Back by popular demand for 2017, our Brighton Bites series offer short, witty and slightly tongue-in-cheek insights into shows performing at England’s largest arts festival. Hopefully, they will whet your appetite to try something new at this year’s Brighton Fringe.
Here, Paper Tiger Productionstells us about their show,Octopus, which they’ll be performing atThe Warren: Studio 2.
How would you describe your show in one sentence?
Octopus is a post-Brexit satire about what it means to be British…and the power of punk.
Why Brighton Fringe for this show?
Brighton Fringe is one of the major cultural events to take place in England and we’re proud to be part of it. This show premiered at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, so it was developed for the fast and furious festival environment. It’s short, punchy, and mixes its politics with a good dose of ripping the piss. There are no sacred cows (or octopuses) here. Not to mention the fact that our beautiful show image was taken on Brighton beach. Our octopus is coming back to the sea…
How have you been preparing for Brighton Fringe?
Our performances at Brighton Fringe are part of the first leg of a nationwide tour opening at York Theatre Royal on 28 April. So hopefully we’ll be warmed up and ready to go by the time we get to Brighton.
What do you think sets your show apart from all the other festival offerings?
Octopus is a fast-paced piece of new writing on issues that could not be more topical – Brexit, national identity, who gets to be ‘one of us’. But while the themes are serious, the tone is riotous, fun and unexpected. Set in a world where the state determines how British you are, three women from different backgrounds learn to love each other and hate the system. With an all-female cast and a soundtrack by classically trained harpist and post-punker Serafina Steer, it will rouse you, tickle you and make you think.
What’s the show that you don’t want to miss at this year’s Brighton Fringe (apart from your own)?
Under My Thumb. It’s also a co-production with Greenwich Theatre and it sounds fantastic – I’ve heard such good things about it. Plus it’s another all-female dystopia.
What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given for performing at a Fringe Festival?
You have to go find your audience every day. Even if yesterday’s audience loved the show, today they might be gone, so go find today’s audience.
If your show was a flavour of ice cream being sold on Brighton Pier, what would it be?
Tutti-frutti. Unless they have octopus-flavoured ice cream?
Octopus runs at Brighton Fringe 9, 10, 12 May
For more information visitwww.brightonfringe.orgor www.papertiger.org.uk/projects/octopus
The Reviews Hubis proud to sponsor the Literature & Spoken Work section of Brighton Fringe 2017 as well as being an official Reviews Partner, offering in-depth coverage of the festival.
