Persistent and Nasty

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Elaine and Louise chat with creative and producer of Remedy For Memory Tell Letham and Robyn Jancovich-Brown. We talk influencers, the good the bad and the ugly of this industry and the joy of loving yourself and learning to not give a fuck.

REMEDY FOR MEMORY

Beautiful people.... Have you been seeking, dreaming? Of something more, something less, something beyond? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Remedy for Memory is a divine feminine fantasy, a dance theatre experience that transcends the boundaries of our reality. Broadcast live from the abstracted realms of a TV talk show, tune in as four women explore healing, cosmic wanderings, corporate wellbeing, discovery and desire. Surprising, enchanting, comedic and honest, we’ll take you through the highs and the lows. Join us in the search for the remedy.

SHOW: TICKETS

INSTAGRAM: @remedyformemory_show

WEBSITE: dancebase.co.uk

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Elaine chats with director Nell Bailey about How to Build a Wax Figure. We discuss everything form age-gap relationships to queer love to the lack of visibility for lesbian and bisexuals on stage and screen

HOW TO BUILD A WAX FIGURE

Girl meets anatomical wax sculptor. Anatomical wax sculptor meets girl. They fall in love. Or something like that. Bea's older neighbour was her first love, her first cigarette, her first prosthetic eye. When Bea is invited to the Wellcome Collection to speak about her expertise making glass eyes, she finds herself unable to untie Margot from all that she does. As she tries to unpack her mentor's effect on her work, Bea must dissect for herself what love really looks like.

SHOW: TICKETS

INSTAGRAM: @novembertheatre

WEBSITE: novtheatre.com

TWITTER: @novtheatre

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Resources

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https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Louise and Elaine chat Ania Upstill over Zoom. A clown bringing their show Transhumance to the Festival for the first time. We chat moving from directing to clowning and the gender binary.

Classic

Hold onto your hats as a cast of 6 romp through all those classic novels you never had time to read. In 60 minutes and multiple costume changes the company race you from Wuthering Heights to Moby Dick, told at lightning speed… Expect the unexpected! No previous literary experience required. A thrilling script by Coronation Street writers Lindsay Williams and Peter Kerry and direction by Joyce Branagh (seen in the film Belfast, directed by brother Kenneth) this brilliantly funny show is for everyone!

SHOW: Ticket Link

INSTAGRAM: @opemilltheatre

WEBSITE: hopemilltheatre.co.uk

Joyce Branagh: joycebranagh.uk

Instagram: @joyseabee

Twitter: @oyseabee

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Resources

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https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Louise and Elaine chat Ania Upstill over Zoom. A clown bringing their show Transhumance to the Festival for the first time. We chat moving from directing to clowning and the gender binary.

Transhumance

Take a surreal journey through the landscape of gender with Transhumance, winner of a Best Weekly Award for Circus and Physical Theatre at Adelaide Fringe in 2020. Award-winning clown Ania Upstill playfully explores what it means to be a trans human—or any human—in a society where the gender binary often blocks us from the richness of human experience.

Join Ania Upstill (they/them), a NYC-based theatre and circus artist for a heartfelt, physical exploration of gender norms. As a genderqueer and queer performer, the American Kiwi Upstill is excited to bring Transhumance to the largest theatre festival in the world. “I think of Edinburgh as the great art hub of humanity,” says Upstill, “and I know we will find an audience that needs, wants, and will enjoy this journey.”

For Upstill, clowning brings buoyancy, joy and fun into the heated conversations around trans and nonbinary identities. ‘I think often we only hear about how difficult it is to be part of a gender minority, for instance having to explain your pronouns all the time. And yes, it is hard,’ says Upstill, ‘but it is also beautiful and exciting to be able to play with all the performative aspects of gender and find what feels right to you.’

Transhumance comes to the Fringe laden with praise from America and New Zealand: 'A work of joy and playfulness – whimsical, witty and replete with wonder' (TheatreView.org.nz). 'Manages to be both a deeply personal story of self-identification and a universal experience of gender paradigms' (TheatreScenes.co.nz).

Ania Upstill started identifying as genderqueer and using they/them pronouns in 2018. ‘I started seeing more and more content about non-binary identities online. I remember I started to sob uncontrollably because I realized, ‘oh, that’s me too’. I think we often overlook how a binary concept of gender isn’t really fun for anyone, including people who identify as cisgender.’

The title of the show, Transhumance, happens to also be an agricultural term meaning to move sheep – or other livestock – across a landscape in a migratory pattern. For Upstill, this reflects how gender is both a limitless landscape and an intriguing place to explore. Thinkery & Verse co-artistic director JM Meyer also observes that ‘the multiple meanings of transhumance also demonstrate both the jolly usefulness of prefix ‘trans,’ and the pleasure of slant rhyming with ‘romance.’

SHOW: transhumance

INSTAGRAM: @butchmermaid

WEBSITE: aniaupstill.com

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Resources

https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

http://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/

https://rapecrisisni.org.uk/

https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

https://www.bapam.org.uk/

https://freelancersmaketheatrework.com/sexual-violence-support-services/

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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Today Louise and Elaine chat with writer, performer Sophie Bentinck about her new show Pauline. Pauline is a comedy drama about Sophie’s own family. Important conversation with another wonderful human.

PAULINE

A new comedy drama about finding your nan’s suicide note by award-winning writer and performer Sophie Bentinck. Pauline is the brutally honest and joyfully hilarious story of three generations of women in one family – and of the writer who went digging in the secrets file in order to bring them all on stage. 'Captivating' (Phoebe Waller-Bridge). 'Storytelling at its finest' **** (AYoungerTheatre.com). Winner – Breakthrough Memoir 2022. Runner Up – Screenshot 2020. Directed by Fred Wienand (Twelfth Night, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre) and presented together with producer Emma Blackman (Bobby & Amy, Fringe First Award 2019).

See Pauline – Pleasence Courtyard – Bunker 2 @12.20pm till 29th August

SHOW: Tickets

TWITTER: @sophiebentinck

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Resources

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https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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Episode 5 of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Today Louise and Elaine with the creatives and cast of Blood Harmony at the Traverse Theatre. Our first in person Podcast recording since February 2020.

BLOOD HARMONY

When siblings sing together, the music is special. All the more beautiful for the bond between them, it’s called a blood harmony.

Sisters Anna, Maia, and Chloe have lost their mum. And now, thrown together in the attic of their childhood home, they must work out what happens next. High-flying Anna wants to swoop in and problem solve, whilst chaotic Maia can’t stop cracking jokes, and caught in the middle is Chloe, who cared for their mum at the end of her life. The trio have never seen eye-to-eye, and without Mum holding them together, what’s to stop them falling apart?

Featuring songs from Atlantic Records artists The Staves, beautiful harmonies and stunning visuals, Blood Harmony is an uplifting and universal story about moving on, and the healing power of family – love them or loathe them. Created by award-winning theatre company ThickSkin (How Not to Drown, Eavesdropping), this is a show for anyone who’s ever shared tears and laughter to cope with loss. A show that’ll make you want to pull your family closer, and hold them tighter.

See Blood Harmony – Traverse Theatre various times

SHOW: traverse - blood-harmony

WEBSITE: thickskintheatre.co.uk

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https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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Episode 4 of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Today Louise and Elaine chat with F-Bomb Theatre – Sally Cairns and Rachel O’Regan about their new Edinburgh Festival Fringe show The Beatles Were A Boyband. #femifringe

˚femifringe

The Beatles Were A Boyband

After moving to London to live within a more diverse community, Livia learns that the self-hate feelings she experienced all her life are internalised racism and survival techniques. While building her career in the circus industry she grows tired of playing a stereotype and starts unpacking layers to grow and overcome. She uses poetry, music and performance to speak about the challenges a Black woman faces when daring to move into her power.

Carving out a place for herself as one of the UK's up-and-coming Black voices, Livia presents a performance that is timely, unsettling and powerful.

See The Beatles Were A Boyband – Guilded Balloon @8pm

6th – 13th August 2022

SHOW: fbombtheatre.co.uk

INSTAGRAM˚@fbombtheatre

TWITTER: @fbombtheatre

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Resources

https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

http://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/

https://rapecrisisni.org.uk/

https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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Episode 3 of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Today Louise and Elaine chat with performer, spoken word poet, writer, vocalist, sword swallower Livia Kojo Alour about her new Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Black Sheep.

BLACK SHEEP

After moving to London to live within a more diverse community, Livia learns that the self-hate feelings she experienced all her life are internalised racism and survival techniques. While building her career in the circus industry she grows tired of playing a stereotype and starts unpacking layers to grow and overcome. She uses poetry, music and performance to speak about the challenges a Black woman faces when daring to move into her power.

Carving out a place for herself as one of the UK's up-and-coming Black voices, Livia presents a performance that is timely, unsettling and powerful.

See Black Sheep at Assembly Rooms – Powder Rooms @9pm

5th – 28th August 2022 (excluding 14th & 15th August)

SHOW: Black Sheep

INSTAGRAM˚@missa_swords

TWITTER: @livia_k_alour

LIVIA KOJO ALOUR

Livia Kojo Alour (formerly known as MisSa Blue) the iconic variety star, international recognised sword swallower, vocalist, poet and exhibited artist. Her extensive work stretches from Theatre over Live Art to Circus. Livia is one of only 4 black sword swallowers world-wide, was voted ‘Most Influential Performer in Europe 2018’ and was the first sword swallower to perform at the legendary Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas!

Livia, based in London U.K. works regular for upscale venues and Theatres around the city and is about to embark on a national tour with her debut solo show Black Sheep. Current and past residencies include Soho Theatre, The Underbelly Southbank, Bush Hall, Rich Mix Studio, Camden People’s Theatre, The Box, Proud Embankment, Assembly Festival Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Fringe Australia, Duane Park NYC, several Off-Broadway productions in NYC, The Orleans Hotel Las Vegas, Wintergarten Berlin, GOP Variety Theatre Germany, The Firebirds Burlesque Show, The Museum of Contemporary Art Bordeaux and many more.

She’s a firm favourite with press. Platforms like the BBC, The Guardian & The Voice Newspaper interview her on regular basis. Livia spoke inspirationally on TEDx about overcoming fear and how a life threatening sword swallowing accident changed her perception of the artistic process and helped her become an activist supporting queer performers of colour in the Arts.

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Resources

https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

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https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

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Episode 2 of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 series

Today Louise chats with playwright, performer and director Isla Cowan about her new Edinburgh Festival Fringe show SHE WOLF. Along with chatting about Isla’s activism and her process.

SHE WOLF

A fierce, ferocious monologue about getting f*cked over and fighting your way back. Spoken by a woman hiding out at the zoo, She Wolf tears open questions of gender and class in a capitalist world. What does it take to succeed when only the fittest survive? As Maggie's life falls apart, becoming animal is only human.

Winner of the 2022 Assembly ART Award and the Alpine Fellowship Theatre Prize.

See She Wolf at Assembly Roxy @1.50pm

5th – 28th August 2022 (excluding 15th & 22nd)

SHOW: assemblyfestival.com

INSTAGRAM: @shewolfshow

TWITTER: @SheWolfShow

ISLA COWAN

Isla is a Scottish playwright, performer and director, based in Edinburgh. She specialises in creating ecofeminist work and believes in theatre that challenges both its audience and its makers. Isla's recent work for stage includes, amongst others, Alright Sunshine (A Play, a Pie and a Pint @ Òran Mór), Daphne, or Hellfire (Pleasance and Assembly Roxy), Sno Wite and the Seven Dickensians (Strange Town / Scottish Storytelling Centre), The View from Portobello (Royal Lyceum), and BANTER (LYT/Traverse). Isla was selected as one of four playwrights to be mentored at Hampstead Theatre on the 2019 INSPIRE Playwrights Programme, mentored by Roy Williams, and was a Traverse Young Writer in 2021. She also makes digital and audio theatre, working with Strange Town, Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival and the Scottish Youth Theatre, on recent projects. Isla currently has plays in development with support from Creative Scotland, The Beacon Arts Centre and The Gaiety.

While Isla performs and directs much of her own work, she also has her own directing practice. She has worked as an Assistant Director at The Traverse, Lyceum, Citizens, and Reading Rep, and has been Director on recent work for the Traverse, Beacon Arts Centre, and Creative Scotland. Isla regularly leads and facilitates workshops - particularly on environmental theatre and eco-dramaturgy - for all ages and stages.

TWITTER: @islacowan

INSTAGRAM: @isla_cowan

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Resources

https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland

http://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/

https://rapecrisisni.org.uk/

https://rapecrisis.org.uk/

https://www.artsminds.co.uk/

https://www.bapam.org.uk/

https://freelancersmaketheatrework.com/sexual-violence-support-services/

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In the first of our episodes covering the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Louise talks to the incredible Rosy Carrick about her new show, Musclebound.

Following her multi award-winning theatre debut, Passionate Machine, Rosy Carrick is back. When bodybuilders and 80s action films unite, you can always count on a good hard flogging! And, for a young Rosy, witnessing characters like He-Man and Conan being beaten and humiliated by their male antagonists sparked the most glorious erotic obsession of her life. Now 40, with a grown-up daughter of her own and a string of unfulfilling relationships behind her, Rosy is on a mission to rediscover her sexual power – but can tortured beefcake really be the key to her salvation?

'Intelligent, articulate, funny' (Scotsman).

See Musclebound at Assembly Roxy (Downstairs) at 17:50 (1h) from 3-28 August (excl. 10, 16, 23). Buy tickets - https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/musclebound

Dr Rosy Carrick is a poet, playwright, actor and stage compere. Based in Brighton, she gives talks, lectures and performances of her work around the world, and is a leading scholar of the Russian revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky.

Find out more - http://www.rosycarrick.com/

Follow Rosy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rosycarrick

Follow Rosy on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rosycarrick/