This August, we’re proud to see our graduating students and alumni take original work to two of the UK’s most celebrated performing arts festivals: the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Camden Fringe.
From new writing and comedy to clowning, physical theatre and circus, it’s fantastic to see our graduates continuing to collaborate and sharing their ideas with audiences visiting from around the world.
In Edinburgh, The Librarians: A Very Serious Comedy, presented in association with The Pleasance, runs throughout the festival. Billie Hamer stars in the satirical farce set in the underfunded Plumbstanton local library, where four unlikely heroes are fighting to save it from closure. Already recognised as a Charlie Hartill Award finalist, the play ha also received a five-star review from The List.
Georgia Polly-Taylor makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut with one-woman show Very Hot, Very Messy, following its Brighton Fringe Bursary win, Best of the Camden Fringe Award and a five-star review from Everything Theatre. Telling the story of the disastrous first Met Gala of wannabe socialite ‘Hot Mess’, the show explores beauty, fame and public humiliation through clowning, burlesque, circus, character performance (and a kazoo). Described by Georgia as a ‘one Woman comedic carnage spectacle’ Very Hot, Very Messy celebrates the sometimes disastrously messy reality of being human.
Award-nominated performer Natalie Patuzzo brings her debut solo clown show Every Single Sound in the World to Greenside, George Street. Noot (Natalie Patuzzo) is visiting earth to collect sound samples which will be used to generate power on her home planet. Being an overachiever, Noot intends to collect Every Single Sound In The World but may need a bit of help from the audience to reach her goal. Following nominations for the Brighton Fringe Outstanding Neurodiverse Performance Award and the Greater Manchester Fringe Best Newcomer Award, Patuzzo’s acclaimed solo performance continues its festival journey with a distinctive blend of clowning, comedy and original storytelling.
Dark comedy In Perfect Harmony also comes to Greenside, transporting audiences to an absurdist, high-pressure 95th-floor office where maximum productivity is mandatory and a single idle day leads to demotion. Written and produced by Amelia Pike and directed by Neha Hemachandra, the production stars Charlotte Clements and Joshua Urquhart. Blending sharp satire with dark humour, In Perfect Harmony offers a thought-provoking exploration of workplace culture, ambition and the pressures of modern life.
Gary Bates brings his short play Vowel Movements to The Pleasance as part of their popular breakfast theatre programme. Originally developed and premiered at INK Festival in Suffolk, Vowel Movements was one of just five plays selected from more than 540 submissions to be produced, before earning its place in this year’s Fringe programme. The production highlights the strength of emerging new writing and showcases alumni talent on one of the world’s biggest theatre stages.
Exploring power, faith, hypocrisy and inspired by the hottest film of recent times “Conclave”, Arden Fitzroy will perform their one-cardinal-show CVNTCLAVE at Greenside throughout August, while Callum Patrick Hughes will premiere his latest play, Day of the Locust, a new adaptation of Nathanael West’s 1949 Novel. Blending live storytelling with an immersive on-stage soundscape of guitars, loop pedals and drones. Drawing parallels between Hollywood’s Golden Age and contemporary political unrest, the production explores the destructive pursuit of fame and the false promises of the American Dream.
Acclaimed circus artist Sean Kempton returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with Sand, a powerful non-verbal circus theatre show exploring dementia through the physical metaphor of coastal erosion. Blending contemporary circus, physical theatre and visual storytelling, the production features exceptional acrobatics and juggling to create a moving, accessible performance that transcends language barriers.
Sean is the co-director of Kook Ensemble alongside Michaela O’Connor. He trained as an actor at Rose Bruford before studying circus at the National Centre for Circus Arts, going on to enjoy an internationally acclaimed career as a featured clown with Cirque du Soleil in Varekai, Kooza and Quidam, as well as creating and performing for Franco Dragone’s Le Rêve in Las Vegas. Developed in collaboration with people living with dementia in North Devon and researchers at the University of Exeter, Sand was also supported through the National Theatre’s Generate Programme, bringing together lived experience, academic research and world-class circus performance in a deeply affecting exploration of memory, loss and resilience. You can catch Sand at Summerhall.
At the Gilded Balloon Teviot, Eve Dixon Batchelor, as Associate Director, delivers Turn the Cloth, a new folk horror play inspired by traditional waulking songs and kelpie folklore. Using a fusion of trad music and 80s synth, it dissects defiance, girlhood and the rituals that shape us.
Performed in both English and Korean, Truth Warrior Network… Live! is a 55-minute comedy theatre production that blends conspiracy, satire and cross-cultural storytelling. Written by Jax Pratt, the production is directed by Neha Hemachandra, with assistant direction by Abrah Ophelia Katzman, and starring Peter No and Soon Kwon. Following a sold-out run at London’s Courtyard Theatre during last year’s Camden Fringe, Truth Warrior lands in Edinburgh, offering audiences another chance to experience this acclaimed bilingual comedy.
In London, audiences at Camden Fringe can experience The Boy in the Ocean, a compelling new play by Dylan Maellas that combines non-linear storytelling, movement and sharp humour to explore trauma, human connection and the complexities of moving forward when nothing feels fully resolved. Featuring a 12-strong cast and movement ensemble of alumni, including Sofia Bryan Compton, Eva Murcases, Polina Prygunova, Diana Gorbenko and Kylah Sargeant, this contemporary theatre production blends powerful performances with innovative physical theatre. The production features movement direction by Maddy Hunter, musical direction by Jacob Dawson, sound design by Louis Lessner, lighting design by William Caley, stage management by Ella Gardiner, and is co-directed by Dylan Maellas and Ellena Simpson.
Also at Camden, Classicist Lieve de Putter’s one-woman show ECHOES is a thoughtful, vulnerable and topical reflection on the female voice and the stories that continue to echo through time. Performed, written and directed by Lieve, Echoes blends a modern woman navigating work and various patriarchal relationships with excerpts from Greek Tragedy and the many female characters whose stories have been shaped by men. The show offers free tickets for the unwaged and local communities in Camden with support from the Institute of Classical Studies. Lieve’s new show Dogfaced will be on at Lambeth Fringe and Voilà Festival this autumn.
The Edinburgh and Camden Fringe festivals have long been launchpads for emerging talent, providing artists with opportunities to develop new work, reach new audiences and build industry connections.
We wish everyone performing, producing and creating work at this year’s Fringe festivals every success and look forward to following their journeys throughout the month.
This story was written by the Rose Bruford Communications Team. While every effort was made to its accuracy, if you have any amendments or additions please get in touch.
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