Michael Bryher: On … The Road to the Fringe
With three shows at this year’s Fringe, the theatre company Dumbshow has many a story to tell about
the process of bringing a play to the festival in Edinburgh. Artistic Director Michael Bryher talks about rights, costumes, advertising and what it takes to make it to the Fringe.
The road taken by any young theatre company up to the Edinburgh Festival is not just long and winding, it’s often a treacherous one.
After racking up a host of positive 4 and 5 star reviews at the Fringe, and a national tour of hit show Clockheart Boy culminating in a run at the Manchester Royal Exchange, Dumbshow knew we had to think big to get to the next level.
We just weren’t expecting Elton John to be the one to stand in our way.
In late 2009 Dumbshow started planning another assault on the Fringe. A script was written, rehearsals began; everything was looking rosy for the company’s new version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. We were
just waiting for that email confirming we had the rights to the perform story. That’s when the Elton bombshell dropped.
Turns out the one and only Reginald Dwight – the Rocket Man himself –
had also been thinking it was time to bring the classic Orwellian
Stalinist allegory to the stage. Great minds think alike. Suffice to
say, in the great battle for the story’s theatre rights, Dumbshow’s
dream was quickly snuffed out, not unlike that proverbial candle in
the wind.
And so we went back to the drawing board. Which is where we found the
ultimate femme fatale, Moll Cutpurse – a 17th Century anarchist born
on a barbaric faraway island – who comes storming into London to
satiate her lust for revenge whilst drenching the city’s women in gin
and loose living. Roar is her story.
In keeping with Dumbshow’s reputation for big, spectacular
storytelling, Roar is full of cross-dressing, cabaret-inspired
accordion numbers and buckets of glitter. In fact, on a recent
research trip, actress Lotte Allan won the much-coveted Best Tranny
prize at Madame Jo Jo’s. Channelling Bonnie Tyler and loaded up with
sequins, Lotte beat the best Drag Queens in Soho at their own game.
In fact, we have a habit of getting noticed for our costumes. In 2007
actor Jack Cole – during his first foray into Dumbshow drag – found
himself talking to a few friendly chaps with film cameras. Five
minutes later he was inundated with texts informing him he’d just
appeared live on Richard and Judy. Later that month, we saw
Dumbshow-er Nicola Cutcher bounding over to an unassuming Tom Hanks on
the Royal Mile. Decked out in long johns and a swimming cap to play a
silkworm egg, she enticed the superstar to linger long enough to pick
up a flyer and affectionately coo, “you’re all right, kid”.
But we can’t rely on networking with Hollywood royalty forever. This
year Dumbshow will also be unleashing the power of social media:
blogging, tweeting, podcasting and plastering flyers with QR codes for
all three of our Fringe offerings.
Who knows who we’ll ensnare that way!
Roar plays at C Venues – C from 3-29 August (excl 16) at 20.45. Clockheart Boy runs at C Venues – C from 3-29 August (excl 16) at 16.25. Oedipus: A Love Story plays at C Venues – C soco from 3-16 August at 14.15.
