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WHERE DO LITTLE BIRDS GO? Tale of a forgotten victim of the Kray twins
WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT Airwoman turned actress presents a one woman play of her time in the military TETHER Lost Sock Company explore the relationship between a blind runner and their guide
Based on the true story of Lisa Prescott, this uplifting one-woman play tells the story of Lucy, an 18-year-old abducted by notorious London gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray in the 1960s. Playwright Camilla Whitehill discovered the story while researching true crime: ‘I was reading books about the Kray twins when I came across this story. I was immediately fascinated by it.’
Where Do Little Birds Go? charts the time Lucy
(played by Jessica Butcher) spends imprisoned in a flat with the Krays and escaped murderer Frank ‘The Mad Axeman’ Mitchell. Director Sarah Meadows describes it as an ‘inherently feminist narrative that unearths the story of a woman whose dreams are manipulated by those with power’. While there are plenty of accounts about the Kray
brothers' lives, Whitehill found Lisa’s life to be a mystery. ‘Like most of history, the story had been told from the male perspective and there was very little available information about Lisa Prescott. I realised that if I made it a one-woman piece I could build a fictional world for this woman whose story had been so neglected.’ (Rowena McIntosh) ■ Underbelly Cowgate, 0844 545 8252 8–30 Aug (not 17), 8.55pm, £10–£11 (£9–£10). Previews 6 & 7 Aug, £6.
Written and performed by Rebecca Crookshank, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is based on her experiences in the Royal Air Force. Describing the play as ‘90% fact, 10% joyous embellishment’, it follows her from basic training through to deployment in the Falkland Islands. ‘Becoming an actor felt like a distant dream but the process of becoming an airwoman, serving in the RAF, and all my experiences of service awakened my creativity.’
Crookshank, who plays nine characters and voices snippets of three more, says: ‘I was always dressing up as a kid, and I loved the idea of the uniforms in the RAF, so the day we went to stores and were issued with our kit I was in heaven!’ She hopes the play will encourage dialogue
about women in the military: ‘One of my characters is based on the first female station commander in the Royal Air Force, the late Joan Hopkins, a pioneering role model. I really want the show to share her legacy, and other female servicewomen can be celebrated, acknowledged and inspire future voices.’ (Rowena McIntosh) ■ Underbelly Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, 8–30 Aug (not 17), 4.30pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Previews 6 & 7 Aug, £6.
Tether examines a relationship that, outside fleeting exposure at major athletics events, is unknown to most – that of a blind runner and their tethered guide. Director Bethany Pitts relishes the unique subject matter, confident it will take audiences ‘to places they haven’t been before. It’s an ambitious new play that tells a story I haven’t seen on stage.’ It tells the story of Mark, an athlete who becomes
a guide for blind marathon runner Becky after he fails to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games. Author Isley Lynn says the play required months of research with athletes. ‘When I decided to write a play about blind running, I couldn’t have been further out of my depth,’ admits Lynn. 'I’m fully sighted and not sporty at all, but I was absolutely compelled to tell a story about this fascinating world.’
Tether is a production about trust, friendship, ambition and glory. It questions whether we are selfish at heart and asks can you be fully happy helping others succeed? With the Rio 2016 Paralympics just a year away, it is a timely piece. (Rowena McIntosh) ■ Underbelly Cowgate, 0844 545 8252, 8–30 Aug (not 17), 2pm, £9–£10 (£8–£9). Previews 6 & 7 Aug, £6.
PIP UTTON: PLAYING MAGGIE Fringe veteran takes on the Iron Lady
Pip Utton’s solo shows have become something of a Fringe institution: from Casanova to Churchill, Utton goes beyond mimicry to find the essence of historical characters. Having taken on Hitler and Francis Bacon, Utton is taking on another controversial 20th-century figure: Margaret Thatcher. This is not a hagiography or a condemnation of the
Conservative former Prime Minister: her recent death saw celebrations – in Glasgow, calls were made for a street party – and respectful memorials, with a museum of her life currently being mooted. ‘I allow the audience not merely to listen to Mrs T but also to
question her directly during the performance,’ says Utton. ‘This is both a challenge for me as an actor, because I have no idea what I will be asked and I will have to answer as her, but also for the audience to ‘buy into’ this whole notion that the dead person is alive and standing in front of them talking not at them but with them.’ Utton denies, however, that his work is merely about the worthy
dead. ‘It just happens that to date they have all been historic characters,’ he insists. ‘I have to believe that they have to have made an impact in their lives. That fascinates me.’ Utton refuses to either praise or condemn her: ‘I enjoy the
chance to try to portray that dead person without the need for me to make judgements about them, that isn’t my job, I’m not a historian.’ With Thatcher’s legacy still up for grabs, and her influence on contemporary politics reflected in both Conservative and New Labour policies, Utton is using drama in the way that it began in ancient Athens: as a public forum for debate. (Gareth K Vile) ■ Assembly Rooms, 0844 693 3008, 7–30 Aug (not 17), noon, £10 (£9). Preview 6 Aug, £9 (£8).
6–13 Aug 2015 THE LIST FESTIVAL 89