see our dear friend Nicholas Masters-Waage in Siren, 17.40, Pleasance Dome.

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+3 Interview: Kat Bond: Loo Roll

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“It’s been incredibly fun to write, make and perform.”

WHO: Kat Bond, Writer

WHAT: “Award-winning character comic and critically acclaimed actress (BBC’s Call the Midwife, Sky’s The Greatest, Channel 4 Blaps, BBC Radio 4) Kat Bond has lost her family. They left her in a bin, outside Papa Johns in Luton. She has made a comedy show to find out who, what and where they are. Armed with only a loo roll as a prop, she combines stand-up, characters and clowning to bring her imagined family to life. A debut solo hour from one half of sublime duo That Pair.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

WHEN: 17:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Not first time at the fringe but first solo show. I have been at the fringe in many guises. Flyerer, puppeteer, actor one half of duo and now just me ( and a massive bin and a twelve pack of Loo Rolls).

Tell us about your show.

My show in Edinburgh is a character comedy show about a woman called Pat who was left in a bin by her family. She spends the whole show pretending she’s various members of her long lost family whilst also telling the audience about the various benefits of Loo roll.

It’s been incredibly fun to write, make and perform. I have a brilliant director Matthew Crosby and Technical support from Jonathan Monkhouse. I started making the show when I had a cold and was using lots of Loo roll and thought about how funny it would be to base a show around the stuff.

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

Anything from Free Association they do lots of great improv. I’m in one of their teams and they are super.

Jon Pointing : Act Natural is brilliant he plays an acting coach Cayden Hunter who is ridiculous.

Lorna Shaw: Ava Rage has made a brilliant show that is about being average. Music , stand up and stories from her.

James Rowland : 100 Words for Love is the 2nd part of his trilogy of one man shows it’s super.

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+3 Interview: No Show

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“I trained as an aerialist at the National Centre for Circus Arts and I know first hand how painful it can be to perform in the circus”

WHO: Ellie Dubois, Director

WHAT: “New contemporary all-female circus from award-winning director Ellie Dubois. What do you expect when you go to the circus? The glitzy smiles, the glitter of sequins, the drum rolls as performers effortlessly perform death-defying acts? No Show joyously and heartbreakingly reveals what lies hidden beneath the showmanship. There will be desperate attempts and heroic failures, glorious achievements, bruised bodies and egos. No Show goes behind the flawless smiles and perfect execution to showcase the wobbles, the pain, and the real cost of aiming for perfection. A show for anyone who has tried, failed and failed better.”

WHERE: Summerhall (Venue 26) 

WHEN: 16:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No. In 2015 I bought my circus show for one audience member at a time called Ringside to Summerhall. We had won the Autopsy award from The Arches and Summerhall to bring the show and it was brilliant to be able to show a piece of work that really couldn’t exist in the festival without their support.

We sold out, got great reviews and were nominated for a total theatre award for circus. Ringside has since been touring to amazing venues since we have been on the main stage at The Roundhouse, The Lowry in Manchester and York Theatre Royal which is amazing for a show made for one person at a time. We are now doing our first international touring going to France and Sweden after the fringe.

Tell us about your show.

No Show is contemporary circus and theatre hybrid featuring five astonishing and highly skilled female circus performers. Genuinely strong women. There will be breath-taking acrobatic feats, the rarely seen discipline of hair-hanging, brilliant Cyr Wheel, personal confessions, some sly humour and genuinely joyous moments. It’s a show suitable for family audiences as well as any one interested in contemporary theatre and looking to see British circus take a new direction.

I wanted to make a show that explores the expectations that we have both when we go to the circus and in particular our stereotypical view about female circus performers. The real strength of female circus performers that too often is behind the spangles. I trained as an aerialist at the National Centre for Circus Arts and I know first hand how painful it can be to perform in the circus. I was interested in looking at the pursuit of perfection and the inevitable failure that goes along side that. Normally when we go to the circus the performers are almost super human in their abilities so that they feel far away and untouchable to the audience. They are almost like gods and goddess. I wanted to make a show that allows the audience to gasp at the feats but also to see what it costs a circus performer to perform to such a high standard. The pain behind perfection. And the hidden bruises of the mind and body.

Created and directed by Ellie Dubois
Produced by Nicola Lawton
Performed by Francesca Hyde, Lisa Chudalla, Francesca Hyde, Michelle Ross and Alice Gilmartin

We were all bought together by Ellie who believed that they were the best team to make this show the best it can be.

We premiered at Platform in Glasgow in April 2017 and will be touring the UK in 2018.

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

I have an 18 month old son so will be excited to see some of the high quality children theatre on offer. I am very excited to see The Polar Bears go up as I have heard they are excellent and I have wanted to catch them for ages and my son is very keen on bears.

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+3 Interview: Goody

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“In The Stooge we met Lawrence, the surviving member of a double act of clowns, whose partner died choking on a ping-pong ball during their signature juggling act. Now we meet Goody, the circus’s Chimpanzee.”

WHO: Jamie Firth, Director

WHAT: “Winner of Les Enfants Terribles Greenwich Partnership Award 2017. 1934, Dustbowl America. Backstage at the travelling circus, we discover the complex relationship between one man and his performing chimpanzee. Marooned in a world she does not comprehend, Goody finds comfort with her only companion: her trainer Frances. How do they communicate? How do they cohabit? Who is in control? Lucy Roslyn’s new play is a striking, darkly funny exploration of the extraordinary, heartbreaking world of performing apes and the humans who live with them, love them and break them.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) ​

WHEN: 14:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

We’ve individually each done different shows over the years, and visited almost every year, but our first outing as “BoonDog Theatre” was in 2013 with The State vs John Hayes. Since then we’ve been plotting our return.

Tell us about your show.

We started talking about a drama set around a circus a few years ago: a series of plays that introduced different characters from the same universe with interwoven, but separate, stories. Thus the BoonDog (“Boon and Doggett”) Circus was born. In The Stooge we met Lawrence, the surviving member of a double act of clowns, whose partner died choking on a ping-pong ball during their signature juggling act. Now we meet Goody, the circus’s Chimpanzee.

The way we work generally is that Lucy Roslyn, our Creative Director, will write a piece and then we work together to mould it into a production with a long process of refining and re-writing. She’s very smart and writes really interesting, intricate things. Once we’ve built it, we’ll generally do a reading or a workshop once we’ve identified people to perform it – because the characters are mentioned in other plays in the series we imagine it sort of like the Marvel Universe where we can work with loads of different people in different roles. So someone who sees a lot of the series will recognise and be able to put a face to names mentioned in other shows! So essentially BoonDog is Luce and I, and then a galaxy of other talent brought in for whatever the next story is. In this case, Luce has worked with Jesse Rutherford, who plays Goody’s trainer, in another show and we both knew he was perfect for Frances. He has a wonderful timelessness: he seems simultaneously both old and grizzled at the same time as maintaining a sort of youthful naivety. He’s brilliant and a thoroughly lovely person to work with.

Goody is brand new for Edinburgh 2017 and then will be at the Greenwich Theatre in early September. We’ll then be doing a prequel to the series (which introduces the managers of the circus as young men) early next year, before hopefully the next in the series for Edinburgh 2018! That’s the plan.

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

There are more than 2000 other shows, and I would recommend seeing as many as possible. All if you can.

If your time is more limited I would definitely see brilliant comedy with Colin Hoult and Kat Bond and Bec Hill. I would go Cabaret with Cat Loud and Camille O’Sullivan. See some musical theatre like Buzz the Musical. Some drama like Cockamamy at the Summerhall. Track down Daniel Kitson in whatever form you can (obviously. Always).

BUT, above all things, go and marvel at Jayde Adams. Her show was the absolute highlight of last year, brilliantly funny and human and moving and everything: I’m booking hard and early for her show Jayded at the Pleasance Courtyard and you should do that too.

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+3 Interview: From Ibiza to the Norfolk Broads

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“We’d love to go to New York eventually.”

WHO: Adrian Berry, Writer and director

WHAT: “The hugely acclaimed hit show tells the tale of a young David Bowie obsessive on a thrilling journey in the footsteps of his obsession, leading him to discover some long-hidden truths. What follows will change his life forever. Powerful and emotional, music and magic realism collide in this darkly funny and moving production featuring Alex Walton. The life of the pop fan is brilliantly dissected in this tale of unnatural teenage wildlife. ”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33) 

WHEN: 13:55 (90 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No. I brought a show about a bus driver who wants to be a porn star here, followed by a homage to 70s New York rock & Debbie Harry, then last year a 7 piece I wrote circus show about nostalgia and cheesy pop tunes. I’m a veteran.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote it. I produced it. I created it for an actor called Alex. It’s a love story to David Bowie and London. I met Alex when he was a fledgling 16 year old performer in Barnet. We didn’t speak for many years then a series of sad events brought us together again as friends. We’ve toured it around the UK – 75 performances so far. We’re touring again in the Spring to bigger spaces. We’d love to go to New York eventually.

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

Shit Theatre – Welcome to Dollywould

Jarvis Cocker and Chilly Gonzalez – Room 29

Fauna

BMT – Kin

Circus Abyssinia – Ethiopian Dreams

Some avant garde European shit

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+3 Interview: Ballistic

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“It’s a real masterclass in acting.”

WHO: Euan Borland, Producer

WHAT: “He tries his best with girls. He tries his best with mates. But for all his efforts, things just don’t seem to be going right. So he’s making a change. Something’s triggered him to stand up for himself. He’s got a new plan, and he’s going to reassert his worth. But does he have the balls to go through with it? Inspired by mass shooter Elliot Rodger’s manifesto, Ballistic is a one-man tour de force about the life of a loner.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

WHEN: 14:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my third time producing a show at the Edinburgh Fringe. The first show I took up was called Body of Water by playwright Stuart Purcell back in 2011. I was fresh out of drama school and completely naive. The show had a cast of nine performers and our playing space was 4m x 2m. We could barely fit on stage! Despite the restrictions the show ended up being nominated for Best Ensemble in the Edinburgh Stage Awards. I was pretty hooked on the Fringe after that…

I returned in 2012 with One Hour Only, a beautiful play by Sabrina Mahfouz, about the hopes and sexual politics of young people in Britain. We were lucky enough to be supported by Old Vic New Voices, Ideastap and the Underbelly as part of their Edinburgh New Voices Season. That brought a whole new level of exposure to the show which was fantastic.

Now I’m up with my third show Ballistic and I can’t wait for an entirely new set of challenges an surprises.

Tell us about your show.

Based on real events, Ballistic follows the descent of one young man as he plans to commit an act of terrible violence. The play deals with themes of masculinity, violence and misogyny. What I love about the play is the way in which it plays with the audience. It’s been fascinating to see how far an audiences sympathies might stretch and at what point they turn against our character. I’ve been really surprised by the responses so far… they haven’t been what I predicted at all.

Ballistic is the debut play by writer Alex Packer who was inspired to write it after reading countless stories about young men committing lone-wolf violent acts. He wanted to understand why. Our performer Mark Conway is incredible at charting the characters journey from childhood, through his teenage years and into adulthood. It’s a real masterclass in acting. Our Designer Frances Roughton and Lighting Designer Peter Tomes have made it look beautiful. Finally our Director Anna Marsland has expertly tied everything together. I’m really proud of our team and what they have achieved.

We hope the show will provoke debate and leave the audience asking questions. Hopefully Ballistic will have a life beyond the Fringe.

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

There’s a lot of great work up this year! Don’t miss Brutal Cessation at Assembly, Testosterone by Rhum and Clay at Pleasance, Tumble Tuck at Underbelly, Curse of the Mummy at Just the Tonic and Odette! at Laughing Horse.

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+3 Interview: What Goes on in Front of Closed Doors

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“The culmination of eighteen months of research that I have undertaken at St Mungo’s, New Horizons and Cardboard Citizens.”

WHO: Emma Bentley, Performer & Co-Writer

WHAT: “Molly is unpacking the in/consequential moments of her life. The un/usual, in/significant, un/interesting moments. But these un/remarkable moments brought about an un/remarkable change in Molly’s life. At just nineteen years old, following the death of her mother, with deteriorating mental health, and no network of support, Molly finds herself homeless. From the team behind the 2015 Edinburgh success, To She or Not to She, joue le genre return to the Festival Fringe, working with Calum Finlay (National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Almeida Theatre).”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

WHEN: 12:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

The company is returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for the second time after taking To She or Not To She to Pleasance Courtyard in 2015.

Tell us about your show.

Our show is a one-woman play that addresses youth homelessness through the use of television screens, live cameras and recorded sound. It has been co-written by myself and Calum Finlay, as the culmination of eighteen months of research that I have undertaken at St Mungo’s, New Horizons and Cardboard Citizens. This is the premiere of the show, excluding a few previews in London before we traveled up to Edinburgh!

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

The Shape of the Pain at Summerhall- we cannot wait to see it!

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+3 Interview: Good Girl

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“I’ve come many years as a punter but this is my first time on the other side of the stage and with my own work.”

WHO: Naomi Sheldon, Actor/Writer

WHAT: “Frank, funny debut storytelling from Naomi Sheldon, in association with Old Red Lion Theatre and Bruised Sky Productions. A bold, provocative look at the darker side of being a good girl. ‘One of these days, am I going to evaporate? Right here?’ GG’s girlhood is unfolding as an inquisitive game, but a mysterious tingling sensation heralds her sexual awakening. Welcome to the 90s, where the only sex education is Madonna.”

WHERE: Just the Tonic at The Mash House (Venue 288)

WHEN: 13:00 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yep, this is my first time doing my own show up here! (Unless you count the student production I did over 10 years ago of a Shakespeare set in a jazz club…) I’ve come many years as a punter but this is my first time on the other side of the stage and with my own work. *bites nails and jumps for joy simultaneously*

Tell us about your show.

Good Girl is a coming-of-age storytelling show about GG, her girlhood, how she navigates the 90s and her BIG FEELINGS. It’s funny and bold and nostalgic whilst asking some hefty questions about self-silencing and how far we’ll go to be a ‘good girl’ (or boy). I wrote it (my debut show) and my husband, Matt Peover has directed it and produced it. We’re a tight team. We have been working in association with the Old Red Lion and have previewed there before Edinburgh. Hopefully, we’ll be taking Good Girl back down to London (and all around) post Edinburgh.

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

You must catch Jayde Adams’ new show Jayded. I’m looking forward to catching Rebecca Humphries Prom Kween again- it’s going to be great. Martin Murphy’s Victim is dark and funny. There’s also the super cute and hilarious Lucy Pearman’s Maid of Cabbage. So many great shows to see!

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+3 Interview: Kate Butch in Kate If You Wanna Go Butcher

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“My show comes from the vast number of shows I have seen, at many different Fringes, as I attempt to distill them down and create the most gimmick-filled show ever seen.”

WHO: Marcus Crabb, Writer/Performer/Drag Monstrosity

WHAT: “Join the Comic Sans of Drag, Kate Butch, for an hour of comedy, songs and games. Catch ‘a great comedian’ (WhatsOnStage.com) in her debut solo show, fresh(ish) from appearing in the cult Edinburgh smash, The Room: The Musical, discussing pornography, marriage, and dot-to-dot puzzles. Winner of York’s Lip-Sync Lollapalooza, and three-time moral winner of York’s Lip-Sync Lollapalooza, Kate Butch will tickle your comedic taste buds with filth, gore and cassette tapes (subject to availability).”

WHERE:  Laughing Horse @ Espionage (Venue 185)

WHEN: 21:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my third year performing in Edinburgh. For the last two years I’ve been improvising with my university’s troupe, The Shambles. In my first year I also performed in The Room: The Musical, based on the legendary worst film ever made, which happened at 1am in City Cafe’s basement. People flocked to it and went crazy for it, which helped me fall in love with the Fringe; the weirdest ideas in the dead of night can be and are seen, and there’s a lot of love there.

Tell us about your show.

Kate Butch, the Comic Sans of Drag, was born during my time at the University of York, as part of the drag collective Haus of Dench. We came together (hello) as fans of the TV Show RuPaul’s Drag Race and thought ‘we can do that, can’t we?’ and eventually gave it a go. We host the club night Lip Sync Lollapalooza and most of us are gracing the Fringe this year in various capacities, from an improvised Doctor Who show to a play about sad robots.

My show comes from the vast number of shows I have seen, at many different Fringes, as I attempt to distill them down and create the most gimmick-filled show ever seen. There is a powerpoint.

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

I’ve worked at the Buxton Fringe as box office manager for the past seven years, so I get to see a lot of Edinburgh-bound shows before most other people. This year I saw Richard Carpenter is Close to You and Harriet Braine’s Total Eclipse of the Art which both had me laughing more than I thought possible. Also go and see my dear friends at The Shambles, and see if you can pick out which one will follow in my footsteps to become the next improviser-turned-disappointment to parents. I’ll be going home after my show, but eligible bachelors are more than welcome to join me.

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+3 Interview: Gary Tro: SupercalifragilisticexpiGARYTROcious

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“I love the fringe. It’s like puberty but with more Berocca.”

WHO: Gary Tro, The genius.

WHAT: “This is a show for everyone who feels a lack of fulfilment. This is a show for anyone who struggles with perseverance. This is a show about commitment… maybe. As seen on BBC iPlayer and as not seen on BBC Radio 4.”

WHERE: Just the Tonic at The Caves (Venue 88)

WHEN: 17:00 (5 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I’ve taken a show up every year since 2011. I love the fringe. It’s like puberty but with more Berocca.

Tell us about your show.

I wrote this show in 2015, took it to the fringe in 2016 and am taking it back again due to a complete lack of demand! The show was a massive commercial disaster last year – hardly anyone saw it. I was in a venue in butt-fudge nowhere at a ridiculously competitive time.

However, the feedback from everyone that did come was overwhelmingly complimentary. And I love doing it. I think it’s a fantastic show, which I’m really proud of. It’s some of the most hilariously honest bullshit you’ll ever see.

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

MARVELus: All the Marvel movies. Kind Of. 12:30pm // The City Cafe.

It’s a sketch/semi-improvised show based on the current Marvel superhero movies!

As recommended as it is geeky!

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