It’s that time of year when we launch our annual series of Fringe preview Q & A’s. Next up it’s Graeae and the Royal Exchange Theatre’s Cosmic Scallies.
In one sentence tell us about your show.
A razor sharp, witty and touching new play about class, welfare and friendship in times of adversity, by award winning writer Jackie Hagan, directed by Amit Sharma (The Solid Life of Sugar Water, 2015), presented by Graeae and the Royal Exchange Theatre.
What made you decide to bring a show this year?
Jackie Hagan wrote a short, first draft of Cosmic Scallies for Write to Play (Graeae’s writer development programme of which she’s a graduate). We fell in love with it immediately, and commissioned her to turn it into a full length play. We knew it would be perfect for Edinburgh, and we had wanted to find a follow up to The Solid Life of Sugar Water which we (Graeae) produced in 2015, so here we are!
Any advice you’ve heard or can give to anyone coming to the Fringe for the first time?
Get practicing your stapling technique! The minute reviews come out, you need to be stapling quotes to your flyers, so be prepared for some sore fingers! Also enjoy it, and see as much theatre as you can.
What makes your show stand out from all of the others on offer? (Don’t say that it’s because you’re in it!)
As is the Graeae way, all performances will incorporate creative captioning and audio description, meaning it’s accessible for a deaf and disabled audience as well as visually striking. Also Jackie Hagan, as a disabled, working class writer is a refreshing and rarely heard voice in theatre.
What show, other than your own, do you not want to miss?
Too many to mention just one. We’re thrilled to be part of the Northern Stage at Summerhall programme, and we want to see all the other shows in that season. Also it’s great to see several D/deaf and disabled artists up this year with work, including Rachel Bagshaw’s accessible new play The Shape of the Pain and Mind The Gap’s Mia: Daughters of Fortune (both at Summerhall), Jess Thom AKA Tourettes Hero is tackling a fast paced exploration of neurodiversity with Beckett’s Not I and Liz Carr is returning with witty Assisted Suicide: The Musical.
Finally, the boring but essential bit…
Name of the show: Cosmic Scallies
Venue: Summerhall (venue 26)
Dates: 5 August – 26 August 2017
Time: 18:30 (70 mins, approx)
