Category Archives: *Written Interviews

From time to time we encounter an artist or producer toiling away at something pretty special. Here’s what they have to say, in their own words, about their work.

+3 Interview: Family Values

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

2016familyw_u8

“Writer Michael Dalberg is an incredibly smart guy, maybe too smart for his own good.”

WHO: David Gasperetti – Director

WHAT: “Trent and Liam have completed one last job which hopefully has freed them from their mafia ties. Set in the Florida Everglades, these two brothers must learn how to become a real family. Just as their bond seems to strengthen, two strangers arrive at their hard-to-find home. Are these people here by accident, or have they been sent by other members of the family? Or worse: are these people closer to Trent and Liam than they realize? A dark, gritty, physical new drama that explores how perilous escaping the past can be.”

WHERE: theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)

WHEN: 19:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

I was here last summer for a few days as a spectator and fell in love. This year I’m proud to say I’m a participant.

Tell us about your show.

I went to undergrad school with the playwright, Michael Dalberg. He’s an incredibly smart guy, maybe too smart for his own good. I was looking for a script to direct in my hometown about three years ago and contacted him. That’s the first time Family Values was placed on my radar. After reading the summary of this mafia play, I determined it was not the kind of play a very conservative community would embrace so I put it on my shelf.

Just about a year ago after my first Edinburgh Fringe experience, Family Values was put back on my radar. Michael’s play won a fresh ink competition back in the USA and received a staged reading. I finally sat down and gave the play a read and determined this was perfect for the Fringe. Absolutely perfect.

As one reviewer wrote, it’s “frustratingly brilliant” and that’s a true description to the intelligence of the play. There are so many layers of this play that showcase the complicated life of the brothers, the remnants of a broken family, and is redemption even possible for this group? It’s light-hearted and funny, but also physical, dark, and gritty. People have even used the word “Tarantino-esque” to describe the intensity and physicality and yes that is an accurate description.

We received 4 & 5-star reviews during our London preview which is fantastic and reflects both the efforts of the Ghost Light team and also the appetite of our audience. People want to see a play that’s intelligent, intense, draws you in until the very end, and when the lights come back up the audience says to themselves “Whoa”. Vital clues are sprinkled throughout the play and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss out. At the end of our thriller play, I guarantee you’ll come to one conclusion, the person on your left another, and on the right a third. As artists, this is exactly the experience we want to create for our patrons.

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

I haven’t seen too much yet as we’re still getting into the swing of things for our show, but I do recommend Yokes Night by the Stay Up Late Collective. Dublin, March 11, 2015, all drugs are legal. Without giving too much away, it’s the right amount of striking directly to the heart and the right amount of messed up.

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

+3 Interview: Yokes Night

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

2016yokesnj_hp

“It’s amazing to be back in this incredible city.”

WHO: Isabella Javor – Producer

WHAT: “Dublin, 11th March 2015. A slip-up loophole in the law declares all drugs legal for 24 hours. On this night of rebellion, Harry finds himself under the influence of Saoirse. Bound by the ecstasy of their union, secrets are shared, and the stench of bloodshed is looming. Stay Up Late and Bear Trap Theatre fuse cut-throat dialect with stylized movement, forging a fresh, progressive theatre experience.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

WHEN: 14:15 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my first time in Edinburgh with my own company! I came up as an assistant with Ornamental Theatre for the fringe two years ago, which marked my first time in Edinburgh. It’s amazing to be back in this incredible city feeling like I’ve got a bit more experience under my belt, but nothing ever prepares you for the ride.

Tell us about your show.

Yokes Night is a new Irish play set in Dublin, March 11th 2015. The night where all drugs were legal for 24 hours in Ireland. Scott Lyons – who co-founded Stay Up Late Collective with Zoe Forrester – wrote Yokes Night last year in our Easter holidays of our second year of drama school.

At East 15 Acting School we all trained on the BA Acting & Contemporary Theatre course as actors and devisors, and were encouraged to pitch a show idea for the annual Debut Festival. After producing Debut Festival’s 8 new plays, which included Yokes Night‘s embryonic scratch performance, I joined the company to develop the show professionally.

Jesse Briton of Bear Trap Theatre, and Dimitris Chimonas from Ugly Collective came aboard to co-direct the piece together for Edinburgh. We’ve had a lot of support on the way, and a fantastic sold-out preview at the Old Red Lion Theatre in London!

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

TOO MANY RECOMMENDATIONS!!! Juice Straw Are Bleak, Triumvirette, and Buzz: A New Musical at Greenside. Blush by Snuffbox Theatre and Starship Osiris at Underbelly, Family Values and Ladies inIn Waiting: The Judgement of Henry VIII at theSpace on the Mile, Police Cops by Pretend Men and The Mission by The Outbound Project at Pleasance, I Keep A Woman In My Flat Chained To A Radiator at ZOO Venues, Lies, All Lies, at the Laughing Horse Bar and Coup de Grace at Sweet Grassmarket.

Oh, and for God’s sake please go see Camille O’Sullivan sing.

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

+3 Interview: Alice Unhinged

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

aliceunhingedportrait

“Prepare for a phantasmagorical adventure.”

WHO: Kathryn Norton – Producer, Co-Director

WHAT: “Young Pleasance present a phantasmagorical reinvention of Lewis Carroll’s warped world. With the turbulent logic of a dream Alice Pleasance Liddell is catapulted back into the vortex to unpick her own chaos and confusion. YP breathe new life into Carroll’s refreshingly amoral shape-shifting fantasy, where Alice becomes aware that everything is possible, one second lasts forever and consequences evaporate into thin air. With their trademark ensemble cast Young Pleasance have created another thrilling show to delight audiences.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

WHEN: 13:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is the 21st year for YP at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe!

Tell us about your show.

Young Pleasance specialise in large scale ensemble theatre staging original writing and adaptations tailored to the company who are involved in the creative process. This is the world premiere of Alice Unhinged

Renowned for showcasing the talents of promising young actors and delivering the highest production values on the Fringe – prepare for a phantasmagorical adventure. This is a contemporary Alice which pays homage to much of the surreal narrative and bizarre characters in Carroll’s original, layered with a contemporary steampunk twist. It is a riotous visual feast of colour, hats and bubbles…

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

All Quiet on the Western Front – featuring XYP actors and directors
Swansong – gloriously anarchic and witty comedic theatre
Beasts – future sketch-show comedy legends

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

+3 Interview: Albatross

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

2016albatro_p1

“The piece was born out of desire to explore the relationship between poetic, language-driven live performance and sophisticated multimedia.”

WHO: Benjamin Evett – Performer & Co-author

WHAT: “The Mariner has wandered the earth for 300 years. Now he draws you to a theatre at the Fringe to share his ghostly tale. This award-winning solo performance, using state of the art multimedia technology, takes off from Coleridge’s masterpiece The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, telling the real story behind the poem – complete with sea battles, storms, ice-bound ships and a mystical seabird that reveals the interconnectedness of all living things. Thrilling, hilarious, terrifying and profound, Albatross speaks urgently about contemporary themes of human indifference and our responsibility to our planet.”

WHERE: Paradise in Augustines (Venue 152)

WHEN: Times vary (95 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes, this our first time in Edinburgh. The show is having it’s U.K. premiere here in Scotland at Paradise Green.

Tell us about your show.

Albatross is a brand new play inspired by The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Not just a recitation of the poem, it leaps off from it and thrusts the Mariner into the modern world, having wandered the earth for 300 years, and addresses both age-old issues of sin and redemption, but also contemporary themes of ecological depredation and our responsibility to our planet and to each other.

Albatross was co-written by Benjamin Evett, an actor based in Boston, Massachusetts, and Matthew Spangler, a San Jose-based playwright, whose adaptation of The Kite Runner has had a very successful run at the Nottingham Playhouse and a national tour in the UK, including at the King Theatre here in Edinburgh.

Albatross premiered last year in Boston, where it won three prestigious awards, including Outstanding Solo Performance and Outstanding Production. It is now enjoying its U.K. premiere at the Fringe, before going on to a production off-Broadway at 59E59 Theatre.

The piece was born out of desire to explore the relationship between poetic, language-driven live performance and sophisticated multimedia in a way that creates an environment in which the story can come to the life for the audience with an intensity that is visceral and immediate.

The piece was directed by Rick Lombardo, who served as Artistic Director of the San Jose Rep for six years – a major regional theatre in the U.S – and is produced by Michael Seiden & The Poets’ Theatre. Michael is a dramaphile and philanthropist from Phoenix, Arizona, while The Poets’ Theatre is a theatre based in Cambridge, Massachusetts devoted to exploring the poetic possibilities of theatre in all its facets.

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

Haven’t had much time to see anything, but we really liked Ghost Quartet, which has similar artistic ambitions. It’s haunting, poetic, thought-provoking, and has really strong music and performances.

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

+3 Interview: The Club

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

2016club_gb

“A torrent of bad language and comedic hedonism.”

WHO: Mark Farrelly – Actor, playing Nick Reynolds

WHAT: “Olly Watson is a poet, who is lonely! But now he has a match, a real woman with pictures and everything! What next? Coffee, flowers, chocolate? Don’t be boring, send her poems about spoons! How’d that go then?”

WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14)

WHEN: 17:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my sixth…my first was back in 2001 when I was a fresh-faced university graduate doing a version of A Tale of two Cities. I do the Fringe every few years, whenever an interesting and decently-paid project comes up that I’m free for.

Tell us about your show.

The Club, which I describe to friends and punters as a torrent of bad language and comedic hedonism, is written by Ruaraidh Murray. He is a talented writer / performer who I met at the Gilded Balloon two years ago. He asked me to be in it because we are friends, and he also perhaps knows my familiarity with Withnailian people.

We play two men (based on people Ruaraidh knew in the late 90s) who have no boundaries, limits or sanity in their pursuit of hedonism. Enormous fun to play. A barnstorming comedy with an unexpectedly dark and poignant edge. I also get to sink an entire bottle of wine in the first ten minutes, when not swearing my head off.

It’s produced by Something For The Weekend’s Suzanna Rosenthal, kicked off with previews at the Park Theatre in London and will likely be coming to London again in the next six months. We were hugely blessed to be directed by ace theatre maestro Joe Harmston.

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

So much great stuff this year! By all things Godly see Phil Nichol. Lucie Pohl’s Apohlcalypse Now! Anything starring David Benson (he’s playing Boris Johnson and Kenneth Williams here). Anything featuring Sarah-Louise Young. The Snow Queen at Gilded Balloon’s new Museum space. Henry Naylor’s play Angel. The list stretches on… a real selection box of quality in 2016.

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

+3 Interview: Banging Fun Stuff

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

2016banging_jg

“I love wandering around and taking a punt on something I wouldn’t normally see. That’s the joy of Edinburgh!”

WHO: Amanda Kelleher – Performer, Writer, Producer

WHAT: “The Cutlery Crew wants everyone to have fun, feel uplifted and bang stuff joyfully. But a crime has been committed and all hope rests upon PC Pauline, a worrisome policewoman searching for suspects. Don’t let her gangliness fool you. There is a cunning mind buried deep… deep down inside her, perhaps. She’s a crime solving, spoon playing, twirling, clapping, bending, banging maniac. She was shortlisted for the Policewoman of the Year 1999. She has 55 minutes to put things right. Her fate is in your hands… Free spoon for audience members. Features live music.”

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

WHEN: 16:45 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No, we came two years ago with a blues comedy. We learnt a lot and went away with the plan to make a show that we could enjoy after doing it over 50 times!

Tell us about your show.

Amanda ran up a welsh mountain and did some training with Phil Burgers (Dr. Brown). She came down a bit different so herself and Josh started working on Banging Fun Stuff. Amanda wrote and produced it and Josh composed all the music. Josh met Amanda 2 years ago.

He might have Stockholm syndrome now as her stupidity starts to makes sense to him. Banging Fun Stuff toured to Barnstaple Fringe where it was reviewed as: “Fringe theatre at its best…original, quirky, bonkers.” It also won the Pick of the Fringe award at Bedford Fringe this year.

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

After some time spooning, go see Luke Stephen Commit No Nuisance at Venue 383, a very funny stand up! Also Louise Reay whose new show is awesome at the caves called Que Sera. I also love wandering around and taking a punt on something I wouldn’t normally see. That’s the joy of Edinburgh!

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

+3 Interview: Olly’s Got a Match!

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

12-35-1-ollys_got_a_match-show-168

“Sheer luck and ignorance are producing it.”

WHO: Olly Watson-Performer

WHAT: “Olly Watson is a poet, who is lonely! But now he has a match, a real woman with pictures and everything! What next? Coffee, flowers, chocolate? Don’t be boring, send her poems about spoons! How’d that go then?”

WHERE: Silk (venue 444) Upper

WHEN: 12:35 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

First time with my own show, I did ride up last year from Great Yarmouth on a 125 motorbike, complete with learner plates, tent sleeping bag, cooker and a weeks worth of clothes just to have a look. Saw The Water Show by Rob Auton and knew then and there that I had to try and do it myself!

Tell us about your show.

I wrote the show, and to sum it up badly, I end up sending a match I get on Tinder a poem about spoons to try and impress her, hilarity and poetry ensues! I also have a go at Shakespeare and Ukip along the way.

Sheer luck and ignorance are producing it, my two kids were the only people at the premier in our front room and they asked me to move as I was in the way of Cbeebies, so all in all one of my better reviews.

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

Rob Auton: The Sleep Show
Andy Benett: Roar
Jayde Adams: 31

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

+3 Interview: All Quiet On The Western Front

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

2016allquie_p8

“We felt it was important to make a show that told the story of the young men that lost their lives during The Great War.”

WHO: Angus Castle-Doughty

WHAT: “In the centenary year of the Battle of the Somme, Incognito theatre revives Erich Maria Remarque’s classic tale that exposes the mental and physical strain of trench warfare, All Quiet on the Western Front. Adapting the story in their trademark physical style, Incognito harnesses the tragic energy of Remarque’s novel and creates a stunningly poetic, poignant and expressionistic theatrical experience in order to tell the breaking story of the German soldiers who fought on the Western Front during the Great War.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

WHEN: 13:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is our third time at the festival as a company. Previously however we’ve performed at the past 6 festivals. Our previous two shows (adaptations of Government Inspector and Dorian Gray) had sell out runs and so we have returned to try and challenge ourselves further!

Tell us about your show.

Being the centenary of the battle of the Somme we felt it was important to make a show that told the story of the young men that lost their lives during The Great War, using Remarque’s Classic and harrowing tale as the base of our adaptation. We have always received massive amounts of support from the Pleasance having been borne out of the Young Pleasance and this year they have given us the opportunity to perform in a larger space on three sides, allowing us to expand our unique physical style to interrogate what it meant to be a young man in WWI.

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

Lemons X5
We Are Ian
Nina Conti
Alice Unhinged (Young Pleasance)

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

+3 Interview: We Are Ian

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

68weareian160321mattaustin-min_0

“We make a massive song and dance of the mundane – a messy, multimedia mish-mash of clowning, dance routines and bad lip-syncing.”

WHO: Torran McEwan – Producer

WHAT: “1989. Manchester. A frenzy of drugs, beats and bucket hats. Illegal raves. Acid parties. Just jumping up and down in a field and throwing two fingers to Thatcher… Remember it? Because we don’t. We weren’t even born. But Ian was. And Ian does remember. We’ve got fuck all now (Ian tells us). So, we’re going back to 1989. We’re gonna neck a brown biscuit. We’re gonna get off our peanuts. We’re gonna bounce around like idiots. And Ian’s going to show us how. We’re mad fer it. And you will be too. Let’s party.”

WHERE: Pleasance Dome (Venue 23)

WHEN: 23:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

We’re a new company, and this is the first show we’ve ever presented at the Fringe Festival. But we’ve all worked at the Fringe before, from basically running a press office to being a venue supervisor, so we’ve got a few stories we could tell! But we’re thrilled to have this opportunity to show We Are Ian to the denizens of Edinburgh and all it’s visitors.

Tell us about your show.

We Are Ian is devised from our mate Ian’s stories about being part of the illegal rave scene in 1989. It came about because Ian asked us to make a piece about him. He wanted an epic twelve part drama with an eleven year old boy playing him. We vetoed that plan. After sitting down with Ian and having a series of conversations over a couple of pints, the show emerged. It was then developed with support from the Bike Shed Theatre graduate residency scheme and Pleasance Theatre.

Our company is called In Bed With My Brother. We are three performance makers and three best friends who met at the University of Exeter. We use real-life stories. Either our own, or our mates’. There are no witty one-liners, and we’ve thrown away the kitchen sink. We make a massive song and dance of the mundane – a messy, multimedia mish-mash of clowning, dance routines and bad lip-syncing. We don’t use scripts. We’re not always sure exactly what it is we do… We’re just glad the threesome wasn’t just a one night stand.

We premiered We Are Ian at the Plymouth Fringe Festival, Pleasance Islington, Latitude Festival, and the Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter, before finally making our way up north.

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

We would totally recommend catching Nel by our fellow devon-based company Scratchworks. It blew our minds. It’s about Nel, a brilliant, but friendless, foley artist. Through an amazing mix of live music, onstage foley, and physical comedy, Scratchworks create a touching story about being an introvert. It’s on at the 10 Dome, Pleasance dome at 3pm between the 3rd and the 29th of August. Don’t miss it!

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!

+3 Interview: Chopping Chillies

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

2016choppin_9b

“People make all kinds of promises to see each other’s productions, and I never thought Guy Masterson would actually turn up. But he did.”

WHO: Clair Whitefield – Writer and Performer

WHAT: “From Kerala to Camden, an epic, mystical tale of love, loss and soul-food. A cobbler and a cook concoct a delicious transcontinental enchantment as tragedy and chance entwine. As Katie dreams of curries and chapattis; Ajna, of holy souls and reincarnation… A delightful, poetic, magical story that conjoins the spirit of India with the heart of London. Directed by Olivier award winner (for Morecambe) Guy Masterson.”

WHERE: Assembly Roxy (Venue 139)

WHEN: 14:50 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

The first time I came to the fringe, I was 13. My dad’s Scottish and I went to uni in Edinburgh. So in many ways, it’s like a second home. The first time I performed here though, was last year, as part of the Free Fringe. I also worked as a reviewer for Three Weeks the summer I graduated. I saw 65 shows in a month. It was incredible.

Tell us about your show.

I live in London and came up with the idea for Chopping Chillies, when I was working in Camden. I used to take my shoes to a shop on the high street to be repaired. Opposite this cobbler’s was a traditional Chinese herbalist that specialised in reflexology. And that’s when an idea for a story hit me.

What would happen if these two joined forces?

What kind of magical healing shoes could it lead to? And so I began writing Chopping Chillies which is a mix of poetry and storytelling. I met Guy Masterson when I was performing Chillies on the Free Fringe last year. I went to see him in Under Milk Wood and afterwards gave him a flyer for my show. People make all kinds of promises to see each other’s productions, and I never thought Guy would actually turn up. But he did.

We got talking and late last year we began writing the screenplay of Chopping Chillies. So who knows what the future holds. We also thought it would be great to bring Chillies back to Edinburgh and so here we are. It’s been wonderful working with him and I can’t wait to unleash this new version.

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

Definitely go see Guy in Shylock and his new autobiographical show, Love and Canine Integration. It’s a hilarious bit of stand-up about the trials and tribulations of going to war with a dog that despises you. Barbie and Ken also make some risque cameos.

I also want to big up some poets: go see Rob Auton, Dan Simpson and Harry Baker. You should also check out Stand Up & Slam where comedians and poets go head-to-head in a series of rounds. It’s like Eight Mile but in a Waitrose. The most fun I had last year was with Guru Dudu on his a wacky walking tour meets silent disco; dancing to the Bee Gees down the Royal Mile and singing Bohemian Rhapsody on a roundabout.

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! FIND US ON FACEBOOK! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!