“This eagerness to make our show as eco-friendly as possible spread to the rest of our show. Props are all recyclable or reused every show, and we try to waste as little as possible.”
WHO: Coin Toss Collective
WHAT: “This VAULT Festival Show of the Week nominee tells the story of UK communities losing their homes to coastal erosion. Performed by a company of seven, this high-energy theatrical cocktail blends clowning, physical theatre and live art to explore climate anxiety, what home means and what we owe to each other. FREAK OUT! was developed with support of choreographer Anthony Matsena (Sadler’s Wells Associate) and Papatango Prize-winning playwright Matt Grinter. ‘Celebrates the beauty of the coast and laments its loss with exceptionally ingenious flair’ ***** (BroadwayWorld.com). ‘A poetically playful and creatively choreographed moment for reflection’ **** (FringeBiscuit.com).”
WHERE: Pleasance Dome – Jack Dome (Venue 23)
WHEN: 14:30 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Whilst individual members of the collective have been to the Fringe before, this is our first time as a collective and most members’ first time! We were drawn to it because of its unique opportunity to learn, perform and connect with so many different artists from all over the world & across many genres. We were thinking about going to the Fringe for a while; but we were waiting for the right moment! It’s not a secret that the Fringe is a big financial commitment, and we wanted to do it right. We are excited to exhibit our work whilst gaining inspiration from others. As a collective, we are all incredibly different in our preferred tastes and genres, and Fringe is also the perfect opportunity to share these with each other.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
In 2023, ‘FREAK OUT!’ came to its first festival, VAULT Festival, which was the first time taking the show on the road, and we were so thrilled to get nominated for Show of the Week! As a collective, we learned so much about ourselves and our show. At this time we were still using a set that we had first imagined as a ‘home-based’ show. As we planned, prepared, and performed ‘FREAK OUT!’, we discovered that our set no longer fit us or the show. As such, we began to brainstorm how to create a set that was not only easy to travel with but was sustainable and durable, built and designed by our incredible set designer and Coin Toss member Claudia Kurucz, assisted by set designer Jessica Jones, our now beloved set was developed. This eagerness to make our show as eco-friendly as possible spread to the rest of our show. Props are all recyclable or reused every show, and we try to waste as little as possible.
VAULT 2023 was our chance to truly develop and elevate our script, movement, sound and lighting design. Incredibly, we managed to secure Arts Council funding! As a result, we were able to work with some fantastic artists and creatives, such as Papatango Prize-winning playwright Matt Grinter (‘Orca’) and choreographers Anthony Matsena (‘Shades of Blue’, Sadler’s Wells) and Deepraj Singh (Akademi’s ‘The Troth’), to take our show to the next level. Thus the current version of ‘FREAK OUT!’ was born.
Tell us about your show.
‘FREAK OUT!’ is a show written, directed, produced and performed by Coin Toss Collective. We have spent two years developing and performing the show, using each performance to interrogate further each aspect of ‘FREAK OUT!’. Coin Toss Collective came together as a part of Made in Bristol, a training year with Bristol Old Vic for emerging theatre-makers, during which you work with industry professionals to gain and develop various skills, culminating in creating and performing a new show. The programme has produced many great companies over the years, such as The Wardrobe Ensemble, who were Fringe First winners in 2017 with their brilliant show ‘Education, Education, Education’.
As our time in Made in Bristol ended, we discussed what we wanted from our collective and our work. This conversation highlighted how important it was to us that this collective was a non-hierarchical, collaborative group. This allows everyone to experience different positions within a theatre company, present and direct ideas, write and create movement sequences, and grow together. Our core values of collaboration, playfulness, curiosity and experimentation with physical and narrative theatre allowed us to create the unique theatre piece that is ‘FREAK OUT!’
‘FREAK OUT!’ highlights the reality of people affected by coastal erosion in the UK, particularly East Anglia. Coastal erosion is worsening due to climate change; over 35 homes have been lost to the waves in Happisburgh, Norfolk alone. Over 19% of the Scottish coastline is vulnerable to erosion as sea levels rise. Inspired by and featuring archival documentary footage, interviews, podcasts and other research, ‘FREAK OUT!’ shares the experiences of affected coastal communities using our voices, bodies and audience participation. ‘FREAK OUT!’ blends clowning, live art, projection and movement into a high-energy tragicomic theatrical cocktail. Join us for a night of fun and disaster with a side of cake, but it might also break your heart. ‘FREAK OUT!’ has been performed at four venues before Edinburgh, including Camden People’s Theatre and the Tobacco Factory, Bristol. During this time, it has had a great reception from audiences and critics alike. We are thrilled to be one of the recipients of this year’s Keep It Fringe fund, and we have also been nominated for the Sit-Up awards.
After the Fringe, we will be looking to tour the show on a bigger scale than we have done before — nationally and (potentially!) internationally. We all feel that this story needs to be seen by many; ‘FREAK OUT!’ draws attention to the fact that climate change is already impacting the UK, even though this hardly ever makes headline news. And its global relevance goes without saying!
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
As a company, we would first like to shout out the other great climate change shows at the Fringe this year! Some fab examples are ‘Things We Will Miss’ by Square Product Theatre, ‘Vigil’ by Mechanimal, and ‘Look What We’ve Done’ by Helio Collective.
Here are some of our individual recs:
ROSIE: It would be an understatement to say I’m excited to see ‘Bark Bark’ by Buzzcut – their use of live feed and miniature models is incredibly unique and cool. ‘Scaffolding’ by Documental Theatre, a female-led show with a team also from the South West, sounds really intriguing too. I’m also super looking forward to seeing Freddie Hayes bring her hilarious and quirky brand of character comedy back to the Fringe with her new character, ‘The Magic Lady’ (her previous show, ‘Potatohead’ is one of my all-time faves!).
WERONIKA: Anything on the pop-up Polish Laboratory Theatre/Grotowski scene this year, but I am most excited for ‘Sheol’. I love a Polish theatrical séance! Other highlights include Bert & Nasi’s collaboration with Forced Entertainment & subject.object’s ‘Instructions’. There are lots of awesome-sounding dance shows I am excited to see – ‘Book of Dew’, ‘The Watching Machine’ and bambule.babys’ ‘my home is not your home’, stood out.
CLAUDIA: ‘FAMEHUNGRY’ by Louise Orwin. I’m excited to see Louise’s take on the much-discussed topic of the dangers of social media through performance art! And ‘Sawdust Symphony’ – because, of course, we all need to see a show where carpentry and circus collide!? I also love a bit of DIY me.
BEN: At the moment I’m writing a script of a show about the story of Heracles reimagined for the Windrush generation, so at the Fringe I’d like to catch some cool adaptations as well as shows which focus on cultural and racial identity, and Black stories. Some shows I’m keen to check out are ‘Hamstrung’ by George Rennie, a reimagining of Hamlet told by the character of Yorick, and ‘DRUM’ by Our Day.
SOL: Mike Kunze’s Infinity Mirror – I met Mike on a clowning course and he is a very funny multimedia clown! I am a big fan of the risks he takes in this show. ‘Bill’s 44th’ is a beautiful puppet show with no dialogue. Involves the audience in a charming and subtle manner!
ALYSSA: I will be making the time to see ‘The Academy Trust: Under New Management!’ by Mode Theatre. It’s a show written and performed by teachers about the difficulties of their job. I’m so passionate about teachers being overworked and underappreciated, and I will love to see what they have to say! Another show I’m excited to see is ‘Black is the Color of my Voice’ by Apphia Campbell (Seabright Live). I think powerful work with a message is my favourite kind and I’m eager to support and learn from other artists of colour at the Fringe!
SOPHIA: 1) Sh!t Theatre’s ‘Or What’s Left Of Us’ – I caught one of their shows, ‘DRINK RUM WITH EXPATS’ a couple years ago in Bristol and had such a good time; I’m a big fan of folk music, and these two would break out into some beautiful melodies. 2) ‘Lessons on Revolution’ by Undone Theatre and Carmen Collective – I’m interested in seeing how they’ll present what radical change means today. I’m also intrigued to see how globally their archival research into protest in 1968 will span. 3) ‘Really Good Exposure’ by Megan Prescott – I was a big fan of Skins growing up and honestly, I just want to satisfy a curiosity of what this person I’ve been following on Instagram since I was twelve is up to now!
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