Category Archives: Bedfringe

Bedfringe 2024 Interview & Review: Nerine Skinner: The Exorcism of Liz Truss

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“The Bedfringe team are really supportive and on hand and so on top of everything. And the range of shows on offer is just fantastic. I really think there is something special about it the vibe of the fringe, especially nurturing the arts in the area and I love being a part of it.”

WHO: Nerine Skinner

WHAT: “Debut hour from Funny Women Content Creator 2023 Runner Up and Britain’s Got Talent Semi-Finalist. In 2022, politically unaware Nerine Skinner went viral for her parodies of Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Outlasted in Downing Street by a lettuce, Liz Truss’s political relevance faded and the country moved on. But Nerine didn’t. Through hilarious, original oddball characters, award nominated political parodies and heartfelt storytelling, this is the story of Nerine trying to let go.

Examining how holding onto the past and her unconventional upbringing led to an unhealthy co-dependency with the former Prime Minister.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 20 July 2023 @ 18:00 (60mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

This is indeed my first time at Bedfringe and I’m really excited! I have been to Bedford a fair bit and performed in Faulty Towers, The Dining Experience there and had a wonderful time but never as part of the fringe… until now! Everything I’ve heard and seen is great so far. The Bedfringe team are really supportive and on hand and so on top of everything. And the range of shows on offer is just fantastic. I really think there is something special about it the vibe of the fringe, especially nurturing the arts in the area and I love being a part of it. I feel very looked after so I’m sure the audiences will be too!

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I have been busy making lots of online content, both political and non political and have really been ultra focussed on my comedy career and making my show come to life ahead of Edinburgh Festival in August. I’ve been doing work in progress shows since last August and have been continuously developing the show as much as I can. I feel like I’m leaning many lessons on my way of how to do and not do things and I’m very grateful to the audiences who have sat through many iterations of my shows. They have no idea how much they help me work it all out and I’m so thankful for them for taking the time out to come and watch my silliness, it really means a lot. As do all these fab venues I’ve been able to perform in. I feel like Bedfringe will be really special as it’s a bigger venue for me being in the Theatre and the show will have come such a long way since last August by the time I perform it, so I am very excited!

Tell us about your show.

Back in 2022 I started doing parodies of Liz Truss. It was going really well and then 49 days later everything stopped! I think I was the only one who was benefiting from Liz Truss’ premiership. Since then, whatever I do, I’m compared to Liz Truss and every time I think she has gone, she pops up with a new book, or a launch of a new party. My show explores my co-dependency with her, as well as concerning similarities as I try to move on with my career and life. The show features stand up and heartfelt stories where I look at what else I might be holding onto in my life, as well as songs, silliness, and many characters, both political and non-political, who help me throughout the show to exorcise her from my life. But can I let go?

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

Ah there are so many great acts at Bedfringe! I would love to see Lubna Kerr’s show “Chatterbox” because I’ve not only heard great things but the story of her growing up and being labelled a certain way sounds really touching, relatable and I’m sure very humorous too and I love it when you feel so connected to a piece of work for lots of different reasons. I’ve also seen and worked with The Falsetto Socks,who are just so funny, silly and topical and they never disappoint. It will be great to see their show “Superheroes”. I’ve also always wanted to see “Paul Foot: Dissolve”. He is such a renowned comedian and so off the wall and I would love to see someone I’ve admired so much doing their thing up on the same stage. I would also really like to see “Raul Kohli: Raul Britannia” as I’ve heard amazing things about him and as he does a lot of political comedy, it will be great to see his take on current affairs.

“The world needs to remember what a total chuffing mess British politics got (and gets) itself into.”

Editorial Rating: 4 Stars (Outstanding)

Nerine Skinner is a comedian (a very good one) with a problem. The character she has developed with skill, close observation, and an elegant genius for grotesque satire is politically speaking (for now) dead as Marley’s ghost with a pocket full of doornails.

I predict that the Prime Ministerial career of Liz Truss will have more words written about it than the Cameron, May, Johnson, and Sunak premierships combined. True, 49 days in office did not generate a lot of data points. True, a lettuce did better at staying around. Also true, our shortest-serving First Lord of the Treasury is subject to the same love-it-or loathe-it opinions of our first and longest-serving Prime Minister, Robert Walpole. The Truss Premiership contains all the great drama of great political history espresso-ed into a potent little beverage. The Truss premiership illuminates much about the surrounding themes of her longer-lasting immediate predecessors and successor.

But, and this is Skinner’s Predicament™, satire shares a shelf life with guests and fish. Truss is yesterday’s news which the auld wisdom and economic modelling of the auld fashioned press tells us is of zero interest – presumably because it’s easier to sell sensationalism to a public that keeps forgetting what just happened.

Which is why I hope Skinner’s version of Liz Truss will be alive and kicking (in some form) well into the future. The world needs to remember what a total chuffing mess British politics got (and gets) itself into. This show lampoons the everyday familiar banality of ultra-low-grade pride before an almighty, utterly predictable fall.

This is a very, very funny show with a very, very relatable premise. It’s about a totally unqualified individual thrust by a bizarre cocktail of events into a role for which they were emotionally, intellectually, and professionally unqualified. There are few finer real-world demonstrations of The Peter Principle, that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to “a level of respective incompetence.” Over and over again, Skinner lands punch after punch, pummelling the puffery and pretensions of her subject with brutally observed candour.

There was nothing hidden about the problems with Liz Truss, before or during her Premiership. The folks who made Liz Truss possible are the tailors in the story of the Emperor’s new clothes. Nerine Skinner is the little boy daring to shout, “Der Kaiser ist nacht!” What happens to that voice at the end of the fairytale has the potential to tell us much about the real world.

Gilray’s art remains beautiful even if we struggle to recall the context. Bremner’s comic crafting remains delightful even if the personalities he impersonated have faded from memory. Nerine Skinner will go on to produce successful new creations about new ultimately unsuccessful politicians. Let’s hope they are as sharp and as stinging as her totemicoclastic takedown of Liz Truss, the final premier of a reign that began with actual Churchill. For now, get your Thatcher-inspired faux fur coats on and go see this!

 

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Bedfringe 2024 Interview: Sparky T-K-O – DIY (A Beginner’s Guide)

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“Bedfringe is a special festival because it gives us locals a chance to see shows that are heading to Edinburgh, and also gives local artists like myself a platform to share our latest projects.”

WHO: Sparky Kay Orkisz

WHAT: “Sparky TKO is a poet, musician and performance artist from Bedford. They write about topics ranging from gender, neurodivergency and mental health, to cerebral musings about buses. They have written and performed full fringe shows since 2015, and will this year be combining their own poetic sentiments with some “wall-to-wall hitz”.

May contain punchlines, though these are purely incidental.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 21 July 2023 @ 18:00 (40mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

This will be my 9th Bedfringe – would be a solid 10 years in a row, but for 2020 doing its disruptor schtik.

Bedfringe is a special festival because it gives us locals a chance to see shows that are heading to Edinburgh, and also gives local artists like myself a platform to share our latest projects. The garden at the Quarry is a fab place to hang out when the weather’s nice (as is the indoor bar when it isn’t).

From a selfish perspective, it’s a short walk from Casa Sparky, so I don’t have to rack up travel costs every time I want to see a show.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I’m working on a poetry collection, which has grown from last year’s show, “Neuropop”. I explore the intersection between genderqueer and neurodivergent identities, particularly from my own experiences.

I’ve recently been diagnosed with ADHD, which will have come as a shock to absolutely nobody that knows me. As ever, the key lesson of “don’t spread yourself too thinly” may or may not prove pertinent given that I’m also performing at Bedford River Festival a few hours before my Bedfringe show.

So…if we pretend 2023’s lessons were “say yes to everything!” and “concentrate all your high-functioning activity into a tightly-packed period!”…absolutely, completed it mate!!

Tell us about your show.

DIY: A Beginner’s Guide is like a interactive live equivalent of a greatest hits collection crossed with a B-sides and rarities compilation. Maybe. I dunno.

I’ve built up quite a collection of different songs and poems over the last decade, particularly thematically linked to my previous fringe shows, and so I wanted to revisit them and provide a bit of an introduction to those who’ve never seen me before, as I want to make my art as accessible to new audiences as well as those who’ve kindly supported my work.

I’ll be mixing loops, synths and sonic nonsense with words, melodies and…sonic nonsense.

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

Funky Flamingos and Orange Orange Sunshine are 2 of the fab bands emerging from Living It Up PAC. Go see them at 2pm on Saturday 27 July. My friend Jessica Gherman is sharing her songs on Saturday 20th.

“On Nurturing” features 3 amazing local poets in Katie O’Pray, Cameron Stuart and Chris Belson and takes place at 1pm on Sunday 28th July. Elsewhere, Thomas Benjamin Wild Esq is always good family, and 3 of my favourite comedians are rocking up this year in Sophie Duker, Kemah Bob and Kiri Pritchard-McLean, so…I mean go look in the brochure, there’s bound to be something you like.

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Bedfringe 2024 Interview: Just Like Hollywood

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“Besides the quality of the shows and the opportunity to see so many emerging and established artists working together, what really makes a great festival is meeting new people and forging new relationships. And staying up too late in the pubs.”

WHO: John Clancy

WHAT: “JUST LIKE HOLLYWOOD (I SEE YOU WATCHING) continues the decades-long collaboration between Director Melanie Stewart and Obie award winner/Playwright John Clancy working at the crux of contemporary dance and theater practice in America. Joined by performer Kylie Westerbeck, this new work centers on, explores and explodes the entrapment, degradation, and exertion of control over a young woman’s body in post Roe vs Wade America.

On a bare stage, using only props supplied by a demanding and impatient master of ceremonies, Westerbeck must justify her continuing survival and prove her worth, and her right to choose her own destiny. Is she a beauty queen? A brood mare? A willing lover or a wanton whore? What is the combination, what is the key to unlock the cage she exists in, she has been legislated in, and she willdie in ifshe cannot escape? Maybe there’s another way out.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 24 & 26 July 2023 @ VARIES (60mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

Yes, first time and really looking forward to it. I rehearsed a show here in 2005 and put it up for a couple of nights before taking it up to Edinburgh. I love this town. One of the special things is the quality and intelligence of the audience and how much they embrace the festival. I’ve been lucky to be in many festivals around the world and was the founding Artistic Director of the New York International Fringe. Besides the quality of the shows and the opportunity to see so many emerging and established artists working together, what really makes a great festival is meeting new people and forging new relationships. And staying up too late in the pubs.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I’ve been focusing on my writing and branching out into fiction and poetry, which is as surprising to me as anyone. I’m known primarily as a playwright but something about the solitude of the post-pandemic has taken me into a different writing head. I just turned sixty so as far as absorbing any lessons, I’m afraid it might be a little late for that.

Tell us about your show.

Just Like Hollywood is a two-hander focusing on and playing with the relationship between a young woman and an older man controlling her. The initial impulse came after the overturning of Roe v Wade here in America, so while it is at heart a political piece, we’ve been able to expand and deepen it to more of a theatrical meditation and exploration of the contemporary male/female dialogue or duel. Where does the need to control come from? Why the need to please? With all that said, it’s a surprisingly funny play. I like to write about serious things but in the end a play can’t be a lecture, it has to entertain.

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

There’s a great play out of Canada I’m excited to see, One and the Other by Kent Stetson. He’s a phenomenal writer and this looks to be a timely piece, taking a complicated subject and making it human, visceral.

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Bedfringe 2024 Interview: Mini Mozart – Babies Class

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“I love BedFringe as it attracts such brilliant performers and there is such a wonderful mix of shows, there really is something for everyone.”

WHO: Lottie Bagnall

WHAT: “Mini Mozart is an interactive musical experience that aims to get babies and toddlers really actively listening to music, not just hearing it.

With at least two live instrumentalists, we deliver an interactive story (a fairy tale such as The Princess and the Pea or The Frog Prince, or even an opera like the Magic Flute or Rossini’s Cinderella) with classical music and well-known nursery rhymes woven in to bring the story to life.

We include sensory games such as a parachute, giant scrunchie, shakers and bubbles so the children can get involved!”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 20-21 July 2023 @ 11:00 (40mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

I have performed at BedFringe before as a singer with local close harmony group The Goldentones, but I haven’t yet brought Mini Mozart to BedFringe!

I came to nearly all the Children’s Theatre events last year with my two young daughters and we all had a great time, but I noticed there were no music events aimed at young children. I have been running Mini Mozart in Bedford for nearly 3 years and I thought it would be the perfect children’s music experience for BedFringe.

I love BedFringe as it attracts such brilliant performers and there is such a wonderful mix of shows, there really is something for everyone. The Quarry is such a beautiful venue and is well set up for young children, and it’s accessible too, which is great news for parents with buggies as well as wheelchair users!

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I’ve been busy maintaining my performing and teaching career and balancing this with raising two young children. Between that I’m not sure I’ve had time to really consolidate any major life lessons, but I’m looking forward to bringing something new to the Fringe this year!

Tell us about your show.

The aim of Mini Mozart is to get little ones really actively listening to music, not just hearing it. I tell a different story every session – sometimes a classic fairytale like The Ugly Duckling, sometimes an opera storyline like the Magic Flute – and we interweave the story with beautiful arrangements of well-known nursery rhymes and stunning classical music. We have at least two professional musicians at every session, and bring a wealth of sensory games and activities to get our babies and toddlers engaging with the music!

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

Tricky Teddy’s magic show! It was absolutely hilarious last year; my daughters both loved it and my husband was crying with laughter. It’s a show for all ages with something for everyone.

Tremaine Dawkins is also an amazing local gospel singer with a voice like melted chocolate – get along to hear her if you can. Suitable for all ages.

I’ve been to see Debra Kadabra at BedFringe every year since she started performing here – she’s absolutely hilarious, and well worth seeing! Adults only.

Get along to see Chris Kraken if you can. He’s a talented young man branching out into the professional music world in Bedford and beyond. I also happen to be his piano teacher!

My all-time favourite act from last year was Pete Heat – absolutely amazing magic, and super funny and charismatic. He just seems like a really nice bloke as well. Adults only.

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Bedfringe 2024 Interview: Corporate Floss

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“I have learnt that anger can be a great fire starter when given a safe space to explore.”

WHO: Eilish Poston-Saynor

WHAT: “A spoken word theatre blend about two girls discussing their anger at their creative growth being stunted by the corporate machine they have found themselves a part of.

Eilish is a writer and director based in Bristol. She studied Drama with Creative Writing at UWE, graduating in 2019. Since graduating she has been continuing writing plays, poetry and a novel. Most recently she has written the original piece ‘Forgotten Friends’ that went on a scratch tour in 2024. She is also part of a poetry/theatre company, Fish Productions with a fellow UWE graduate. Eilish adores stories and finds writing to be an almost therapeutic tool that she uses to delve into difficult topic whilst also maintaining a lightheartedness

Freya is an actor and writer based in Bristol. After studying an Acting degree at the University of the West of England and graduating with a First, she started Fish Productions with a fellow graduate. She has performed at multiple Bristol-based slam poetry nights and recently took Fish Productions piece ‘Corporate Floss’ to the Bristol Spark Festival. She is currently working on screenplays but her heart will always be with poetry and the way she can use words to create strong feelings and images in the minds of her audience.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 31 July 2023 @ 19:30 (60mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

This will be our first time at Bedfringe- It still doesn’t feel real that we are doing this, but are beyond excited as Bedford is special to us. Freya (the other writer and performer) grew up here and is ready to bring her creativity back home.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Working too many hours (rip) whilst trying to reignite my creative spark. I have learnt that anger can be a great fire starter when given a safe space to explore. Life can be exhausting and will always give you the middle finger, so hold onto those silver linings.

Tell us about your show.

Corporate Floss is a personal (more than we’d like to admit) piece about two friends finally catching up again in a pub after a year. It’s so easy to get caught up in your everyday struggles and forget about your passions, so we decided to write those frustrations down, so expect a lot of swearing, drinking and extensional dread from this exploration piece.

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

Escape projects presents – Rehearsal – a truly hypnotic dance piece that blurs the line between audience and participant – definitely worth catching!

Luke Rollason – just a truly phenomenal comedic actor so whatever they do will be groundbreaking and brilliant

Lamp House – Frankenstein (on a budget) which looks very intriguing their posters. It’s a one man piece about Frankenstein (happens to be my favourite classic horror) and seems like it will be hilarity with, I’ve heard, an epic soundtrack.
Juliette Burton – Hopepunk – a fantastic looking comedy piece about hope and what it can do to you – utterly brilliant!

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Bedfringe 2024 Interview: Louise Atkinson: She’s Got The Look

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“I thought I was running incredibly late, was going to miss the start of my own show, sprinted to the venue knocking over a small child in the process only to realise I had read the time of my own show wrong and was an hour early.”

WHO: Louise Atkinson

WHAT: “With this new comedy show, the Amused Moose Best Debut Show winner revisits the unsolicited feedback she once received; ‘Louise Atkinson – sounds good, looks like a mess’; and discusses our incorrect assumptions about people. Includes a joke about a fire extinguisher.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 20 July 2023 @ 21:30 (60mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

No, I had the pleasure of coming last year. I remember it mostly because I thought I was running incredibly late, was going to miss the start of my own show, sprinted to the venue knocking over a small child in the process only to realise I had read the time of my own show wrong and was an hour early.

Hopefully won’t be rugby tackling young children en route this year.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Many things. I rewatched the tv series Pride and Prejudice, that was nice. I discovered the art of placing peanut butter on a knife and the pressing a bit of ritz cracker either side to make a new type of Oreo. Oh, and I went to the Edinburgh fringe last year with my debut show, won an award, got nominated for 2 others and had some nice reviews. The biscuit creation was probably the best bit though, if we’re being honest.

Tell us about your show.

It’s based aroun a piece of unsolcited feedback I recieved which was from a judge in a comedy competition early in my career who told me that I ‘Sound Good, look a mess’. Yeah. So the show is exploring the absurdity of making assumptions about people based on their physical appearance when really we should be judging them based on their biscuit preferences. Also talk about my love for Masterchef and have a joke about an egg, so I’ve tried to cover everyone.

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

Well, you’ve got a great selection, so the people fo Bedford are very lucky, but some top people for me:

Phil Green. Top show. Top comedian. Top lad.

Chelsea Birkby. Lovely, smart, silly bit of comedy.

Sasha Ellen. The pun-derful show title already has you invested. And she’s hilarious.

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Bedfringe 2024 Interview: Adrian Poynton: Ashes

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“Fringes should feel accessible and exciting and like you stand chance of discovering something new and different and unexpected. Many ‘Fringes’ I’ve been to recently seem to have lost that somehow… but not Bedford.”

WHO: Adrian Poynton

WHAT: “Recently, I’ve been thinking of a thing.

It’s a collection of stories about some stuff that happened. Stuff that plays on my mind.

Exciting huh.

In a nutshell, my Dad scattered my mums ashes without me.

I’m an only child.

So… yeah. That happened.

Anyway… I started thinking I’d maybe turn them into a funny film or a play or something, like I normally do. For other people to read and perform.

But recently I’ve realised that these are my stories to tell.

So… please come join me as I bumble through them on stage, laugh a lot, cry a bit , laugh some more and — hopefully — make you do the same.

Life-affirming comedy from the award-winning creator of BBC Three’s WHITE VAN MAN, returning to the stage for the first time in over a decade with his most honest, personal, hilarious and heartbreaking of shows.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 28 July 2023 @ 18:30 (60mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

Yup, newbie first timer here, but I’ve heard it’s an absolute delight of a fringe (a delight I tells you!) run by brilliant people. So no pressure at all… but I have high expectations.

I think many fringe festivals that exist these days sometimes seem like they’ve forgotten about the actual ‘fringe’ part of their remit. Fringes should feel accessible and exciting and like you stand chance of discovering something new and different and unexpected. Many ‘Fringes’ I’ve been to recently seem to have lost that somehow… but not Bedford. The line up I’ve seen is really exciting and my experience of dealing with them asa performer/producer has just been excellent.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Well, most of 2023 I was on strike. I’m a member of the Writers Guild Of America and therefore wasn’t really allowed to do much of my normal job as a writer for TV. So I started playing about with some other stuff… and this is sort of what came out of it. I haven’t been on stage performing properly in over a decade so this is all very exciting for me and I’ve been really enjoying it. And to be a completely arrogant tool about it… I found the performing part of it pretty easy to fall back into. So yeah, still got it. Hee hee.

Tell us about your show.

So, the show starts with the death of my mum (and I’m hyper aware that when I say that people will roll their eyes and think “Oh god – another comedian doing a ‘dead parent ‘show”)… but its not really about that. What happened next was that I found out that my dad has scattered her ashes without me. I’m an only child. So the show is me exploring what made him do that and the affect it had on me, our relationship and my mental health. Hilarious right?!?!? I promise you it is. But also it’s emotional and raw. It will give you all the feels (as I believe the kids are saying these days… which is both annoying and grammatically incorrect).

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

Well, Bedford fringe has attracted some excellent acts I can recommend this year.

Of the people you’ll already know about (who let’s honest don’t need any help shifting some units) category I’d say Paul Foot (who once made me an exceptional quiche!) and Ivo Graham are always worth your time.

But (perhaps more importantly) in the “People you may not know but are doing brilliant and interesting things’ category; I’d say you really should check out Chelsea Birkby and Luke Rollason. Both annoyingly young and talented and therefore make me feel a little sick when I look at them. But also annoyingly excellent.

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Bedfringe 2024 Interview: Too Young to Stay in, Too Old to Go Out!

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“What helps to make a Festival extra special for a performer is if you feel really wanted as opposed to simply paying an application fee and knowing somewhere will take you.”

WHO: Nigel Osner

WHAT: “Nigel Osner takes a quizzical look at the daunting challenges and unexpected opportunities for those no longer young. He examines dating, love, work, holidays – even the gym! There’s a lot of humour but with a bittersweet edge.

Nigel illustrates his theme with original songs and stories by male and female characters. These include Gerald who is having a taxing night out in central London; a rich designer who falls for his hunky gardener; the man who falls in love with a wheelchair bound woman only once he needs a wheelchair of his own; Rosie, driven mad by her companion on a river cruise; and a fading star on an endless tour.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 24 July 2023 @ 18:30 (60mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

It’s my first time at this Fringe. I’ve been at several other Fringes, including Edinburgh. What helps to make a Festival extra special for a performer is if you feel really wanted as opposed to simply paying an application fee and knowing somewhere will take you. There is no such fee for Bedfringe, so that’s a plus from the start, together with the feeling the shows have been carefully selected and a friendly Director.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

I’ve been doing a bit of writing and performing in the last year – and obviously failed to absorb the lesson that it is always best to go with your gut feeling. I knew the arrangements for my last performance wouldn’t work, but still went ahead and, as anticipated, the thing didn’t work! On the plus side I’ve been to an all day seminar by Paulus called ‘Get your show on the road’ about touring small shows, solo shows especially. The occasion was warm and encouraging. I have started booking more venues, both for the Bedfringe show and another show. The two acorns haven’t yet produced mighty oaks, but definitely twigs are appearing.

Tell us about your show.

I’ve been doing a bit of writing and performing in the last year – and obviously failed to absorb the lesson that it is always best to go with your gut feeling. I knew the arrangements for my last performance wouldn’t work, but still went ahead and, as anticipated, the thing didn’t work! On the plus side I’ve been to an all day seminar by Paulus called ‘Get your show on the road’ about touring small shows, solo shows especially. The occasion was warm and encouraging. I have started booking more venues, both for the Bedfringe show and another show. The two acorns haven’t yet produced mighty oaks, but definitely twigs are appearing.

Question 3: Tell us about your show.:
I take a quizzical look at the challenges and opportunities for those no longer young. On the one hand, there are daunting realities and cruel setbacks. On the other, we can learn what’s best for ourselves, find ways to enjoy life and have unexpected victories. I examine dating, love, work, holidays – even the gym! There’s a lot of humour but with a bitter sweet edge. The show is directed by Janine Wood. Whilst this show is for everyone, it is particularly aimed at an older audience.

I illustrate my theme with original songs and stories by male and female characters. These include Gerald who is having a taxing night out in central London; a rich designer who falls for his hunky gardener; the man who falls in love with a wheelchair bound woman only once he needs a wheelchair of his own; the woman driven mad by her companion on a river cruise; and a fading star on an endless tour. I’ve written all the stories and lyrics. Melodies are by various composers, sometimes even by me.

I’ve performed the show at various Fringes, including Edinburgh, and other venues. Excerpts from reviews will be found on the Bedfringe website, where you go to book – well that’s the hope!

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

Max Fulham, comedian and ventriloquist

Sophie Duker is clever, funny and engaging.

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Bedfringe 2024 Interview: outside, in the laneway, under the stars – Part 1 (Childhood)

Posted in *Written Interviews, Bedfringe 2024 by

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“Will folks in Bedford relate to stories about a gay young man in Canada in the 1970s and 1980s? I feel more confident that they will than I might have a year ago.”

WHO: John Arthur Sweet

WHAT: “From Canada. Navigating one’s queerness is a lifelong odyssey! Three-time Prague Fringe Award nominee John Arthur Sweet continues his B-eautiful B-espoke tour of English Fringes beginning with the letterB. After Brighton, Barnstaple, and Buxton, John will be thrilled to arrive in Bedford.

John is bringing an autobiographical mélange of theatrical monologue, storytelling, and spoken word. This is the tale of a gay, bullied smalltown Canadian kid who found refuge in theatre. The show is in two parts: Part I (Childhood) and Part II (Adulthood). You can enjoy each of them separately, or you can choose to see both! Content warning: Numerous pop culture references from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 20 July 2023 @ 15:00 (60mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

This will be my first time at Bedfringe. I’ve done a fair number of festivals over the years, going back to 1998. Most of them have been in Canada. In 2009, I did my first international fringe when I applied to (and was accepted by) the Prague Fringe, and I’ve been there five times altogether (most recently last year). My first UK Fringe was Brighton in 2016, and then again last year.

Generally speaking, as both a performer and a punter, I’ve preferred the smaller Fringes, where you get more of a sense of community, you keep bumping into the same people, you ask them what they’ve seen, what they liked. It feels like a celebration of life! Those chance encounters are lovely! To date, the place I’ve most had that feeling was in Prague, and then last year at a small Fringe in Canada (North Bay). Paradoxically, at a smallish festival, you feel as though you’re part of something bigger, whereas a very large festival can make you feel small, almost invisible, which isn’t the greatest feeling. I love the fact that Bedfringe seems to be quite contained, geographically speaking, with the shows all taking place in more or less the same location.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

The highlight of 2023 for me, performance-wise, was doing my show at the On the Edge Fringe in North Bay, Ontario, last August. My show is about growing up as a queer kid in a small city in Ontario, so it felt in some ways as if I was going “home” to talk about my misadventures of 40 or 50 years ago. The big surprise was that my show attracted a lot of young folks, in their late teens and early twenties! Maybe being gay in 2023 or 2024 isn’t that different from when I was young? Anyway, they really embraced the show, and it felt as though I was maybe giving back to those young folks some lessons I’ve learned the hard way, but also sharing hope that you can get through things and come out stronger.

The lesson I hope I’ve absorbed from that experience is not to form too-definite ideas of who your audience is! Will folks in Bedford relate to stories about a gay young man in Canada in the 1970s and 1980s? I feel more confident that they will than I might have a year ago.

Tell us about your show.

My show is actually two shows. The show on 21 July is totally different from the show on 20 July. They can be enjoyed separately, but if you see the show on Saturday and love it, then come back on Sunday and there are whole new tales to hear!

Do you know Bronski Beat’s “Smalltown Boy”? My show is a bit of a twist on that story. I was a bullied gay working-class kid from a small town who escaped to the city (in my case, Toronto). But there my story goes onto a different track. Rather than embrace my gay self, as Jimmy Somerville did, I escaped into theatre and acting, and enjoyed being other people. Loving myself as the gay man I am would have to wait a very long time.

Taking the two shows together as if it was a single show, it’s the story of episodes of my life from 1971 through to 1985, with a few scenes that represent the post-1985 (adult) me. There are some scenes of straight storytelling, others of spoken word poetry, others of theatrical monologue. It’s not all serious! There are laughs to be had.

In a larger sense (i.e., beyond my personal tale), it’s about the way personal pain can inspire creativity, but it also asks the question: How far can a life of the imagination be a replacement for a physical life?

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

Okay, let me say at the outset that I’ve had a good look at what’s on in Bedford and I don’t know any of the other artists and haven’t seen any of the shows. That said, I decided to stay in Bedford for a total of six days so I can see other shows, and these are ones that I’ve already earmarked:

Transformations (in the Studio): because it’s storytelling and because the storyteller (Mark Steinhardt) is a Bedfringe veteran! Two very compelling reasons to see that one.

Kin (in the Theatre): because it looks like a real piece of theatre, and I sometimes find it hard to find full-fledged theatre at a theatre festival amidst everything else, wonderful thought that all might be.

Freud, Erikson & Me (in the Studio): because the performer is in the same age range as me and is using poetry and spoken word to examine his life. Can you imagine why I’d find this appealing?

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Bedfringe 2024 Interview: The Brain That Wouldn’t Die!

Posted in *Written Interviews, Bedfringe 2024 by

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“I’ve been too involved in the moment to know if I’ve absorbed any deep understandings from my recent experiences, but I imagine that I’ll have a moment of reflection one of these days to contemplate that.”

WHO: Jason Frederick

WHAT: “Experience an evening of Atomic Age horror with the classic 1962 film THE BRAIN THAT WOUDLN’T DIE, with a new original score performed live-to-picture by composer Jason Frederick, as well as an opening Atomic Age short film and excerpts from the documentary ‘Hollywood in the Atomic Age: Monsters! Martians! Mad-Scientists! by Operator 13 Productions.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 24 July 2023 @ 18:30 (110mins)

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Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

It is not my first time, I’m pleased to say! And each year I find myself even more impressed with the evolving collection of creativity that they manage to organise and present for everyone’s enjoyment. Bedfringe seems to be particularly good at this. They’re also extremely together people to work with, and make it a lovely experience to be involved in.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023a and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

The Classic Horror Experience (the banner under which I present these little evenings) has been in full swing since my last visit to Bedfringe. The soundtracks to The Brain That Wouldn’t Die! and Horrors Of Spider Island (the opening short) have been recorded and released to the world – find them on your favourite listening platform – and shows continue throughout the UK in 2024.
I’ve been too involved in the moment to know if I’ve absorbed any deep understandings from my recent experiences, but I imagine that I’ll have a moment of reflection one of these days to contemplate that.

Tell us about your show.

I’ve been too involved in the moment to know if I’ve absorbed any deep understandings from my recent experiences, but I imagine that I’ll have a moment of reflection one of these days to contemplate that.

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

Well, if I was getting ready to warm up for an evening of Atomic Age horror, I’d definitely start with Frankenstein (on a budget) on the 20/21 of July and maybe follow it up with The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde on the 28th of July for afters.

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