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 Imogen Brown, Sarah Eaton, Hannah Manderson, Amaya Pardillo and Alice Quick, co-creators and performers, about their show Girlhood in the Bathroom.
Can you tell me a little about your show and what audiences can expect?
Girlhood in the Bathroom is a new Australian musical that celebrates the power of female friendship, connection and support.
Set entirely in a nightclub bathroom on New Year’s Eve, the show follows five young women as they navigate friendship, heartbreak, mental health, sexuality, self-doubt and the uncertainty of what comes next. Through original music, humour and honest storytelling, we explore experiences that many young women share but don’t always talk about openly.
The show explores the way women instinctively look after one another. The bathroom becomes a place of honesty, encouragement and solidarity, where conversations are shared openly and without judgement.
The show asks a simple question: “Why do girls always go to the bathroom together?”
The musical was created by five young women whilst studying a Bachelor of Performing Arts together at university in Australia and is loosely based on our own experiences. Since its creation, the show has been performed at the Adelaide Fringe Festival and the Ballarat Cabaret Festival, where it received very positive audience and critical responses.
Audiences can expect emotional whiplash and a rollercoaster of experiences, a reflection of girlhood. We explore the highs and lows that are experienced on a night out (when alcohol is involved) and the messiness of growing up in society today.
What drew you to this specific story, and why does it belong at the Edinburgh Fringe?
We were drawn to this story because of the raw humanity that you see in women in the female bathroom. It’s a space where women can be themselves, be together and be unapologetically unfiltered. The immediate camaraderie you find with female strangers in the bathroom is one of the most honest things about femininity. That’s why it belongs in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival because it’s about connection, love and bringing people together, which is exactly what this festival is for.
What has been the biggest challenge in bringing this production to life?
The arts, especially in Australia, often have limited funding and that has been our biggest challenge. However, we are fortunate that we have had so many people support us to accomplish the production of Girlhood in the Bathroom.
As five young women, only having graduated from university last year, producing this show ourselves has been a huge challenge and learning experience, especially given our inexperience and newness in the industry. In addition to writing the show, including songs, staging and choreographing, we have all had to take on roles in marketing, venue liaising, writing grant proposals, set design and other producing roles. This has been heightened given that we are coming from Australia to perform in Edinburgh on an international stage.
How does the design of your show (set, sound, or lighting) impact the presentation of your story?
Whilst the heart of Girlhood in the Bathroom is rooted in the characters, songs and staging, the set, sound and lighting design enhance the atmosphere of our story. With minimal set, we maximise the use of lighting and soundscape to build the club culture within the theatres we perform in. This helps transport the audience to the world of our story, whilst supporting the performance of the actors on stage.
Sound is a huge element of our story, with the original music being a notable feature. The songs vary in style from pop to ballads, to rap, even to a doo-wop-style bop. We have purposely involved a range of styles of music to encapsulate the multi-faceted ambience of the club environment and the colourful spectrum that is girlhood. Assisting in this sound design, we also have the use of club ambience music and toilet flush sound effects to further cement the foundation of the club bathroom location, as well as assisting in scene transitions.
If you could sum up the show in one word or phrase, what would it be and why?
“A love letter to female friendship.” As by Isha Juneja from The List in a review from our Adelaide Fringe season. We love this phrase because our show aims to empower women and the connections that we have, and that despite hardship and conflict, there is an unspoken unity between all of us.
Girlhood in the Bathroom runs at Dining Room at Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14) from August 13th – 22nd. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/girlhood-in-the-bathroom
