“It’s a mix of funny and poignant.”
WHO: Rosie Wilby, Performer / writer
WHAT: “BBC Radio 4 regular Wilby poignantly interweaves comedy, memoir, love letters, breakup emails and Richard Hawley music to investigate the aftermath of separation in a post-Gwyneth world. The Conscious Uncoupling was commissioned by London’s Southbank Centre for Festival of Love and was shortlisted, via public vote, for Funny Women Best Show 2016.”
WHERE: Laughing Horse @ The Counting House (Venue 170)
WHEN: 18:30 (55 min)
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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
No. I’ve been coming up for a decade, most notably with a trilogy of shows about how we behave in our romantic relationships. It began with The Science of Sex, which has toured internationally and won awards. The middle part Is Monogamy Dead? spun off into a book and TEDx talk. Now I’m addressing relationship endings in the final part.
What’s the biggest thing to have happened to you since Festivals ’16?
2016 was the first year in many that I didn’t come to Edinburgh. I won a place on a prestigious writers’ retreat at University of Southern California and started writing my book there. The biggest thing is getting that finished and out into world. It’s in lots of shops and getting a great response.
Tell us about your show.
The show was written and developed in 2016 with my director Colin Watkeys (who has worked with the late, great Ken Campbell, Jack Klaff and Claire Dowie). It premiered at Tristan Bates theatre first festival. A programmer from London Southbank was there and asked me to perform it at their festival of love. It was also shortlisted for Funny Women Best Show and has toured to venues including Salisbury Arts Centre and Summerhall (for Edinburgh science festival).
I’ll be performing it at Sheffield’s literary festival Off The Shelf in October. In the show, I interweave breakup emails, comedy, music and a love story to investigate how we might end relationships more compassionately. It’s a mix of funny and poignant.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Some of the hidden gems are on earlier in the day than my show at 6.30pm. But people could see them before or the day after.
Ada Campe, a comedy character creation of actress Naomi Paxton, skilfully weaves comedy, audience participation and magic into a compelling story – with the aid of her psychic duck.
Charmian Hughes has a lovely show this year called Soixante Mirth. It has some similarities to mine in that both involve ghosts from the past and a bit of time travel. She has several meetings with her younger self and wraps it all up in hilarious anecdotes and a wonderfully daft musical ending.
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