fringebiscuit

Foodies and music lovers, gather around. We got the opportunity to meet Kate Bauer and James Ireland from Bradán Theatre to discuss the creative process of their latest projects. It’s story time...

Bradán Theatre is an eco-theatre company with a knack for musical storytelling. Their shows My Lover Was a Salmon in the Climate Apocalypse and Cooking the Vegan Salmon of Knowledge tackle large corporations’ accountability in the climate crisis through performances infused with Irish mythology, folk tunes & culinary experiences. 

📸: Rory Gradon

At #edfringe2022 we were 🤩🤩 by My Lover Was a Salmon in the Climate Apocalypse, in which an Irish Folk gig spirals into an absurdist dramedy about the horrors of salmon farming.

Like the committed stalkers theatre groupies that we are, we tracked them down met Bradán last month, following their run of Cooking the Vegan Salmon of Knowledge at the @dublinfringefest. Co-founders Kate & James shared how essential community building & collaboration are for & in their work, from theatre-making to environmentalism…

…After becoming friends at Trinity College, James and Kate got in the habit of cooking together whilst jamming to tunes. The combination of music and food became key. As Kate says: “Music & food are tangible. They are strong things─ people respond to them. Through them, we can think of the environment in tangible, accessible ways”. Not to mention the community-building quality that homemade meals & catchy melodies bring to the table. Environmentalism can be an anxiety-inducing topic, so both shows aim to put audiences in a safe space to tackle it as if getting a “warm hug from the biosphere”... 

📸: Kate Bauer and James Ireland

…Bradán’s creative process marinated within Dublin’s devised theatre scene, which they consider incredibly horizontal. “Collaborative designing streamlines the process & releases [the artist] from the fear”. The approach behind My Lover Was a Salmon in the Climate Apocalypse was super collaborative. Kate and James worked with musicians through a slow-simmering R&D process to strike the right tone before writing down a script for VAULT Festival in London (2022 edition─ cancelled due to the challenges posed by COVID-19’s OMICRON variant), Eventually, the show made its way to #Edfringe22…

…In contrast, Cooking the Vegan Salmon of Knowledge, a culinary performance with live music, stemmed from an article that James wrote in October 2020 and discusses the human impact on the environment through the history of food. The show, which includes a food-tasting experience as part of the community ethos & adds a ritualistic quality with guitar-led melodies, piggybacked on the lessons from Bradán’s run at Edinburgh and strived to create a safe place for audiences… 

📸: Kate Bauer and James Ireland

We got the chance to speak to Erin Fowler about all things #FEMME, discussing the importance of theatre and feminism, as well as what performing means to her. 

📸: Dan Finill

Why FEMME and why now?

"It's an interesting question because I made it in 2018 before #metoo had really come to the fore and every time I perform it I think "maybe it's not relevant any more", this idea around femininity and what it means to be a woman, to be female, to identify as female. But I think now more than ever we're facing ridiculously archaic situations...

"...It was really powerful doing the first show here (House of Oz). I hadn't quite connected to it fully again. Looking everyone in the eye which I do so much, it's like a stadium for people to witness me and to witness each other. I don't know if that's a good thing but it does still feel relevant. "

How does FEMME make you feel and how do you want other people to feel when they watch it?

"For me it's about allowing women, female-identifying people, to feel like their femininity can be whatever they want. This is my exploration of what femininity has meant or been or been challenged by for me..."

"...I hope that it's seen an offering and that it has a sense of solidarity, a sense of understanding for women to think "We don't have to be a certain way to be feminine, we don't even have to be feminine to still be a woman". That relationship is so ever-changing."

Catch Erin's show 'FEMME' on 25 August at #HouseOfOz at 5pm. Her other show 'EGG' is also on #HouseOfOz from the 15th. Erin will also be leading Qoya Feminine Movement Workshops on 20 & 29 August at 11am. 

We at Fringebiscuit love to work ourselves to the bone, unearthing the best and most captivating shows the Edinburgh Fringe has to offer so that you don’t have to. Well, 99% of the time. The other 1% is spent mindlessly scrolling through the Fringe programme highlighting show titles that sound cool. Because why not? Below are the top ten best Edfringe shows that sound like oodles of fun.

Note: We know nothing about these shows. Nothing. We haven’t even read the blurbs. We are wholeheartedly recommending them with zero idea of their content. To the people who say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, this article is not for you. Go read a book. On to the shows!

1. GUIDE TO SURVIVING A MASCULINIST TERRITORY

Many of us navigate masculinist territory every day so some tips on how to do this successfully would be a godsend. For example, if a man catcalls you, is the appropriate response to turn around and bark (as we have been doing)? Genuinely, we need to know.

2. GERTRUDE AND OPHELIA IN HELL

Nothing says #Girlboss like Trudy and Lia giving Satan a taste of his own medicine. We’re expecting an hour-long bitch-fest where the Prince of Darkness gets read. To. Filth. We want pyrotechnics, Satanic dances and a burn book so spicy you’ll need to down a bottle of Gaviscon afterwards— and we assume this show delivers.

3. THE BEST IDEAS HAPPEN IN THE TOILET

We hope this play takes place in a public toilet. Forget hygiene standards, the new Theatre of Cruelty sees us watching Richard III hatch a murder while crouched over a cracked bog. Bonus points for being able to go for a wee without missing any of the show.

4. MY LOVER WAS A SALMON IN THE CLIMATE APOCALYPSE

We are firm believers that love always finds a way. So your lover is a salmon— who are we to judge? In fact, we applaud you and wish you all the best steamy, salmon-loving you can hope for. Presumably, such loving would turn said salmon into a delicious entrée, so this show is probably a (conflicted) tragedy.

5. NASTY: “BIG” GIRLS BEING GROSS, MEAN AND SEXY

Seeing as this show seems to have found our (yes, communal) diary, we expect financial compensation. Or at least free tickets for life. Honestly, there’s nothing we don’t like about this show’s title, and we’ve already gone and got it tattooed across our (yes, communal) arses.

6. LET’S TRY GAY

Yes! We want an all-you-can-eat buffet of gay. Give us endless rounds of gay tapas with bottomless gay sauce for dipping. This title is so simple and yet it promises so much. Like a queer smorgasbord of all things LGBTQA+, please and thank you.

7. ODE TO JOY (HOW GORDON GOT TO GO TO THE NASTY PIG PARTY)

This title alone is a dramatic journey. We’re driving along, humming Beethoven and —whoah— the parentheses open and we have taken a SHARP turn into uncharted territory. We’d like to imagine Gordon goes to a literal pig party with sows doing jäegerbombs and twerking to trap remixes of Animal Farm, the audiobook. We live in hope.

8. GODOT IS A WOMAN

Like Shrek, this title is an onion. There’s Samuel Beckett, there’s gender, but crucially, there’s Ariana Grande. Silent Faces’ nine-hour (we’re assuming) reenactment of Ariana Grande’s hit “God is a Woman” will generate more PhDs than Beckett had prejudices.

9. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST AS PERFORMED BY THREE F*CKING QUEENS AND A DUCK

We greatly appreciate that Out Cast Theatre returns to Wilde’s original text, his first (and too oft overlooked) folio, if you will. We’ve heard rumours that Ian McKellen, in fact, plays the duck, so don’t walk, RUN to get tickets for this show.

10. PLAN V: THE JOYFUL CULT OF PUSSY WORSHIP

So, you’re bringing a shiny, new banger of a show up to the Edinburgh fringe— congrats! But here’s the rub: you don’t have the budget for professional PR services. Never fear! The Fringebiscuit team has put together a list of essential advice for managing your own marketing and promotion. First up…

The crowds of theatregoers (and undercover reviewers) won’t always have time to listen to the full, podcast-worthy pitch for your show. So, make sure you have a short version ready. The traditional “elevator pitch” of around 20 seconds is ideal — and should be just enough time to introduce your show and say what makes it worth seeing.

Sending a press release riddled with spelling errors attached to a poorly formatted email is a surefire way to end up in a publication’s “not interested” pile. Make sure to proofread your content by sending it out to yourself or a trusted friend first.

Make you, your company and your show easy to find by including clickable links in your promo email. Successful marketing often boils down to being more accessible than your competitors!

If your show is ready to go, beat the festival rush by inviting reviewers to pre-fringe previews. Good early reviews can equal sold out audiences from day one.

Please, please remember that your show isn’t a proxy for your worth as an artist or as a person. Be savvy about marketing, but realise that you don’t need an “important message” or “timely theme” for your ideas to be worthwhile.

Some unscrupulous types may ask for money or other types of payment (extra tickets, drinks, food, etc.) in exchange for a review. This is unethical and no reputable reviewer would request anything more than a press ticket to see your show.

Edfringe is a great place to meet producers, programmers, agents, journalists and other industry professionals who can provide you with opportunities. Ensure you aren’t tongue-tied in the moment by brainstorming your goals before the festival begins.

Avoid revealing the best jokes and most thrilling plot points in your press release— save these highlights for the show! On the other hand, “You’ll have to see it to find out” only works if you’ve provided enough set-up about your plot and characters for the reader to care.

Want to pick the brains of an industry professional? Invite them out for a coffee. You don’t need to be previously acquainted— a polite email can work wonders.

From press events to industry workshops, it’s likely that you’ll meet many new contacts while at the fringe. Follow up these interactions with a short email or reach out on social media before you forget.

📸: Graham Clayton Chance

as british as a watermelon was two years in the making. “Originally, it was a live show for Contact, but because of the pandemic, [the theatre] asked if I could create a film.” mandla rae’s (no capitalisation, no pronouns) initial reaction? “I was scared. I knew nothing about film.” Nevertheless, mandla took the plunge. Two years and a successful Edinburgh Fringe run later, the show makes its live premier in Manchester at the Black Gold Arts Festival later this week.

Full disclosure: we’re avid fans of the piece, which sees mandla, through poetry, storytelling and sumptuous visuals, delve into a selective memory to unearth and reassemble fragments of a traumatic past. mandla’s enigmatic persona treats tales of asylum, migration, adoption and abuse like the many watermelons featured— tangible objects to be regarded, explored, cut open and destroyed. Their destruction is profoundly satisfying…

…and reflects a defiant undercurrent in mandla’s work. “I don’t want pity… I don’t want to spell things out. It is as it is: wobbly and wonky.” Watching the round-faced, cheeky smile, you soon realise that pity isn’t an option. Behind the white teeth, mandla— “It means power”— seems ever-so-slightly dangerous.

Since collaborating with director Graham Clayton-Chance and producer Jayne Compton, mandla says, “I have fallen in love with film.” But the live show is a different beast altogether. Originally designed to be small-scale, the pandemic has flipped the script. “Studio shows are out of the window for now, unless you want seven audience members.” Instead, the performance will happen in Contact’s largest theatre space.

Such challenges have become routine. Looking back over the last few years, mandla muses, “I’ve had opportunities to push myself. [Before 2020] I had never done a solo show.” One important source of inspiration was Bryony Kimmings’ standout, one-woman show I’m a Phoenix, Bitch, which was a highlight of Edfringe 2019. mandla, then working at Edinburgh’s Summerhall venue, realised: “I’m interested in making work outside the usual lens of what audiences expect.”

And yet, mandla aims to gradually move away from performing and return to a first love: “I’m a writer. I write. I would do it even without [an audience.]”

Historical storytellers Tell Tale Present teamed up with Shakespeare’s Schoolroom & Guildhall to bring audiences a live and interactive museum tour at Edfringe 2021. Live-streamed from the historic building where Shakespeare himself attended school, this Zoom-based show successfully recreates the experience of an in-person tour, exploiting multiple camera angles to create an engaging piece of family-friendly, interactive theatre.

The set-up is simple: Tudor schoolmaster “Magister Jenkins” (played by the impressively knowledgeable Taresh Solanki) is aided by his cheeky sidekick, “Puck” (the endearingly silly Emma Sian Cooper), as they guide viewers through the museum, exploring curiosities large and small, from the wax tablets boys used to write their lessons, to the master’s chamber, decorated with previously hidden wall paintings. Along the way, virtual visitors are treated to oodles of fascinating trivia from Jenkins, whose inexhaustible knowledge covers everything from Tudor teaching methods to the origins of graffiti carved by students from centuries ago. Meanwhile, Puck provides welcome light relief, revelling in playing pranks when the schoolmaster’s back is turned.

Far from feeling like an inadequate alternative to the “real thing”, the overall tour feels cohesive and is well-timed. The expected “show-and-tell” segments are interwoven with interactive portions, in the form of playful pop quizzes — just be sure to brush up on your Latin conjugation skills beforehand!

No, an online museum tour is not going to move you to tears— let’s face it, few do— but Tell Tale Present have done an admirable job in translating the experience to the screen in such a way that the entire family can remain entertained throughout. As such, it’s a winning example of how digital theatre can enrich education.

Where do feelings go after a heart transplant? Blending movement, dialogue & poetry, Lovesick depicts the relationship between a patient (Georgina Barley) and her surgeon (Avena Mansergh-Wallace), probing themes of grief, sexuality and heartbreak. The clever script deftly balances pathos with humour, whilst raising a compelling question: can organs retain memory? Though enjoyable throughout, at times the plot seems overwrought, with unnecessary twists presumably designed to complicate the characters’ relationship adding little to the overall story. Barley’s character also seems to exclusively attribute her same-sex attraction to her heart transplant — a plot-point which felt somewhat clumsy, if not behind the times. Despite this, strong performances from the cast, along with an intriguing storyline and endearing comic moments make Lovesick an insightful and entertaining play. 4/5

There are some questions you should never ask, because a) They’re inappropriate, b) They’re invasive, and c) Your grandad’s manscaping routine is best left to the imagination. Here at Fringebiscuit, though, we don’t mince words. We’ve been asking #edfringe performers all the weird questions our nosy editors the world needs to know. Today it's the turn of Ayden and Lizzie, two transgender performers from Plaster Cast Theatre, whose fringe show 'Sound Cistem' is a joyful and thought-provoking piece about queer identity, and the cisgender gaze on the transgender body...

Fringebiscuit: If you could swap one body part for someone (or something) else’s, what would it be?

Ayden: As a trans person I'd have to say my right big toe, I'd swap it for a bigger right big toe!

Lizzie: I feel like it would be fun to swap my neck out for one like an owl’s, just to freak people out. Or like swap my eyes out for a hawk’s eyes so I can see for miles and miles and miles! Also, at this point in the run I’m more kinesiology tape than person, so if I could get the ankles of a long distance runner, or perhaps a hurdles champion, that would be great.

FB: Worst oddly-specific chat up line you’ve ever used or heard?

Ayden: I remember as a drunk 16 year old asking someone at a party "What's your sexuality?" as a precursor to making out with them.

Lizzie: I’m not socially smart enough to know when someone is flirting!

*Note: After this point, it’s not clear who said what in the transcript. Of course, we could’ve emailed Plaster Cast again to double-check, but we thought it’d be less effort more fun to imagine one of two scenarios: 1) Ayden and Lizzie spontaneously morphed into a double-headed humanoid, or 2) They inexplicably began speaking in complete unison. Either way, let’s continue…*

FB: The last time something you did/said completely changed the tone of the room?

Ayden/Lizzie: Saying “hahahah no because I’m gay” to my boyfriend at the time.

FB: “I’ll never say it out loud, but secretly I’m judging you for…”

Ayden/Lizzie: Not hating cops enough.

FB: You know it’s too much glitter when…

Ayden/Lizzie: When it's polluting the ecosystem, in our show we've made the switch to biodegradable glitter! We’ve started leaving a sparkly trail all round Edinburgh—it never goes away...

We’re not going to lie, we’ve been working on this project for longer than we care to admit. What started as a half-baked brilliant idea over a couple of late-night drinks in mid-July has finally become a reality. We’re proud to present the first in a series of Fringebiscuit’s forays into the field of social science.

Like all genuinely important scientific enquiries, this first played out on Twitter...