FringeReview editor Paul Levy has been out and about at Durham Fringe Festival talking to those who make the Fringe happen…
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Jen Strike: Strike by name, delves into both family and national history in this Durham Fringe comedy show. “Growing up with a political. picketing dad wasn’t always easy, but then neither was being a teenager up north in the 80s. Jen Strike (real name) takes us on a tour of a northern childhood amidst the backdrop of The Miner’s Strike. Songs and stories are interspersed with stand-up and storytelling in this carefully crafted window into the life of an awkward, lanky teenager that didn’t have the ballet skills of Billy Elliot to fall back on.” Paul Levy talked with Jen about the show.
Helluva Twist is an improvised comedy show where a new version of the Dickens classic Oliver Twist is created each night before our very eyes. “Watch a group of buffoons submerged you in a brand spanking new tale based off a title suggestion from the audience!” We caught up with two members of this London-based improv group, Zoe Dunn and Robert Frimston.
Eden Ballantyne is a storyteller that prefers to do more than one show – one for adults and one … not for kids. In this chat at Durham Fringe he talks about his show, Buckets of Blood – Fairy Tales Not For Kids and also briefly discusses his for kids show, Captain Zak’s Space Pirate Problems. And what would the Brothers Grimm think if they happened upon one of his shows and sat in the back row?
Our interview with Nigel Lovell actually took place during Brighton’s festivities in May. we caught up with him outside the Brighton Spiegeltent. In this interview he talks about children’s favourite The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
Next up is Durham Fringe Festival Director Stephen Cronin. Stephen talks about his vision for the Fringe, its origin story and its future.
Wrong Tree Theatre Company‘s Sonder is a must see show, according to FringeReview. Described as a “play about strangers, connection, community, hopes and fears”, we caught up with co-writer Elena Jennings-Mares who talked about this excisitng and important piece of verbatim theatre.
We also spoke to storyteller Debbie Cannon, winner of Female Actor Award at Buxton Fringe 2018, about Green Knight which we reviewed as a VERY GOOD SHOW at Durham Fringe. Debbie chats about how this version of Sir Gawain and Green Knight came to the stage.
Ben Donaghy’s Bed: A One Man Show is “set on a bed in the centre of the stage” and “the audience is transported to scenes all over the world, from a hotel in Paris, a sleeper train, a rough night in a tent and raunchy encounters in Amsterdam.” Ben talked about how the show came into being and the creative process behind it.
We also bumped into performers Emma MacMillan and Zac Hanlon from hit cabaret show Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody. The show was a hit at Brighton Spiegetent in May 2024. They gave us the lowdown on a musical parody that is “a fantasy-driven, tongue-in-cheek musical comedy that warps the classic “Hero’s Journey” into a modern fairy-tale of self-discovery.”
Workshopping and performing her way through Durham Fringe is Jessa Liversidge. Jessa’s A Tapestry of Life is an iconic album from Carole King. Jessa talks about the songs she has chosen to perform, about singing and the workshop on the lawn!
We’ll be adding more interviews as the fringe progresses.
Check out our Durham Fringe reviews here.
Our recommendations and previews are here.
