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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, Teatro En Vilo tells us about their show, Generation Why, which they’ll be performing at The Warren.
How would you describe your show in one sentence?
Generation Why is an existentialist comedy about the fear of the future and the chaos of the times we live in.
Why Brighton Fringe for this show?
After premiering our show in Spain (Madrid) and Italy (Forli), we wanted to bring it to the UK for the first time. Brighton Fringe seemed the ideal option as it combines a taste for comedy, international work and contemporary performance.
How have you been preparing for Brighton Fringe?
Since our Spanish and Italian premieres, we have been rewriting the show. As the director, I was also granted a writing residency at Arterra Residency in Portugal, to review the dramaturgical structure of the show.
The whole team will meet for a creative residency in Madrid in the first week of May and present the new version of the show in front of a Spanish audience at “Art Banchel Festival”, an underground arts festival, that features artists from different disciplines in art studios in the industrial area of Carabanchel (Madrid).
We will then all travel to London to prepare for the Brighton Fringe!
What do you think sets your show apart from all the other festival offerings?
This show is the result of 1 year and a half international collaboration where the company held 5 international residencies with performers from France, UK, Italy, and Spain. Making possible a true creative dialogue between Italian, British and Spanish creators is particularly exciting in the times we live in, where the UE is in danger of disappearing and more and more countries are wanting to close their borders. The show is in Spanish, Italian and English, but can be understood easily by English speakers.
The show is also specific in tackling the theme of the future and giving voice to the generation of the young people that are now around their 30s. The so-called “Millenials” are addressed in an exercise of historical and political responsibility.
The language of the show makes it very different from other proposals, as it mixes self-reference and autobiography with extreme theatricality. The show is a cocktail of theatrical styles, from post-dramatic performance to physical theatre, stand-up comedy, clown and grotesque.
What’s the show that you don’t want to miss at this year’s Brighton Fringe (apart from your own)?
I will for sure see Borderline a show that will be on at The Warren Main house, devised by an ensemble of refugee and european performers. A comedy of a tragedy…
What’s the best bit of advice you’ve ever been given for performing at a Fringe Festival?
There are no rules. Just do it your way (Advice given for Edinburgh Fringe 2013).
If your show was a flavour of ice cream being sold on Brighton Pier, what would it be?
Chocolate and Pistache, with some rainbow sprinkles topping
Generation Why runs at Brighton Fringe 16, 17 May
For more information visit www.brightonfringe.org or www.teatroenvilo.com
The Reviews Hub is 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.
