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I f the Fringe is about anything, it’s about an inexhaustible ability to surprise an audience, whether it be with a crazy venue space, a thrilling new script or a suitably memorable performance. Belt Up (Nothing to See/Hear) produces all three in spades, alongside a rather impressive knack for causing a stir.
‘Last year was phenomenal,’ says James Wilkes, one of Belt Up’s writers and directors, of its show at the 2008 Fringe, Women of Troy. ‘I suppose you could say we ended up with an underground following. People would leave their number in a “visitors” book at the end of one show and we would text them later with the location of another secret show.’ He continues: ‘We had a very direct interaction with our audience during the show and when that show was finished, the audience trusted us and really went with us to the next place.’
member of the cast will have their own twitter account, where fans can keep track of them, in character.
‘We wanted to see how far we could go with it, so the cast will be going out to the pub in character and hopefully become mini-celebrities.’ The company’s production of The Trial is equally ambitious, says its writer Dominic J Allen. ‘I was keen to take The Trial in a new direction: all the metaphors in the play relate to machinery and breaking down, so I wanted to play with the idea of the whole play being a machine, with the protagonist being sort of like a squeaky cog in the wheel.’
As ever, audience interaction is paramount, though Allen is reluctant to give too much away. ‘We often have a half joke that we can’t do dress rehearsals because our shows depend so heavily on the audience,’ laughs Allen. ‘It’s a risk and a thrill.’
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Having wowed audiences with tales of a girl he once loved, Stefan Golaszewski returns to the Fringe with a new semi-autobiographical futuristic monologue. Miles Fielder catches up with him
Last year, young London lad Stefan Golaszewski knocked out Fringe crowds and critics alike with his mercurial semi-autobiographical one- man sleeper hit show, Stefan Golaszewski Speaks About a Girl He Once Loved. Unsurprisingly, he subsequently had a busy time of it, originating a BBC4 series and a second Radio 4 series with his fellows in the comedy group Cowards. Somehow he’s managed to squeeze in the writing of a second one-man show, Stefan Golaszewski is A Widower.
It’s not, er, autobiographical, is it?
‘The last one wasn’t completely autobiographical,’ Golaszewski says, ‘because no real story is as interesting as a made-up story, but it was based on truth. The new show is related to the other show, but it’s not about the same girl. It’s the same character, Stefan Golaszewski, but now he’s 76 and it’s set in 2056 with him looking back over his life with his now dead life. It’s quite odd, conceptually, and obviously it’s completely made up, because I meet the wife in 2012, at the Olympics. It’s a lot darker than the other one, a lot more like a proper piece of theatre.’ More appropriate for the venue shift
from the Pleasance to the Traverse, then? ‘Yeah,’ agrees Golaszewski. ‘If we’d put this one in a comedy venue, people would have said, “Why ain’t this funny?” Which is why I was so glad to get the Traverse. Also, it’s a bit more like being an adult. People have to pay 16 quid. That’s two CDs!’ ■ Stefan Golaszewski is A Widower, Traverse Theatre, 228 1404, 7–29 Aug (not 10, 17, 24), times vary, £14–£16 (£10–11). Preview 6 Aug, £10 (£5).
‘WE WANTED TO SEE HOW FAR WE COULD GO WITH IT’
STIRCRAZY Award-winning physical theatre company Belt Up provides an inspired contemporary spin on some enduring classics, as Anna Millar discovers
Sometimes notching up as many as seven different shows a day, the company developed a cult following, switching as it did between classic and contemporary works. This year looks set to be no different as it brings its reinterpretations of Moliere’s The Tartuffe and Kafka’s The Trial, as well as performing its trademark ‘secret shows’. ‘We wanted a mix,’ says Wilkes. ‘Tartuffe’s been a work in progress for almost three years. At no point was it going to be a traditional reworking, like a typical French farce. We always wanted to modernise it and play up the culture to make it more relevant.’ Characters from the play will be ‘out and about’ between the shows, in character, and each
As the recipients of last year’s Edinburgh International Festival Award, the York-based company will be flexing its Steven Berkoff- influenced style in a project at this year’s EIF, in Behind the Scenes, where the performers will showcase new work. If they’re feeling the pressure they’re keeping it well hidden. ‘It’s like that difficult second album,’ smiles Wilkes. ‘You just hope you can give it new life without losing the original spirit.’
C Soco, 0845 260 1234, until 31 Aug, 8.55pm (The Tartuffe), 11.20pm (The Trial), £9.50–£11.50 (£8.50–£10.50).
60 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 6–13 Aug 2009