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Push The Boat Out, Scotland’s second poetry festival

 Push The Boat Out, Scotland’s second poetry festival, launches inaugural programme on 8 September in Edinburgh

Push The Boat Out (PTBO) Scotland’s newest and most boundary-bending poetry festival, launches its inaugural programme today, Wednesday 8 September in Edinburgh.

Taking place from the 15 – 17 October 2021 within the creative hub of Summerhall, Push The Boat Out will be the second poetry festival ever to be held in Scotland and its aims to do what it says on the tin, by challenging perceptions of what poetry is and how it can be enjoyed.  

Named after the poem “At Eighty” by the first Glasgow poet laureate Edwin Morgan, PTBO is inspired by the vibrancy and range of contemporary poetry, hip hop and spoken word coming out of Scotland, the UK and indeed the world. The aim of the festival is to not only give poetry a new platform, but to create an environment where all variations of this vital artform are encouraged to grow, evolve and even collide. 

Taking place within the creative spaces of Summerhall in Edinburgh, the PTBO programme will seep into every nook and cranny of this established arts venue through multiple means, including film, imagery, song, music, dance, singing, debate and other forms of poetry performance.

Underpinning the festival are four key themes; social justice and representation; healing and recovery; climate crisis and ecopoetics; and virtual and other realities. Audiences can expect first-class performances from around 60 poets, emerging and established, including the newly appointed Scots Makar Kathleen Jamie.

Other key programme highlights include performances by Scottish hip hop legend Solareye /  Dave Hook of Stanley Odd, celebrated Caribbean poet Lorna Goodison, and the author the first-ever poetry collection to win The Guardian First Book Award, Andrew McMillan. Joining them on the many and varied Summerhall ‘stages’ are Roseanne Watt, Hannah Lavery, Nova Scotia the Truth, Harry Josephine Giles, Ray Antrobus, Clare Pollard, Caroline Bird, Salena Godden and many more.

Another key element to the PTBO programme is the Poetry Mile initiative which, through a dedicated web app, allows users to experience Edinburgh differently, filtered through the eyes and ears of some of the country’s finest poets. Featuring over 50 specifically commissioned poems from over 25 poets, all locations featured are within a square mile of Summerhall. The app generates bespoke walking tours depending on the type of experience the user requests to have.

The brainchild of director Jenny Niven, former head of literature at Creative Scotland, and co-founder Kevin Williamson, writer, publisher and founder of the Edinburgh arts events collective Neu! Reekie!, PTBO is convinced of the need for poetry more now than ever before, particularly as we emerge from lengthy lockdowns and seek new ways to express ourselves.

Jenny Niven, co-founder of Push The Boat Out, said: “We are so excited to be launching our inaugural Push The Boat Out programme after what has been a difficult year for everyone, not least those working within the arts.

That said, poetry is all about using language in new ways, to express new experiences, so if ever there was a time to explore this vital and vibrant art form, it is now.

We feel incredibly lucky to be hosting our inaugural festival in a city so full of talent, at a time when there is so much to say, and off the back of a summer festival season that saw performance take over more city spaces than ever before.

With performers and artists spanning the full spectrum of this spectacular artform, from classical verse to hip hop, we can’t wait for audiences to come along and enjoy.”

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THE CAT AND THE CANARY @ THEATRE ROYAL, GLASGOW MONDAY 13 - SATURDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2021

 BILL KENWRIGHT PRESENTS

THE CLASSIC THRILLER THEATRE COMPANY

 THE CAT AND THE CANARY

THE CREEPY COMEDY THRILLER BY JOHN WILLARD

ADAPTED BY CARL GROSE

 STARRING ANTONY COSTA, TRACY SHAW, MARTI WEBB

GARY WEBSTER, BEN NEALON, ERIC CARTE

AND  BRITT EKLAND

 THEATRE ROYAL, GLASGOW

MONDAY 13 - SATURDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2021

 Bill Kenwright, The Classic Thriller Theatre Company and Theatre Royal, Glasgow are pleased to welcome the creepy comedy thriller The Cat and the Canary next week as part of a UK tour.

 The stage adaptation of John Willard’s screenplay of the same name, The Cat and the Canary is the third show to be staged at Theatre Royal since it reopened on Sunday 5 September.

 Starring silver screen and Bond-girl legend Britt Ekland, the chilling play is set 20 years after the death of Mr West as his descendants gather to learn who will inherit his vast wealth and the hidden family jewels. Within moments, the heritage hunters turn into prey. Walls crack open, shadows loom, and dark secrets are revealed.

  Britt is perhaps best known for The Man with The Golden Gun with Roger Moore, The Wicker Man with Christopher Lee, and Get Carter with Michael Caine. She stars alongside singer-songw riter, actor and former member of the internationally successful 00’s boy band Blue, Antony Costa, and Tracy Shaw, best known for her long-running role as Maxine Peacock in Coronation Street. They are joined by West End leading lady Marti Webb, whose credits include Evita and Tell Me on A Sunday; Gary Webster, who played Gary Costello in Family Affairs and Ray Daley opposite George Cole in ITV’s Minder; Classic Thriller Theatre Company veteran Ben Nealon, who played Lt. Forsythe in the drama series Soldier Soldier, and Eric Carte, who played Geoff Roberts in two series of Bouquet of Barbed Wire. The cast is completed by Priyasasha Kumari, Martin Carroll, Jack Taylor and Clara Darcy.

 The Cat and The Canary is director Roy Marsden’s fifth Classic Thriller Theatre Company production. Other credits include the West End premieres of Agatha Christie’s A Daughter’s a Daughter at the Trafalgar Studios and Noël Coward’s Volcano at the Vaudeville Theatre. As an actor, he is well-known to television audiences as Inspector Dalgliesh in the long-running P.D. James series.

  Adaptor Carl Grose was, until recently, co-artistic director of Kneehigh Theatre. His numerous plays and adaptations include book and lyrics for The Grinning Man, which Tom Morris directed at the Trafalgar Studios in 2017.

 Designer takis’s diverse international credits include In the Heights, Gifford’s Circus and the Royal Opera.

 Lighting Designer Chris Davey’s work includes Witness for the Prosecution at London’s County Hall and Touching the Void at the Duke of York’s Theatre.

 Dan Samson is resident Sound Designer for The Classic Thriller Theatre Company. West End credits include Heathers at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and Evita at the Dominion Theatre.

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The Enemy (NTS)

 The National Theatre of Scotland presents 

The Enemy 

by Kieran Hurley after Henrik Ibsen’s ‘An Enemy of the People’ 

Directed by Finn den Hertog, video design Lewis den Hertog, sound design Matt Padden, original set design Rosanna Vize, composer Kathryn Joseph, lighting designer Katharine Williams, set and costume designer Jen McGinley, co-movement directors Vicki Manderson and Robbie Gordon, assistant director Leonie Rae Gasson

 Cast: Hannah Donaldson, Billy Mack, Neil McKinven, Taqi Nazeer, Gabriel Quigley and Eléna Redmond 

  Touring to Greenock, Dundee, Edinburgh, Inverness and Perth in October and November 2021 

Opening performance at Dundee Rep on Wednesday 13 October 2021 

Henrik Ibsen’s iconic play An Enemy of the People is given a contemporary Scottish re-imagining in

this brand-new stage adaptation from the award-winning team of playwright Kieran Hurley and director Finn den Hertog.  

In a once-proud Scottish industrial town, a massive redevelopment project promises to bring money, jobs, and new prospects to its forgotten population. However, when Kirsten Stockmann discovers a dangerous secret, she knows she must bring the truth to light - no matter the cost. 

This urgent, provocative new production feels increasingly relevant in 2021. Set during a public health crisis, The Enemy scrutinises corruption and power amidst a changing media landscape and explores what it means to hold power to account in a post-truth political world.  

Members of the original cast are reunited following the production’s delayed premiere. In this radical reworking of the classic drama the roles of Dr Stockman and his brother are played by women. The Stockmann sisters are played by Hannah Donaldson and Gabriel Quigley and are joined by a leading Scottish ensemble of actors: Billy Mack, Neil McKinven, Taqi Nazeer and Eléna Redmond.  

  Featuring a brooding original soundtrack from award-winning composer Kathryn Joseph and startling live video, The Enemy is a uniquely contemporary and Scottish take on Ibsen’s timeless work. This tour marks the first time that a version of Ibsen’s classic play has been staged in Scotland for over forty years. 

National Theatre of Scotland is delighted to be returning to Scotland’s live stages in autumn 2021, with the Company’s first national tour since venues were closed due to COVID-19 in 2020. The production will now tour to venues across Scotland in October and November 2021 including the Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock, Dundee Rep Theatre, King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Eden Court Theatre, Inverness and Perth Theatre.  The production was in rehearsal when the pandemic halted its original tour in Spring 2020.

Jackie Wylie, Artistic Director of National Theatre of Scotland says:

“We are more than thrilled to be returning to live audiences and communities across Scotland this autumn with an exciting new adaption of Ibsen’s The Enemy, adapted by the brilliant theatre-making team of writer Kieran Hurley and director Finn den Hertog. It seems entirely fitting that our first post lockdown tour is the show that was in rehearsal when COVID-19 closed Scottish theatres for over 18 months. I am both joyful and relieved that the Company is back on the road taking theatre across Scotland, connecting with theatres and audiences again and sharing the unique experience of live performance that we have missed for so long.”

Kieran Hurley says:

“It is a real joy to be able to bring The Enemy to audiences at last, after this long hiatus. When we went into lockdown in March last year we were literally on the verge of going into rehearsals, and things have been so uncertain that there was never a guarantee we'd be back in this place. So it feels like a triumph of everyone's determination and hard work to even be here at all, bringing a new production to live audiences which is what it's all about. What's really fascinating to me though is how the pandemic has at times mirrored the world of the play, casting its conversation about a society in the grip of a public health crisis in a whole new light. What we thought was an adaption focused on quite current themes of fake news, distrust of experts, and the treacherous whirlwind of public opinion in an age of social media has now taken on a whole new contemporary relevance that we could never have predicted in a million years. It's been genuinely surreal, and testament I suppose to the enduring relevance of Ibsen's original. It's been a long uncertain wait but maybe, in all of this, the play has somehow found its moment.”

Kieran Hurley is an award-winning writer, performer, and theatre maker based in Glasgow. His recent work has included the stage hits Mouthpiece, Square Go, and Heads Up, as well as the Scottish BAFTA-winning film Beats, based on his acclaimed stage play of the same name. His previous project with the National Theatre of Scotland, Rantin, was presented in collaboration with The Arches, and toured Scotland in 2014.  

Finn den Hertog is an award-winning director and actor who has worked with theatre companies across the UK including The Traverse, The Young Vic and The National Theatre. Previous work with National Theatre of Scotland includes The Auteurs Project in 2014, as well as appearing in Abi Morgan’s play 27 in 2012. In 2018 he directed the award-winning production of Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair’s play Square Go for Francesca Moody Productions. 

Join the conversation: #TheEnemy 

Touring to Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock (Preview 9 October), Dundee Rep (Preview 12 October & 13 -16 October); Kings Theatre, Edinburgh (20 - 23 October); Eden Court, Inverness (27 - 30 October); Perth Theatre (3 - 6 November) 

Full tour dates, booking info and social distancing guidance: nationaltheatrescotland.com

Listing Information

Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock

Sat 9 Oct, 7.30pm (Preview)

Tickets: £8 - £10

www.beaconartscentre.co.uk

Dundee Rep

Tue 12 (Preview) – Sat 16 Oct, 7.30pm. Sat 16 Oct, 2.30pm

Tickets: £10 - £25

www.dundeerep.co.uk

Access: 15 Oct 7.30pm - BSL,16 Oct, 2.30pm - AD, CAP

King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

Wed 20 – Sat 23 Oct, 7.30pm. Sat 23 Oct, 2.30pm

Tickets: £15 - £33.50

www.capitaltheatres.com

Access: 21 Oct, 7.30pm – CAP, 23 Oct, 2.30pm - AD, BSL

Eden Court, Inverness

Wed 27 – Sat 30 Oct, 7.30pm

Tickets: £10 - £25

www.eden-court.co.uk

Access: 29 Oct, 7.30pm – CAP, 30 Oct, 7.30pm - AD, BSL

Perth Theatre

Wed 3 – Sat 6 Nov, 7.30pm. Sat 6 Nov, 2.30pm

Tickets: £11 - £27

www.horsecross.co.uk

Access: 5 Nov, 7.30pm - AD, CAP, 6 Nov, 2.30pm – BSL

Age Guidance, 16+

Theatre for a Fiver - £5 ticket deals and discount codes for 16 - 26 year olds. Full info here

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The Edinburgh Playhouse is set to reopen its doors to a full capacity audience.

 It’s time.

 It is with great excitement that the Edinburgh Playhouse, the UK’s largest all seated theatre, announces its eagerly awaited reopening date after more than 500 days of closure due to the coronavirus restrictions.

Following the Scottish Government’s announcement [on Tuesday 3rd August], removing all legal restrictions for venues and the capacity dispensation granted by the Edinburgh City Council [on Thursday 19th August], the Edinburgh Playhouse will open its doors on Sunday 5th September 2021 with two sold out performances.

Colin Marr, Theatre Director at the Edinburgh Playhouse said “I am absolutely thrilled to be able to reopen our theatre doors after more than 500 days of closure.  It has been a very difficult time for everyone and to be given the go ahead to reopen this iconic venue, is an incredible feeling.  I can’t wait to welcome back my full team, our wonderful audience members and the incredible gigs, comedians and musicals that we’ve all missed so much this last year and a half.”

The Playhouse will open on Sunday 5th September with two sold out performances of the smash hit podcast Shagged, Married, Annoyed with Chris & Rosie Ramsey.  

This will be followed by the award-winning Dolly Parton musical 9 to 5, which opens with our Gala performance on Tuesday 14th September.  Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Chicago the Musical, Steve Hackett - Genesis Revisited and Gary Mullen & The Works performing One Night of Queen, Riverdance – 25th Anniversary Tour and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast are just some of the highlights to look forward to in the coming weeks.  

The 3059 capacity venue was in the middle of a 25 week record-breaking run of Disney’s The Lion King, when it closed its doors on Monday 16th March 2020 following Government guidance aimed to limit the spread of Covid-19, before a mandatory closure notice was given by the Scottish and UK Governments on Monday 23rd March 2020 as part of a nationwide lockdown.  

Upon reopening on Sunday 5th September, the Playhouse will have been closed 536 days.  

The Edinburgh Playhouse is part of Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), a leading live entertainment company with venues across the globe.

  Ambassador Theatre Group has a comprehensive framework of control measures that Theatre Operators follow to ensure all venues comply with the requirements set out by UK and Scottish Governments and Health Authorities to be Covid-Secure, thus ensuring the safety of staff, production companies, third parties and audiences.

Once audiences have purchased tickets, they will be contacted just ahead of their visit to confirm the details of what they can expect, so that they can be confident that venues will be operating in accordance with the most up-to-date guidelines (including mandatory face coverings in Scotland, eTickets, the option of refreshments delivered to seats, contactless payments and hand sanitiser stations).

In addition to Scottish Government and sector guidance (and in line with Ambassador Theatre Group venues UK-wide) we are also asking audiences for proof of Covid status (over the age of 18, full vaccination or negative test within 48 hours) and have introduced additional safety measures at the Edinburgh Playhouse including staggered arrival times and designated entry points.

 CONTACTLESS TICKETS INFORMATION

Ambassador Theatre Group venues are now operating a contactless ticketing system. eTickets are now the primary and default delivery method for all bookings and are sent to customers within two weeks of their selected performance’s date. The design allows ATG to detail door entry points, staggered entry times and any Covid safety guidelines as appropriate. Audiences simply show the eTicket on their mobile device, or bring along a print out. This change is a necessary step in increasing safety and hygiene and improving the overall booking experience in ATG’s venues.

 REOPENING SHOW INFORMATION

SUN 5 SEP: 3pm & 8pm: Shagged, Married, Annoyed Podcast with Chris & Rosie Ramsey

TUE 14 - SAT 18 SEP: 9 to 5 the Musical

SUN 19 SEP: One Night of Queen - Performed by Gary Mullen & The Works

MON 20 SEP: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

SAT 25 SEP: Steve Hackett Genesis Revisited - Seconds Out & More

MON 27 SEP - SAT 2 OCT: Chicago the Musical

TUE 5 & 6 OCT: Riverdance – 25th Anniversary Tour

TUE 12 OCT – SAT 16 OCT – Blood Brothers

THUR 21 OCT – SAT 27 NOV – Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

www.atgtickets.com/edinburgh

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THE MALTINGS THEATRE ST ALBANS: 2021 autumn programme

September 7th – November 27th

   The Maltings Theatre, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary under the Artistic Directorship of Adam Nichols and his company OVO, opens its 2021 autumn season on September 7th with a rousing programme of drama, comedy, opera, live music and song. 

Strong female leads power OVO’s own productions:  Vinegar Tom, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and Hedda Gabler while Dyad Productions opens the autumn season on September 7th with the one-woman show, A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN, based on Virginia Woolf’s classic 1928 and performed by the actor, writer, producer Rebecca Vaughan.

 September 21st-24th sees Charles Court Opera present Gilbert & Sullivan’s evergreen comic opera THE MIKADO. 

September 30th-October 2nd journalist turned writer/performer Osman Baig (photo left: Tristram Kenton) stages his dazzling, critically acclaimed, one-man show, FAKE NEWS. 

October 12th-23rd OVO presents a re-mixed, musical version of Christopher Hampton’s classic social drama LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES and from October 28th to November 6th award-winning director Matthew Parker presents OVO’s production of Caryl Churchill’s searing drama, VINEGAR TOM. 

 Closing the autumn season is OVO’s new production of Henrik Ibsen’s classic drama HEDDA GABLER which runs from November 16th-27th, directed by OVO’s Associate Director Janet Podd.

 Adam Nichols, OVO Artistic Director says: “We’re so excited about this autumn’s programme with its wide variety of productions and emphasis on strong female protaganists.  I’m extremely proud to be presenting Osman Baig’s outstanding one-man show, Fake News, hot on the heels of its run at the Bridge Theatre in London and A Room of One’s Own whose run we had to cancel last year due to the pandemic. 

 “I’ll be directing Les Liaisons Dangereuses and I’m delighted Charles Court Opera continue their association with us by bringing their very funny production of The Mikado to The Maltings stage.  Matthew Parker will bring Caryl Churchill’s blistering Vinegar Tom to life and I can’t wait to see what Janet Podd does with Hedda Gabler, one of my favourite dramas.

  “We recently completed seven weeks of drama, music, opera, and comedy at The Roman Theatre Open Air Festival where we more than doubled our audience from last year.  We then took our Roman Theatre production of The Winter’s Tale to the fabulous Minack Theatre in Cornwall for ten days in July.

 “We continued to manage rules and regulations during the first part of this year with the presentation of theatrical treasures in Hertfordshire, Cornwall and online.  And now we’re looking forward to welcoming capacity audiences to the Maltings Theatre from September 7th onwards for our exciting autumn season.”

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Myra’s Story Wins a Bobby Award

 Today (Sunday 29 August) Myra’s Story, the 5-star sell-out show at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, was presented with the highly-prized Bobby Award at the end of its final performance. 

  In front of a full-house in the Palais de Variété spiegeltent in Assembly George Square Gardens, writer and director Brian Foster, award-winning actor Fíonna Hewitt-Twamley, and Assembly Festival’s Artistic Director, William Burdett-Coutts, received their ‘Bobby’ - Broadway Baby’s top award for outstanding performance at this year’s Festival Fringe. 

L/R Richard Beck, Brian Foster, Fíonna Hewitt-Twamley, William Burdett-Coutts

The Bobby Award, fashioned after the iconic Greyfriars Bobby statue, is awarded to the best of the best at the Fringe, those shows that shine brightest amongst all the festival’s 5-star shows. This year Broadway Baby have awarded just three Bobbys to 5-star shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. 

  Richard Beck Editor of Broadway Baby said: 

“We are delighted to make this award to Myra’s Story this year. There is no single criterion that makes a show Bobby-worthy, it is a combination of things that have simply blown us away and Myra’s Story is an outstanding piece of theatre.” 

  Brian Foster, writer and director of Myra’s Story added: “We are thrilled to receive this award. Myra’s story is a mix of hilarity and heartbreak and it has been amazing to be back on stage performing live to full-houses at the festival this year. We have plans to tour Myra’s Story next year so we hope that as more venues open, more people will get the opportunity to see this fantastic show.” 

  Myra’s Story is about a middle-aged, homeless Dublin street drinker played by Fionna Hewitt-Twamley who is funny, feisty, and foul-mouthed.  She begs from passers-by for her drink money and recreates her hilarious, harrowing, and ultimately heart-breaking backstory. A story that takes her from fresh faced teenage bride with a baby son and all to live for, to the tragic condition she finds herself in today. Audiences laugh and cry, often at the same time, as Myra sweeps them along on a real rollercoaster-of-emotions ride. Playing all the characters, acting out all the incredible events that have led her to alcoholism and destitution, hers is the face we habitually turn our head away from and pretend not to see. In the play, Myra never wallows in self-pity. Never cries. After so many often brutal years spent fighting just to exist on the streets of Dublin, Myra has no tears left to shed

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From the Snug, Episode 3

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Pitlochry Festival Theatre to thank NHS workers with free tickets to Alice in Wonderland World

 Pitlochry Festival Theatre to thank NHS workers with free tickets to Alice in Wonderland World

  As a small thank you for all their amazing work over the last 18 months, Pitlochry Festival Theatre are offering all NHS workers up to 4 free tickets to Alice in Wonderland World, the theatre’s exciting new interactive, visual, and bilingual sound, walk-through adventure.

 Amy Liptrott, Associate Director at Pitlochry Festival Theatre said:

“ To all the amazing NHS workers, we would love to invite you and your families to enjoy the wonderful Alice in Wonderland World interactive experience in our beautiful gardens in Pitlochry as a small but heartfelt thank you for all your amazing work.” 

 Alice’s adventures are brought to life in Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s beautiful Explorers' Garden where visitors can become one of the many brilliant characters she meets! Alice can’t find the White Rabbit, and we can’t find the Cheshire Cat – can you help? Journey along the Playing Card Path, through the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, play a Gigantic Game of Chess in the Red Queen’s pillared Garden, see the White Queen’s Palace appearing amongst the trees, meet the giant cuddly Caterpillar and join the search for the Cheshire Cat! Visitors will hear actors telling the story in English and Gaelic on audio through new beacon technology on their own device, along with the visual delights, and they will get a handout map to set them on their magical journey through Alice in Wonderland World.

 As well as the App, ticket bookers can download from the theatre’s website a booklet as part of the theatre’s Build Your Own Theatre series, which will share tips on how you can make easy costumes and dress up to make your visit to the garden even more memorable. This is also in Gaelic and English.

  Alice in Wonderland World runs until 12 September from Thursdays-Sundays between 12-5pm. Last entry is at 4pm.

 NHS Alice in Wonderland World tickets are available by calling the Pitlochry Festival Theatre box office on 01796 484626.

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Kill Dramaturgy Now

 Kill Me Now is a digital, dramatic experience performed as a real life live Zoom webinar written by award winning playwright Rhiannon Boyle. This funny, heart wrenching one woman play, developed in lockdown specifically for a virtual audience, explores a new form taking live performance to a place we have never EVER been before. An innovative, hilarious yet poignant production which will be presented in collaboration with critically acclaimed Welsh new writing theatre company Dirty Protest.

And for the first predictable question: what was the inspiration for your show?

The story and the themes of the play lie very close to my heart as someone who lost my father after years of him suffering with the long term degenerative disease MS. I wanted to write a play about losing my Dad but because I have a very dark sense of humour, I wanted it to be funny. 

My producers, Dirty Protest, and I spoke about the main character maybe giving a TED talk or being an expert in the one thing she has no idea how to deal with – her grief. That’s why I decided to make her an undertaker who is selling the franchise model of her business Joyful Endings Funerals, which is basically end-of-life celebrations that are more ‘fun’ than funeral.

  How far does it fit within your usual work, and do you have a particular dramaturgical approach to creating a production?

I like dark comedy and so I suppose all my writing explores heavy themes in way that always find the light and humour. When I create I usually start by exploring the thing that I want to say. What’s the argument? What’s the issue? What’s the thing that’s made me angry or sad? I then do lots of work on the characters writing pages and pages on their past, personality traits, their hopes and fears. 

When I’ve done all that I get to the story. My mantra is - spew then sculpt. I get it all out onto the page and then I’ll go back and look at how it fits into the Five Act Structure. Where is the inciting incident? Midpoint? Climax? What’s the character’s journey and how do they change? After all that it’s time to hand it over and get an outside opinion; a dramaturg or a director who I can really trust to help me develop it further.

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?

Not really. I write for TV, radio, theatre and now online. I like mixing it up and practicing different disciplines for different mediums and platforms.

 What are you hoping that the audience will experience?

 The play is a comedy set in covid times and will offer audiences some much needed fun and relief. The play deals with the themes of grief and so we will reach out and connect with audiences and communities experiencing grief at this time - whether that be grieving loved ones, grieving theatrical experiences or grieving our old lives. We are living in a time where we are all collectively grieving and connecting with others and making sense of it all whilst finding the light and humour can be a very powerful healing process.

  How have you found the challenge of creating a production online? Has it been positive or negative and have there been any surprises?

It’s been brilliant fun. We tested the show out on a live audience and they absolutely loved it! I think because we’ve purposefully written this play for Zoom as a live Zoom webinar using all its interactive features it just really works. This is NOT online theatre. It’s a dramatic, digital, interactive experience and we can’t wait to share it with new audiences.

I have always asked about the role of theatre in public debate, but this now seems even more relevant. In the current landscape, what does theatre or performance have to give to the public sphere?

Hope. Connection. If we’ve learned anything during this pandemic it’s that everything around us – economies, services, industries and infrastructures – are so fragile. When everything ground to a halt and ceased, for me, it was connection to other human beings that kept me going. Love, compassion, kindness and trying to make sense of it all together.

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Dramaturgy 9

 Screen 9 

Pleasance @ EICC (Lomond), 150 Morrison Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8EE Tuesday 10th – Sunday 29th August 2021 (not 16th, 23rd) 

At the Colorado premiere of The Dark Knight Rises, gun violence turned a celebration of cinema  to tragedy. Devastated by one man’s actions, a community refused to be torn apart. This hard 

hitting verbatim piece follows the survivors’ remarkable testimonies of the infamous Batman  

Shootings, as they attempted to respond and recover from the tragedy.  

Bold new company Piccolo Theatre - this year’s recipient of the Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill  

Theatre Reserve - are striving to create cutting-edge and thought-provoking theatre. Exploring  

the life-altering impact of a mass shooting, their first production Screen 9 reclaims the story of  

the survivors to interrogate the debate around gun violence. It explores how such a horrific  

event could take place at a beloved institution like a cinema and looks at our relationship with  

watching movies. As we approach the ten year anniversary of the massacre, Piccolo Theatre  

have spoken with those connected to the shootings and spent time spent in America, in order to  gain a much greater understanding of American culture and the gun crisis. 

Screen 9 brings to life four fictional characters based on real people and their very real  

experiences: a parent; a survivor who is also a first responder; a woman who watched her  

boyfriend die; and someone who simply came to a movie with life-altering consequences. 

This is their story and every line comes from an actual survivor’s words, whether in testimony, 

news accounts, social media or conversation. The production does not seek to glorify violence,  

but instead focuses sensitively on a tragedy that could have been prevented and how the  

individuals respond and create a community.  

Writer and director Kate Barton comments:

In a time where so much press attention is on the  politics, violence and devastation, this show is taking some time out to focus on the very real people affected the most by mass shootings in America. It’s a story of survival, community and  hope in the wake of unimaginable tragedy in a place you would usually consider safe. This is an  exciting debut for Piccolo and we can’t wait to share their stories with Edinburgh and the world. 

And for the first predictable question: what was the inspiration for your show?

I went to the Cinema in Huddersfield the day the film opened in the UK, and I couldn’t believe that across the world something so awful had happened in a place I love. Aurora is a typical case where all of the media attention was on the shooter with their face being splashed across the TV.  I knew I that there was something much more important that I wanted to share about the lives of the survivors and what happened after the media had left.

I think living through an event as tragic as this mass shooting is something that a lot of people around the world can’t comprehend. I certainly couldn’t! How could a space I love like the cinema suddenly be one of fear and death? But that is the reality for Americans right now and it is something I wanted to highlight. We as Europeans are getting so used to it happening across the Atlantic that a shooting which took place ONLY TWO WEEKS ago in a cinema in California, where people died, didn’t even make BBC homepage news… How far does it fit within your usual work, and do you have a particular dramaturgical approach to creating a production?Well…. this is my first script so I’m still working out what my usual work will be …I often say that I didn’t write this script – I researched and dramaturgically compiled it. It’s very much a collage of sorts. There is no one source I spoke to or took information from. Blogs, interviews, news coverage, documentaries – anything in the public domain or text from anyone who had spoken to me directly was taken as direct quotes and compiled together into four character sketches, anonymising details into amalgamated characters. It’s all made from their words and not mine.Do you see your work within any particular tradition?I would say this pieces falls within the verbatim and slightly immersive tradition. To be honest when I set about writing, devising and staging it, I thought of the script and staging as whatever would best suit the story and would generate as much empathy from the audience and truth from the situation as possible. When handling real stories and real words, you have to be so careful about how they come across, and so I wanted to present them with the care and respect they deserve. What are you hoping that the audience will experience?Empathy and compassion for those who lived and continue to live through the effects of such a tragic event on their lives. As well as greater international understanding of the wider conversation around gun control in America.What made you decide to come to the fringe this year?We are the 2021 recipients of the Charlie Hartill Theatre Reserve and so are very fortunate to be supported by the Pleasance who have been instrumental in our development as an emerging company. Offering feedback, rehearsal space, advice and mentorship – we are so grateful for their continued encouragement and support.This year also marks the 9th anniversary of the massacre, something we touch upon in the play. It feels important and right to look to tour it in 2022 with the view to share this story with a national and maybe even an international audience.I have always asked about the role of theatre in public debate, but this now seems even more relevant. In the current landscape, what does theatre or performance have to give to the public sphere? Ooooohhh – that is a great question. I think because theatre is inherently live, it is a place where you can communicate and engage with people in a really personal way – not through a screen. In the last year we’ve endured everything being forced to go digital. I think that has allowed further polarisation of opinion and a rise of the radical right. Live performance is an interesting way of capturing conversation. In our case, it’s a way of humanising individuals who you may disagree with - but through discussion, can move us all together to a more collaborative community and conversation.

Title Screen 9 

Performance Dates Tuesday 10th – 29th August (not 16th, 23rd) 

10th- 15th August, 24th – 29th August – 20:40 

17th – 22nd August – 14:30 

22nd August – captioned performance 

Running Time 55 minutes 

Location Pleasance @ EICC (Lomond), 150 Morrison Street, Edinburgh, EH3 8EE 

Katy Sabrina Wu 

Mary Hannah Schunk-Hockings 

Jonny George Rexstrew 

Alex David Austin-Barnes 

Writer/Director Kate Barton 

Assistant Director Jennifer Baker 

Designer Matthew Jennings 

Accent Coach/Voice over Madeline Edwards 

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Pushing Dramaturgy

 PUSH 

Pleasance Festival Online 

Friday 6th August – Monday 30th August 2021 

A hell of a lot can happen in the time you await the results of a pregnancy test. PUSH is the story  of a woman staring down the barrel of motherhood, torn between her own ambivalence and an  uncontrollable urge to push. 

Award-winning Popelei have burst out of isolation and onto our screens with their darkly comic  theatre production, reimagined for film after its preview at VAULT Festival 2020. Fusing theatre,  movement and dance the company have embraced this new medium, collaborating with  cinematographer Jack Offord. With blistering honesty, exhilarating choreography, and one  extremely knocked-up performer this is an engaging, expressive performance...a show that  captures the blizzard of feelings parents have for their as-yet-unborn children (The Guardian). 

And for the first predictable question: what was the inspiration for your show?

PUSH kind of snuck up on us. Our 2019 show, 100 Years, explored maternal lineage across a century of history and two continents. We were in the rehearsal room, thinking about taking 100 Years further, when we found ourselves asking - what happens if we let go of this epic lens and instead look at a much more condensed moment of motherhood? So with PUSH we’re at the complete other end of the spectrum, exploring just three minutes in time as one woman awaits the results of her pregnancy test.

How far does it fit within your usual work, and do you have a particular dramaturgical approach to creating a production?

 Our last three stage productions have all been one-person shows, so that’s a thread that runs through our work. There is something inherently good about the direct and playful relationship you can have between audience and performer in a one-person show.  We’re  open to different forms and have a very fluid, collaborative practice. We tend to design the process and the dramaturgical approach around the ideas behind each show and the people involved - rather than work to a strict structure.

 PUSH is Popelei’s first film production. Our crew included film and theatre specialists,

which really helped with developing a way of working that honoured the energy and theatricality of the original production.  As well as revisiting digital in the future, we are keen to build on the momentum of our 2020 Women in Lockdown project: a series of 25 original monologues curated from an open call for new work, supported by the Popelei Seed Commission.

 Do you see your work within any particular tradition? Tamsin trained at LeCoq in Paris, and European physical theatre is certainly an influence. Right now, we’re mostly excited to be part of the very current movement of female-led and feminist work in the UK.

What are you hoping that the audience will experience?

 The same invigorating frenzy of feelings that you get from a live show.

 How have you found the challenge of creating a production online? Has it been positive or negative and have there been any surprises?

 Reimagining the stage show of PUSH as a film - that can be accessed digitally at Edfringe - has been hugely positive. It gave us an opportunity to build new collaborations with an insanely clever team of Bristol-based filmmakers, including cinematographer Jack Offord, and really dig into the risks and opportunities of a very different medium. We filmed PUSH in one long and continuous take, in a bid to capture the liveness of Tamsin Hurtado Clarke’s performance, and the energy needed from Tamsin and from every single member of the crew to complete this was a big challenge and a massive adrenaline rush.

 I have always asked about the role of theatre in public debate, but this now seems even more relevant. In the current landscape, what does theatre or performance have to give to the public sphere?

During all this instability and upheaval, hopefully theatre remains one of the more solid spaces in which to connect with each other and, as importantly, ourselves.

PUSH was written in response to the difficulty faced as a woman in her 30s trying to separate  your own life choices from the sense of a biological ticking clock, and the eternal question of  whether to try to become a parent. It was created out of a desire to see the seemingly  mundane moments of a woman’s life portrayed and explored on a grander scale. Here, the  three-minute panic of waiting for the results of a pregnancy test transforms into a full-scale  existential crisis, pulling in physical theatre and dance to express the broad range of complicated  emotions.  

Director Scarlett Plouviez comments, figuring out if, how and when to have a baby has never  been easy. The last year has complicated this even further for many - dating in a time of social  distancing, cancelled fertility appointments, money problems, moving back in with your parents,  the climate crisis...the list goes on. PUSH doesn’t pretend to have an answer to any of this, but  instead holds a mirror up to what it can feel like to experience a sliding-doors moment in your  life, looking down at a pregnancy test and wondering what it is exactly that you want. 

Popelei is an ongoing collaboration between writer-performer Tamsin Hurtado Clarke and  writer-director Scarlett Plouviez, seeking to make performances that are authentic, energetic and hopeful, reflecting the world as they experience it and want it to be. PUSH features an  original soundtrack by a regular Popelei collaborator, the renowned Chilean film and stage  composer Santiago Jara Astaburuaga. 

Title PUSH 

Performance Dates Friday 6th – Monday 30th August 2021 

Available on demand 

Running time 40 minutes 

Created by Popelei 

Performer Tamsin Hurtado Clarke 

Director Scarlett Plouviez 

Producer Penelope Saward 

Composer/Sound Designer Santiago Jara Astaburuaga 

Cinematographer Jack Offord 

Sound Recordist Graeme Willetts 

Assistant Director Anja Kulessa 

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From the Sung: an Edfringe Podcast

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Wings Over Dundee

  Tickets available to book now  

Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre are thrilled to confirm that after 18 months they will once again open their doors to audiences on 7 September with the World Premiere of Wings Around Dundee by playwright John McCann, a highlight of a newly announced autumn season of live and digital shows focused on celebrating the community spirit and giving thanks to the people of Dundee and wider Scotland who have engaged with and supported Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre during this challenging time.

The season also includes a long-awaited return of such critically acclaimed shows as Antigone, Interrupted which will see Scottish Dance Theatre touring for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, and TuTuMucky, a smash hit from Botis Seva blending hip hop, ballet and contemporary dance. The National Theatre of Scotland will return once again with the World Premiere of The Enemy opening at The Rep and the season will climax with a new musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol - created in collaboration with Noisemaker - to spread the holiday cheer around Dundee and an ambitious Community Engagement programme including Sinder / Every Map Has A Scale and a world-class dance and theatre offer for people of all ages.

Both companies have carried out careful and detailed planning in preparation for the re-opening to ensure their operations follow the Covid-19 Scottish Government guidance with the safety of audiences, artists and staff being the top priority.

Dundee Rep’s Artistic Director Andrew Panton said: “What an amazing feeling to be welcoming audiences back into the Rep after such a long period. Our autumn season celebrates the work of our two ensembles with world premieres and new films capturing their collaborations over the past months in our communities. We also continue working with the most exciting freelance theatre, dance and music artists who have consistently innovated whilst our theatre has been closed. I’m thrilled that Rep Studios will continue alongside our in person work, so that anyone anywhere can continue to have access to the work of Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre.”

Scottish Dance Theatre Artistic Director Joan Clevillé said: “Our autumn season reflects the wide range of dance experiences that Scottish Dance Theatre can offer, and our commitment as a resource for the development of artistic and civic communities. I am thrilled by the prospect of safely welcoming audiences back into theatre spaces, but I am equally excited by continuing our artistic journey into the digital medium, which has allowed us to connect with audiences all over the world.”

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Ithaca: on demand

 Ithaca 

Edinburgh Fringe On Demand - Friday 6th – Monday 30th August 2021 

Ithaca is an autobiographical feminist one-woman adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey from writer  

and performer Phoebe Angeni. Exploring contemporary social issues, Ithaca follows the journey  of Nobody, a feminine aspect of Odysseus, as she re-defines her relationship with self and  

home. Fantasy and reality merge in this new dynamic and darkly comic production about 

Nobody’s journey to find home, while creating space and a voice for herself within a world and  

body, which seem to forcefully reject her. 

Ithaca is a stage-for-screen production where black box theatre meets experimental film. While  the play draws heavily from Homer’s work, Angeni has taken its broad themes and used them to  tell her own story, having always related to the obstacles Odysseus faces. By playing a female  

version of Odysseus as well as embodying the invisible monsters, she is able to represent her  

authentic experience and place the fuller figured female body in a position of heroism. 

Through the lens of an unconventional heroine, Ithaca examines crucial social issues such as fat 

phobia, bullying, domestic harassment, mental health, chronic illness and immigration. Sadly  

these are all things Angeni has experienced herself having had to go to court to get a lifetime  

restraining order for domestic harassment against her biological father, her experience of  

immigration difficulties between the UK and US and her anxiety issues and depression no doubt  exacerbated by her class at school forming the ‘I Hate Fat Phoebe’ club. Angeni has been able  

to move through her traumas and aims for this work to be a positive portrayal of what is  

possible when you overcome obstacles!  

And for the first predictable question: what was the inspiration for your show?

Since I first picked it up at about age twelve, I’ve been inspired by Homer’s Odyssey. Thirteen or so years and a handful of translations later and I still resonate with Odysseus’ journey towards home and selfhood in the face of great challenges. I’ve always wanted to create a work based on The Odyssey, and when the pandemic hit and lockdowns began I decided it was finally time to check this show off my bucket list!

 How far does it fit within your usual work, and do you have a particular dramaturgical approach to creating a production?

Much of my work so far has involved Classical texts; however, this piece is a major departure in the fact that, as a poet, it is the first full play I’ve written. As a performer, it’s also a change and introspective challenge to be playing a character based on myself rather than one that someone else has written for me. In addition, this is the first play I’ve produced and directed; however, I have previously produced and directed short films, which very much came in handy given the fact that Ithaca is a digital piece.

In terms of my general approach to creating a production, I can be quite eclectic. I have sub-threshold ADHD, so my first step is always to create focus by setting out plot structure and detailed thoughts/aims for my work scene by scene. This initial outline allows me to jump around within the show as I research and new ideas come to me. I then piece the project together, re-arranging my thoughts like puzzle pieces until they take their final shape.

For Ithaca, I broke down Homer’s epic into its main events and themes, picked out the chapters central to Odysseus, transposed my life story into the place of Odysseus’, and then ran with it. I wanted to create a show that brings Classical Epic into the contemporary age. Ithaca is a piece that experiments with theatrical format and conventions, that raises awareness for social issues, and that anyone can watch and resonate with – whether or not they have read The Odyssey.

 Do you see your work within any particular tradition?

I’d say the best way to describe my work is experimental. I’m inspired by Classical texts, mythology, and physical theatre. I love to link history with the modern-day and I enjoy emphasising the body as geography within which I can explore current socio-political issues. 

Poetry and experimental film also both inform the style in which I present my work, as I focus heavily on how my text sounds, how the lines of dialogue bounce with one another, and how I can create a visually evocative experience. I’m also especially inspired by surrealism and other artistic genres that seek to explore the subconscious and lines between fantasy and reality.

 What are you hoping that the audience will experience?

Ithaca takes place in a very intimate space and features techniques and effects designed to be absorptive, so I’m hoping that the audience feels as if they’re in the room with me as I perform the show. 

I hope the experience will be inspiring and thought-provoking both in terms of the style of the show and the social issues featured within the plot. If audience members resonate with the journey of my central character, Nobody, I hope that they will feel her strength and that they will leave the show with a sense of catharsis, empowerment, and hope.

  How have you found the challenge of creating a production online? Has it been positive or negative and have there been any surprises?

Creating a digital show has definitely been a challenge, but it has also given me the amazing opportunity to expand my knowledge of pre and post-production. Since the pandemic, I found myself as a one-woman operation both on and off-stage and the format of creating a digital piece allowed me to not only write and perform Ithaca, but also to direct, film, and edit the show.

 Having my hand in every element of production allowed me to shape the show into a distilled expression of my creative vision. The most difficult aspect of production was operating in a sixteen square foot room with fairly limited technology and only myself as both performer and camera operator. The challenges and restrictions I faced throughout production, however, also pushed me to think outside of my expectations and create a piece that ultimately took on a life of its own!

 I have always asked about the role of theatre in public debate, but this now seems even more relevant. In the current landscape, what does theatre or performance have to give to the public sphere?

I believe in theatre’s gift of perspective and empathetic connection. In a world both recovering from and still amidst a pandemic, connection is something that we all deeply crave and throughout this past couple of years connection has increasingly come from digital platforms. 

Theatre has always given its audiences something great to be a part of – a community, a story, a space. Digital theatre will not replace live shows, but it democratises performance, both connecting artists across the globe and ensuring that communities with accessibility requirements aren’t left behind as traditional spaces re-open.

At its best, theatre is by and for the people and should reflect our truth, bring us together, and advocate for a better future. Theatre is for socio-political examination, to reflect the light and shadow of society, and theatre is also for experimentation – to show the world its potential.

Title Ithaca 

Performance Dates Friday 6th – Monday 30th August 2021 

Available on demand 

Running Time 60 minutes 

Box Office Tickets are available from www.edfringe.com priced £9 (£5) 

Instagram @phoebe.angeni, @offrecordangeni, #IthacaEdinburgh Twitter @PhoebeAngeni, #IthacaEdinburgh 

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Where Does the Dramaturgy Go? Zach & Viggo @ Edfringe 2018

Zach & Viggo + Thumpasaurus: Where Does The Love Go?

Underbelly Cowgate – Belly Button

9:20pm

August 2nd – 26th

(not 8th or 13th 

I am bit out of it when it comes to music: can you help me with a quick description of where the band's music fits into music history: what is punk-funk, where does it come from and where is it going?

Thumpasaurus draws its influence from a species of shamanic dinosaur that existed in pre-historic times. Similar to the band Funkadelic, they create a universe full of homemade characters that reflect all sides of their different musical personalities. They specialize in making people dance, sweat and have a great time, creating a space for festival goers to release themselves from the intensity of the fringe. 

How on earth did an underground LA punk-funk band and Norwegian-American comedy duo end up working together?

Zach and Lucas (the lead singer of Thump) met in LA a few years ago while dating two girls that were best friends. The two boys fell madly in love with their girlfriends and started hanging out loads - eating at taco trucks and ramen spots all over town. A few months into the friendship they both got dumped and were completely heartbroken. The two boys met up at a diner really late at night, Lucas showed Zach an opera he was working on, and they decided to give it a go. 

And what made you go for opera? Can you even have a funky opera at all?

When you say opera people think of a lot specific elements but really an opera is just a narrative piece expressed entirely by music. Thump is a funk band so when they wrote an opera, of course it was funky.  But funk is as much a mentality as it is a sound. There’s a New Yorker piece on George Clinton that really captures the essence of funk

- If you surrender yourself to their music, there would always be a place for you on the Holy Mothership. If you just stood there, with your arms folded, you were probably down with Sir Nose ‘DVoidoffunk, a killjoy who promises he will ‘never dance’.

And what experience do you think the audience will have?

Of course we want everyone to be blown away and leave with a newfound love for life - but above all we just want everyone to have a good time. Most people think of chaos and idiocy when they think of us but there’s still a strong theatrical element to what we create. We’re hoping to go further in that direction this year and see where it goes. 

I am vaguely better on the idea of love (although people will disagree if they know me), so I feel better qualified to ask about this part of the show. You are exploring many kinds of love - can you make a statement about any conclusions that you might be drawing in the production, and any handy advice for a love-struck critic who might be trying to deal with it round about now?

Everyone is perfect, everything is beautiful.  

I am also terrible on comedy.... can you explain to me about your comedy tradition, what kind of humour I might expect and how that fits in the opera and punk-funk context?

So Zach, Viggo and Jonny (director of Zach & Viggo) all met at a clown school in France called Ècole Philippe Gaulier. While we were there we studied Melodrama and some saw some of the funniest things we’ve ever seen on stage. You can’t write better jokes than clowns seriously trying to do dramatic scenes. So the shows not funny but we’re funny so it might be funny.

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/zach-viggo-and-thumpasaurus-where-does-the-love-go

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Stardust Dramaturgy: Miguel H Torres Umba @ Edfringe 2018

How would define the political content of your work?

STARDUST  is a piece that dissects the journey from the coca leaf sacred to indigenous communities in the Amazons and the Andes to a line of Cocaine in a mirror in the fast moving world we live in; a world driven by an insatiable need to consume.

In the piece we talk about the human and cultural cost that cocaine production, traffic and consumption have in communities in Latin America, the general association that Colombians are by default directly linked to cocaine and narcotrafic, the criminal element that is immediately transferd to us as a result of the stigma and how this allows xenophobic narratives and policies to exist. It questions the role played by the Western world in the history that lead to the growing popularity of cocaine, the voracious demand for the drug, the point in which the whole thing became illegal, the economical reality of the illegal trade and where the money actually goes to, the anti drug policies, and of course  the war on drugs and its impact on the less privileged and marginalised communities all over the world - but in particular In Colombia and Latin America.

Yes, we know... this is an gigantic issue, an extremely complex worldwide problem that has millions of sides to it, and strong interest that drive it – there are no easy solutions.

But STARDUST is not a piece created to just deliver information or to provide answers - afterall, the information already exists and can be easily Googled by anyone. So what the piece is intended to do, is to make the journey a relevant one for the audiences and to be an affecting piece of theatre and  to generate a strong emotional connection with the audience inviting them to actively engage and play an active part in the search for change.

STARDUST departs from the understanding that any real change starts with the individual and that in order to generate individual changes we need to touch people’s inner fibers and invite them to empathise, to care.

As humans it is part of our survival instinct not to engage or care for things that don’t affect us, and why would we?  Everyone has enough things to deal without spending  extra energy on things that they don’t really care for.

If we don’t empathise with something or someone, we don’t care about them - and if we don’t care, then we do nothing. And that is exactly where the transformative powers of theatre play a pivotal role. The shared experience of seeing a group of people – actors - go through live struggles in front of our very eyes,  the intimate relationship that can exist  between the audience, the actors and the show, means that people can empathise with a difficult life situation without having to live it themselve, or have a direct connection to those to it through a family member or friend.

With  STARDUST we aim to deliver information and speak out  about a pressing and complex issue but our main goal is to create that that emotional connection with our audience that we know can transform them into active agents of change.

Are there ways in which your work can engage the audience beyond the immediate emotional rush of the content, and move forward towards further action?

There are many things to be done; the issue is complex and around the world individuals and organisations are working tirelessly to find solutions working to change drug policies, supporting problematic users, supporting farmers in small communities in Colombia, supporting farmers and the use of other coca products like teas, creams and shampoos that is happening in Bolivia and parts of Colombia, defending the lives of social leaders who are demanding state support in isolated areas of Colombia and many more. As a theatre company we are particularly encouraged by the potential of channeling our audience’s response to the work and we direct them towards practical steps they can take. In our previous show ‘Pedro and the Captain by Mario Benedetti’ A play about torture, we partnered up with NGO REDRESS who support victims of torture and we gave the audience three simple actions to take, sign a petition, donate, write a letter to a victim.

With STARDUST the journey to define those exact practical actions is still finding its way. People may think we’ll be telling people to stop using cocaine, but that is too simplistic; the issue is much bigger than that- and whilst that is an action some people might chose to make, we are certainly not telling people what to do and it might not necessarily be the only or actual solution. For this show we have counted with the support of the IDCP (International Drug Policy Consortium, RELEASE (UK), ATC (Col) ANZORC (Col) and others who have informed the piece through their knowledge and experience and who have joined us during the post show conversations we organise with the audience, a space where we invite the audience to talk and voice their opinions - which is the very first step to further action and change.

With STARDUST we are not necessarily looking to give answers or solutions, we are looking to connect deeply with the audience and invite them to join us in the conversation, be part of an open an honest dialogue where we question our relationship with the whole issue, the role we play and our share of the responsibility. This might not seem like much, but we strongly believe that further action starts with an emotional reaction and the urgent need to do respond to that emotion. With this show we have seen how are audience is desperate to talk, to share their points of view and to react. Yes, we have heard of radical changes people make in their behavior regarding cocaine and  the way the see the drug issue, cocaine, coca, Colombians and themselves - which is a testimony to what the impact the work can have. And whilst we will continue to try find those exact actions that we might guide people to take, we are motivated by starting a conversation.

How far do the material conditions of the Fringe impact on the process by which you make theatre for it?

This is the first show I’ve taken to the Edinburgh Fringe and whilst the conditions of the Fringe mean the show needs shrunk a bit to fit the space; and also the length, (the piece originally lasted 65 mins and we had to cut five ... not easy) the show since its inception was created with the idea of it being portable and adaptable. STARDUST was initially R&D’d as part of an Artist in Residence program at CASA Latin American Theatre Festival in 2017 and the full production premiered at VAULT festival 2018, so the structure of fringe festivals has already been taken in to consideration.

The main goal with this show was to be able to take the message everywhere and with that in mind the decision for it to be a solo piece came about, as well as the choice to use a minimalist set. The one thing that been important for the work, is not to let the conditions affect the ambition and quality. I tend to see parameters and creative challenges more than limitations; there is so much that can be achieved when there is little. In a way the game is to outwit the conditions; that in itself is exciting and tickles the imagination, challenging creativity and resourcefulness.

I have had the chance to do excerpts of the show in  places without theatrical conditions, places like small galleries and outdoor festivals - and what is initially a bit daunting, has given birth to new solutions and new details that now inform the show. I am very much looking forward to Edinburgh fringe, I am excited to see what new things will come and how the piece will develops.

STARDUST

Pleasance 10 Dome

August 1st – 27th 4.20pm

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/stardust

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In Pursuit of Dramaturgy: The Apex @ Edfringe 2018

What was the inspiration for this performance? It came from a few different places. One was my fascination with the Isles of Scilly and how geographically different they are to the rest of the British Isles, wanting to explore a mystical side to what happens there. Another was my love of all things fantasy, how I've always wanted to bring realms of the mystical into the real world, in particular with Andromeda the folklore of mermaids. How untapped they are in terms of their agenda and what their history is. Finally the big one for me was WWI. My research began at the beginning of 2017 when visiting the Imperial War Museum in London, meeting with chief historians in WWI studies and understanding the horrors that the soldiers went through, not just on the front line, but within themselves, as is the case with Edward. With 2018 being the 100 year anniversary of the armistice of WWI, this story feels somewhat current despite the era it's set within.

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?

I think it’s quite possibly one of the only potentially safe spaces left to have a public discussion of ideas! The idea of holding the mirror up to society is such a powerful image to me that I feel goes hand-in-hand with performance, whether it be a play, musical, dance piece etc. It’s created to make an audience not just question society but also themselves within society and their own role. I normally go to the theatre on my own, sad I know, and I always find that there’s nothing more interesting than when leaving a show and listening in on what people thought of the piece, even more so when two people think to completely different things.

How did you become interested in making performance?

I’ve always been a very ‘hands on’ approach kind of person, especially from a young age and definitely when I was in school. I simply can’t sit behind a desk or watch a demonstration, I have to be very much involved on a physical level.

When I was finishing my final years at secondary school I used to pop up to London on my own and go to watch theatre, in particular to the Royal Court, what I believe to be the home of the most exciting, engaging and thought provoking new writing and performance.

That building inspired me deeply and even does so today, in particular with writing plays, hopefully one day my name will appear on those red neon lights…

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

I’m a meticulous planner. People who know me know that my day-to-day activities have to be structured and thought out, even if it’s a lazy day at home with nothing on the agenda, I’ll still make an effort to prepare the day!

The same goes with the making of a show. When it came to writing In Pursuit of Andromeda I had a story layout, scene/act map, character arc line and research notes galore, I could never write anything cold, there are some who can and I’m in awe of them, but for me it’s all about the preparation down to the very last detail.

As the Polish bar manager said to me at a cocktail bar I used to work at “Fail to prepare then prepare to fail.”

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

This is the first production that I have ever put on, as well as my first written piece! I’m sure lessons and regularity will become clearer once we have finished our time up in Edinburgh, but hopefully this has a life after so maybe anything I learnt that needs working on can be cleared up then…

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope that the audience experiences something new, exciting and breathtaking. In Pursuit of Andromeda is an enchanting little play, littered with beautiful music from our composer Harry Sever and stunning movement from our movement director Micaela Miranda, where after many years of the world tearing itself apart in the most horrific of circumstances, the real world and the fantasy world meet one another to try and put just a little piece of it back together again.

I’ve written the lyrics for all of the songs too so if I get to hear any of them from audience members around the streets or pubs then that’ll be a nice added bonus!

from the vileblog https://ift.tt/2LXIzga