The Edinburgh Fringe is almost upon us and to get prepared for another Scottish summer Read About Stuff is running a ‘Five From The Fringe’ interview series, where creative teams answer five questions about their upcoming Festival shows.
In this interview, I chat to Doug Deans about their new show Horrorshow.
Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?
Horrorshow is a gig-play. It’s a fun, funny, surprisingly tender coming-of-age/coming-out story, packed of original songs, played by a cast who double as a three-piece band. The show is set in the year 2009, on the Isle of Wight. It’s about Dan and Ollie, two teenage boys who break into a music festival with a rucksack full of stolen weed and an ill-thought through plan to sell it.
What drew you to this specific story, and why does it belong at the Edinburgh Fringe?
I’ve wanted to write a coming of age story for a long time. I’m from the era of the “lad”, and I thought it would be moving to have a story firmly rooted in that era, but have two boys at the centre of it who quietly subvert it. I think we all wish we could spend some time with our younger selves, tell them that they’ll be ok. In some ways, this was my attempt at that.
Also, the British music festival is so inherently theatrical as a setting. They unlock something bacchanalian within us. And yet they are political, particularly in how many communities are priced out of attending. There’s also the environmental impact that these festivals have, which most who attend try not to think about.
This kind of hybrid gig-theatre is perfectly at home at the Edinburgh fringe, because it was the Edinburgh fringe who birthed it.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?
I think writing this has been quite a robust challenge for me. Writing something that feels big, expansive and thrilling, whilst knowing it’s being staged by a team of three with limited resources, it gets you thinking creatively about what you have at your disposal. With this show, I really leaned into the storytelling of it, let the dialogue feel poetic and rhythmic. It’s really given the writing an energy, which we need with a show like this.
How does the design of your show (set, sound, or lighting) impact the presentation of your story?
The show is intentionally quite stripped back and minimal. We don’t have much in the way of lighting, for example. What we lack in some aspects, we have to make up for in the writing, the music, our performances, our storytelling. I find it gives the show a real rawness and a vitality, and it makes the play a thrill to perform.
If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?
I think the official subtitle of Horrorshow sums up the play perfectly: “a loud play with songs”
Horrorshow runs at Anatomy Lecture Theatre at Summerhall (Venue 26) from August 25th – 31st. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/horrorshow
