After an amazing response last year we have once again resurrected our Brighton Bites mini-interviews. These short and snappy Q&As offer an, occasionally witty – often hilarious, insight into the acts strutting, sailing, surfing (insert preferred form of transport here) in to join the line-up of England’s largest arts festival, Brighton Fringe. 2018 was a record-breaking year for the Fringe with over 575,000 people attending the festival; and with 2019 promising to be more inclusive than ever, our Bites aim to give you a taste of what’s in store across the 4,500+ events and performances that are on offer.
Next up, Lucky Dog Theatre Productions tell us about The Laurel & Hardy Radio Show which they’ll be performing at Sweet Werks 2.
Describe your show in one sentence?
Like actually being there when Laurel & Hardy recorded their rare radio sketches.
Why Brighton Fringe?
It’s where it all started for us. Though we live in Guildford, this is the one we class as ‘home’.
How did the show get to where it is today?
By car. Two cars, actually, because we have friends playing other roles and we couldn’t all fit into just one. Then we had to negotiate the Park & Ride, because we’re not paying to park in Brighton, thank you very much!
What do you think sets your show apart from all the other festival offerings?
We are well-known at Brighton now; this is our seventh year on the trot. I don’t think anyone else is as close to being their roles as we are. I don’t mean talent or skill, I just mean we squabble stupidly all the time. We also have the easiest flyering technique of any act – we lay on benches in New Road as if we’re asleep and hold out our flyers until people take them. They do.
What show do you not want to miss at this year’s Brighton Fringe (apart from your own!)?
Bin & Gone by Danny Rogers. We’re playing in the same space on the same days so we have no excuses. We have mutual friends and have heard great things about it.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given, or would give, for performing at a fringe festival?
Don’t believe anyone who says they are going to come and see it until they’ve bought a ticket. And, for crying out loud, perform at Fringe City!
With the theme of this year’s festival being ‘DARE to Discover’, we’d like you to tell us a TRUTH – something about you or the show that fans may not know.
It’s not life-changing, but one of the sketches we will be performing was completely unknown until last year. No copy of the script, or record of it, existed. This will be the first time it has ever been performed since the one-off unbroadcast recording of it was made in 1944.
I should also mention we’re bringing a brand new adaptation – maybe the first ever purely theatrical version – of the famous 1956 children’s film The Red Balloon to Sweet Werks on the same dates. We’re excited about this because it’s a new direction for us, having dealt (until now) exclusively with Laurel and Hardy or accurate historical true stories.
The Laurel And Hardy Radio Show runs at Brighton Fringe 11-12 May & 1-2 June 2019. Brighton Fringe takes place between 3 May – 2 June 2019; www.brightonfringe.org
Nicole Craft | Image: Contributed