The Famous Fringe

Dance stops trafficking but Miranda couldn’t stop the bus

 

I have most definitely been slacking in the blog department recently, but with good reason. What with weddings, holidays, new jobs this summer I’ve been hard pressed to find time to write about my, now not so recent, adventure in sunny Scotland, performing at Edinburgh Fringe 2014.

Despite the last minute ring around to organise a bed to sleep in for the duration of my performances in Edinburgh, by the time I got on the megabus I was getting excited to finally perform the piece I’d been working on for 2 months with LCP Dance Theatre. Drama ensued before we’d even left Victoria coach station as our youngest company member, Miranda, was unable to find the station and hence missed the bus. Frantic phone calls were made as directions were given and Miranda was instructed to ‘stop the bus’ by standing in the middle of the road if she saw it go past her. The hilarity of imagining Miranda standing in the road and using an arm gesture from the piece to stop the bus managed to entertain the rest of us for a good portion of the journey and the gesture and phrase it came from would from then on be referred to accordingly.

 

From the moment I got to Edinburgh I was mesmerised by the uniformity of the architecture, the majestic presence of the castle and the stunning natural landscape of the city and its surrounds. I journeyed through chic high streets and hilltop parks to find my beautiful new home for the week, in possibly the poshest street in Morningside. My extremely generous host whom I had never met before and was putting me up for free greeted me with maps of the city, pasta and a cosy attic room of her 3 storey Victorian mansion. Throughout the week I was left various notes and a couple of chores to do, such as hoovering the vast staircases, as payment for my lodging but when you have a comfy bed and two showers to choose from, and the alternative was camping in a forest without electricity or running water, who can complain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our first full day in Ed we were scheduled to have our tech rehearsal at Spotlites@The Merchant Hall, our theatre for the week, at the shocking time of 6.30am. We all made it in from our various abodes and we were actually there earlier than theatre staff who seemed to resent us for having such an early tech, despite it being the theatre who organised our time slot. After three hours of debating various lighting states and positioning spotlights we were unceremoniously ejected from the venue via the backstage door, onto a refuse collection alleyway. I can only assume the theatre did this in order to prepare us for the nightly expulsion we would endure, after every performance, being given only 5 minutes to remove the audience, our props, our belongings, ourselves and sweep the stage. Although this system did make me angry as I worried about being forced into the cold Scottish rain after 1hr15mins of full out dancing, wearing nothing but some fishnet garments, I did appreciate that the theatre had to do this in order to fit in all the other shows into their jam-packed daily schedule. Of the 40 or so other shows on at our venue over the month, I got to see 4 of them, which doesn’t seem too good as a percentage but when you consider that that was four hours of mediocre/interesting comedy/theatre for free, I felt almost ready to forgive the theatre for their backstage behaviour.

During my time in Edinburgh I wanted to make the most of the 500 venues and 3000 shows the Fringe had to offer. After the early-morning tech I started my search for something interesting to watch and soon bumped into my friend Anna, who was flyering for her play which I attended that afternoon. A fantasticly endearing story of the relationships between Icelanders and British soldiers during the Second World War, complete with leaf blower to recreate the cold wind as anyone entered or exited the imaginary room. In stark contrast, later that day I was coerced into watching/falling asleep to a very amateur play about Scottish teenage girls and their troubles, reminding me of GCSE drama pieces, in which, with the exception of one stunning performance portraying a manic depressive, the acting left a lot to be desired. As the week went on, it got harder to find shows that a) looked good b) didn’t clash with our schedule and c) didn’t cost a fortune. I dragged two girls to a free comedy show called ‘Worst German Ever’ and then decided to splash out on a stunning spectacle called ‘Bianco’ by No Fit State Circus, which was so good it deserves its own blog post, coming soon.

Enough of other people’s shows, the main reason I was there was to perform with LCP Dance Theatre, along with an international cast of dancers and actors from Italy, France and Poland, raising awareness against human trafficking. As I exclaimed to many people whilst flyering, we were dancing to a narrative script based on a true story by Sophie Hayes, a survivor of human trafficking. The subject matter sometimes made me feel uncomfortable as we rehearsed scenes of violence and sexual exploitation but once performing in front of an audience it became easier to think of myself as a character and think about the emotions behind the situation. Obviously, in 8 renditions, the piece didn’t always run smoothly. From first-night fainting to last night prop malfunction, movement mess-ups to wardrobe mishaps and the awful tension of the narrator missing her entrance and skipping a whole scene, it wasn’t all plain sailing but each and every performance had an audience – who applauded, a cast who danced their socks off and a message which was hard to ignore.

The highs of receiving applause at the end of each performance were, of course, contrasted with the lows of flyering in the rain, an awful bladder infection and turmoil among the cast after a particularly unorganised street performance. On sunny days the lows were less likely as flyering on the royal mile became an enjoyable experience and prepping for a performance with yoga in the park was a viable option. It was the rainy days, which always seemed to coincide with our street performances, when things became a little tedious as we danced on a slippery outside stage, getting drenched whilst our potential audience ran for shelter, and then crammed into the Costa toilets to prepare our costume and make-up before braving the cold as we made our way to the theatre.

Highs and lows weighed up, and all things considered, it was a very enjoyable experience participating in the Fringe, both as a performer and audience member. The buzzing atmosphere, sketch shows, outrageous costumes and musical renditions that filled the streets brought a smile to my face whilst our own performances gave me the opportunity to do what I love, and for a great cause.

Some links for you:

My photos of the fringe and beautiful Edinburgh - https://www.facebook.com/eleanor.palmer.73/media_set?set=a.10154518519595301.1073741835.698710300&type=3

Images from 'AM I?' - https://www.facebook.com/LCPDanceTheatre/media_set?set=a.4884679442499.1073741825.1463028838&type=1

A review of our performhttps://www.facebook.com/LCPDanceTheatre/media_set?set=a.4884679442499.1073741825.1463028838&type=1ance - http://www.broadwaybaby.com/shows/am-i/699502