“The Fringe has the one thing that is crucial to any great festival – energy!”
WHO: Jon Lawrence
WHAT: “A heart-warming, poignant and, at times funny play about palliative nurse and ex-singer/songwriter Bronwyn, who is commissioned by her patient (Henry) to write an album of music based on secret poems he had written for his late wife and son (Justin) – words he couldn’t say in person. A premiere from writer and award-winning composer Jon Lawrence, it is based on his own experience and proves that love and life can exist in the strangest places. With brand-new acoustic music, it will have you laughing, crying and singing. A must see!”
WHERE: theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall – Grand Theatre (Venue 53)
WHEN: 14:15 (70 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
No, this will be my second time at the Fringe. I brought two one-man shows to the fringe last year – one music show for kids, which was great fun, and one for the mums and dads about my treks through five deserts on five continents to raise money for a cancer charity in memory of my late father. The great thing about The Fringe, apart from the great depth and breadth of artistic expression, is the camaraderie. Everyone seems to show support for everyone else. I think I thought that there would be lot more egos flying around, but that really wasn’t my experience. It was just a place where some creative, crazy and wonderful people came together because they all had something to say or to share with audiences. The Fringe has the one thing that is crucial to any great festival – energy! It comes from both the performers and the audiences. The audiences come with open minds and are almost willing the performers on, while the performers enthuse the audiences with their stories, their music and their originality. It’s a wonderful symbiotic relationship.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2023 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Last year was a big learning curve for me. I wanted to see how the mechanics of the festival worked. That’s why I brought two small-ish shows to The Fringe. The main thing that I learned was that planning and finance are essential to putting on a show. I learned that one needs to invest in promotion otherwise one could be playing to empty theatres. I also learned that one needs stamina to sustain energy through a run. However, I also learned that Edinburgh is the place for someone like me, someone whose ideas are a little left-field and probably wouldn’t get a sniff in many theatres where revivals seem to be playing at the expense of new work rather than alongside it.
Tell us about your show.
Two Sugars, Stirred to the Left was inspired by the wonderful people who looked after my father during his last days in a hospice (LOROS) in Leicestershire. My father was diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2017., by which time the disease had spread to his spine and hips and he was given weeks to live. The doctor and nurses at the infirmary struggled to manage his pain – particularly at night. It was horrible to watch. However, my sister managed to get my father into the fantastic hospice (LOROS) and what I witnessed there will stay with me forever. The staff did everything they could, and more, for my father. They got his pain under control but they also showed a kindness and compassion which was way above what might be expected. I learned far more about life than I did about death at LOROS.
In the hospice there was a cafe area with an electric piano which I would often play to entertain my Dad or whoever wanted to listen. I thought to myself that if there was a nurse who played piano, they would probably play to entertain patients in their break, such was their kindness. This led me to thinking about the character of Bronwyn.
The play tells the story of Bronwyn, a former singer-songwriter who gave up music to retrain as a palliative nurse, having been inspired by the nurse who looked after her late sister. She befriends a new patient, Henry, who arrives one day with his son Justin. Unbeknownst to his son, Henry has kept a diary of poems, lyrics and stories about his feelings for his late wife Maggie and Justin, which nobody has ever read. A true baby boomer, Henry found it hard to tell his family how he felt about them and so commissions Bronwyn to write a collection of songs which his son can have after he dies. As Justin hears Bronwyn practicing the unknown songs, he starts to fall in love with her – falling love to the songs his father wrote for his mother.
However the play also represents the wider community at the hospice. Amala is a quirky Tibetan tea lady, while Dr Choudry is an Indian oncologist with a heart of gold and a fixation for ‘proper’ Indian tea. Nurse Carole offers tough pragmatic love, while Hamish, a former glaswegian comedian, is in bed next to Henry.
The play is about moments and a reminder that profound life affirming moments can come to us in the strangest places and when we least expect it. I expected the hospice to be all doom and gloom, but I saw that it was a place where life love and music could be found. So the play is, in places, dark, but the overriding feeling is that of love and life affirmation. It also asks the audience to think about our own attitudes to death, and how by seeing how other cultures address the matter, we can take away some of the fear.
This is the first production for our newly formed production company Karekare Productions. We are premiering the play at I, along with my dear friend and sounding board, Lance Mortimer are producing the show, and it has been a real learning curve. Lance’s background is in business psychology while my background is as musician and second-rate teacher! We were both out of our comfort zones but it has, on the whole, been a really rewarding experience. We are looking to take it on tour after the Fringe.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
I would say, check out Wallis at the Space. There are some fantastic actors in that show, not least Rhys Anderson – one to look out for. I would also recommend checking out some of the fantastic musicians that busk each day on the Royal Mile. I am quite new to The Fringe so I am still finding out about many of the great acts.
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