(With apologies…Kind of…)
In April of this year, the Oliviers were back. After three years of not celebrating those who have got to the be seen as the best in theatre … We celebrated them publicly and without Zoom.
But…
There was one story that was deep in my heart.
It reminded me that the job I do here, with Fringe Review is so damn important.
Winning the Noel Coward/Geoffrey Johnson best entertainment and comedy award was Pride and Prejudice (Sort of).
So let me tell you a story…
I went to see a young actor at her RCS showcase – the review is here – http://fringereview.co.uk/review/fringereview-scotland/2014/how-to-sing-it/
Afterwards they sent me a really lovely email to thank me for taking the time. It was no Edinburgh Fringe time, and it was a student production at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. I don’t think anyone else reviewed the work, but it was, as you can see from the review, something I really enjoyed.
I then went to see them at the Fringe in Edinburgh…
This time it was a piece of work in which they acted rather than had their hand upon the tiller, but I was delighted to have the opportunity to catch up. I said hello when leaving, and she was gracious enough to acknowledge me. In the scheme of things my part in this story is slight, but it is important- at least to me.
She then got commissioned by a Glasgow institution.
I didn’t see the show. I didn’t need to.
But I didn’t have to…
By now she was on a trajectory that was beyond my reach, and rightly so.
At the Oliviers, the presenters responsible for announcing the winners of the Noel Coward/Geoffrey Johnson best entertainment and comedy award highlighted the young artists who have battled to keep the artistry flowing. And who should pop up to receive it, then thank the theatre that commissioned it and put faith in her – that very person who many years before I had been privileged to review.
She collected the award in typical Scots style – warning she starts her thank you in a typically enthusiastic Glaswegian manner with not one, nor two or even three but four letters…
It reminded me as I prepare to tackle yet another season of the Fringe…
There are always some duffers and there is plenty of coal in the search for a diamond. My duty, as someone who gets to see so much is to simply dig deep. You never know as you dip your toe into a darkened room, write notes in silence and darkness and then form sentences eagerly awaited by the people who shared that hotel space, studio theatre, original venue or back of a taxi/public toilet/ stranger’s front living room if those words shall start something. For me, I am not looking to see the top show of the Fringe. I am not really hopeful that of all the shows I get to see, there shall be more worthy of my attention than not. I just want each day to have the chance of being a critical pal, someone who can give you a step or a hint or a different perspective. Not here to crush dreams but to try and help those dreams along the way.
If, in the meantime, you get a boost that leads to a successful application for funding which means that a career is not stifled but enhanced, then job done. And it’s a good un…
