“2022 was a bit of an aberration. It was a very strange fringe.”
WHO: Henry Naylor
WHAT: “What connects two seemingly unrelated killings, 27 years apart? In 1993, Steve’s mother dies suddenly; can he trust GP Harold Shipman’s ‘Natural Causes’ diagnosis? And in 2020, when dozens die in a Yorkshire Care Home; is Covid responsible, or something more sinister? Three-time Fringe First winner Naylor has won over 45 major international fringe theatre awards, and currently holds the IFES World’s Best Fringe Theatre title. Bobby Award-winning, and Outstanding Theatre Award-winning (Brighton Fringe) actress Emily Carding stars, and it’s directed by the SoHo Playhouse (New York)’s Artistic Director, Darren Lee Cole.”
WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot – Dining Room (Venue 14)
WHEN: 16:00 (60 min)
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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
Wow. I think this is my 20th Edinburgh fringe, but I’ve really lost count.
The first production I ever did, was a school play called Aphrodite, written by our English teacher, back in the late eighties. Genuinely, it was one of the most fun things I’ve done in my life. There were nine of us in the cast, and for many it was the first time we’d ever been away from home. I remember drinking alcohol for the first time, getting drunk for the first time and losing my virginity… Beat that for a first Edinburgh fringe experience.
The show was less successful however. We were in a venue miles out of town, and one night we literally played to one man and his dog.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2022 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Not sure I learned too much from 2022. 2022 was a bit of an aberration. It was a very strange fringe. Very post-pandemic. I think last year many punters were still reluctant to sit inside crowded, sweaty rooms watching Fringe shows. Still concerned about catching Covid. Perhaps we got so used to sitting on the sofa watching box sets during the pandemic, that we had to relearn how to go out and watch live shows.
Tell us about your show.
This year’s show is called Let The Bodies Pile. I wrote it after meeting a care home nurse who told me horrific stories of conditions in the home during the Pandemic.
It was in between the two lockdowns, and she had PTSD. She’d been used to preparing one body-bag every couple of months, but suddenly, she found herself preparing five a day..
She was very honest about the mismanagement of the crisis on a governmental, institutional and personal level.
I’d never read accounts like hers in the press. Most of most of the press stories about the care homes during the pandemic were told from the perspective of the relatives of residents who’d died. I’d seen very little about the carers’ experience.
She explained that she felt that she couldn’t go to the press because if she did – and she was found out – she would lose her job. She asked me if I’d write this, but change the details so that she was unrecognisable.
I’ve obviously changed it and fictionalised it. But because of her input, the play has an authenticity, I believe, and rings true.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
I saw Jack Doherty’s show last night, and loved it. Fabulous storytelling. It’s called ‘Jack Docherty in David Bowie and Me.’
Michelle Brasier’s show ‘Reform’ was great, too, about her grapples with a conman. Has a great voice and band, and the story’s fun.
Liz Cotton’s ‘Last Stand on Honey Hill’ is charming, and potty-mouthed, and deals with global environmental concerns on a micro-level. Lovely.
And Tom Crosbie’s ‘Actions Speak Louder Than Nerds,’ is astonishing. Does excellent Rubik’s cube tricks.
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