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Between darkness and light Having won awards and critical acclaim for Crocosmia and Sporadical, Little Bulb’s latest Fringe show aims to celebrate the things that go overlooked, as Matt Boothman discovers
I n an environment like the Fringe, where boundaries are being broken in every second venue, a degree of restraint can be the best way to stand out. Little Bulb don’t claim that their folksy tales of tight-knit families and pastoral communities make for radical theatre. But in the citywide shouting match that is Edinburgh in August, the soft- spoken few can command attention.
‘A lot of theatre can be too dark,’ muses Alex Scott, director of Little Bulb’s latest play Operation Greenfield. ‘Especially experimental theatre. Sometimes it’s a bit too . . . full-on? We’re trying to do something else – we don’t want to say, “Oh, what a wonderful world, where nothing bad happens!” We want to celebrate the good things that do happen, to give a context for the darkness.’ In the company’s previous work, this has meant exploring the ways young children react to death. ‘Crocosmia was about the memories of younger children,’ says Scott, ‘and Sporadical is about finding collective stories to keep a tradition going. Operation Greenfield is within that world and that ethos,
but I would say it’s more complicated. More dark, in a way – more questioning.’ Development of the play started a year ago, but it’s taken until now to get Operation Greenfield ready for an audience – and Scott still isn’t entirely certain what it is they’ve created. ‘Because we’ve not performed it, really, apart from some incomplete scratch showings, it’s quite difficult to know exactly what we’re dealing with,’ he says. ‘It’s set in a fictional town in the mid-1990s, and it follows
‘WE WANT TO CELEBRATE THE GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPEN’
four Christian teenagers, who are in a band, as they enter a village talent competition. But there’s a lot of added weirdness around that.’ He elaborates: ‘Sporadical was kind of messy, kind of raucous. This one’s a bit more detailed, a bit more mathematical, much more precise; pretty much the whole show is musically choreographed. It could be a bit more unsettling, depending on where you’re
coming from – what images you’re reading into it.’
If it’s hard to imagine being unsettled by a Little Bulb show, perhaps that’s because their work to date has focused on younger children. As the company matures, it seems, so do their characters. ‘We’re looking at teenagers,’ Scott reiterates. ‘Being a is more complicated. I think the show reflects that.’ teenager
So does Operation Greenfield herald the beginning of an angsty new era for Little Bulb? It seems unlikely, at least as long as everyone’s on the same artistic wavelength as Scott. ‘We like to celebrate things that go overlooked: the idea of being tremendous friends, or being in love with someone,’ he says, as if he’s never seen love portrayed on stage before. Perhaps he hasn’t – at least, not the way he wants to see it. ‘It’s probably because we’re very like a family, in the way that we relate to one another. There’s a lot of honesty, and trust, and rambunctious relationships – that’s how we operate.’
Operation Greenfield, Zoo Roxy, 662 6892, 9–28 Aug (not 15, 22), 8.35pm, £9.50 (£7.50). Previews 6 & 7 Aug, £7 (£5).
Truth commission Playwright Sam Holcroft talks to Kirstin Innes about the eagerly awaited follow-up to her searing debut Cockroach
‘What would happen if we started being completely honest with each other, right now?’ asks Sam Holcroft. ‘You could tell me everything you’ve heard about me; I could tell you exactly what I think of The List. What would happen to that basic civility that keeps our society going?’ Crikey. I’d only asked what her new play, While You Lie, headlining the Traverse’s Fringe programme, was about. Holcroft is best known for her brilliant 2008 debut Cockroach, with its roots in not only evolutionary genetics but global war and the (male?) attraction to violence. While You Lie, a four-hander about the breakdown of two relationships, might seem a much lower-key play, but it’s certainly not kitchen sink drama. ‘Cockroach took on “big” themes, but I don’t consider this one any less big,’ she says. ‘It’s hopefully just about something that everyone will recognise: how much
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people are willing to sacrifice in terms of honesty, and what is the difference between “reassuring” somebody and lying to them. I actually wrote them at the same time, without thinking twice, which is why they both have a kind of violent urgency.’
As a new playwright, especially one with such a successful debut, the expectations on Holcroft are huge. Fortunately, her director is Zinnie Harris, whose own work as a playwright dances just as trickily around the personal and political. ‘Oh, it’s been great having a director who’s also a writer. She’s been wonderfully generous in terms of how much room I can have, and the production is still very faithful to the vision I had.’ ■ While You Lie, Traverse Theatre, 228 1404, 6–29 Aug (not 9, 16, 23), times vary, £15–£17 (£11–£12). Previews until 5 Aug,
£11 (£6).
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