NOVINKY Z FRINGE
Welcome to FringeReview’s Prague Fringe page.
We are delighted to be covering this unique Fringe Festival with news, previews, interviews and reviews.
There seem to be more shows than ever and it is almost impossible not to recommend nearly everything.
We’ve explored the programme and offer plenty of tips and hot tickets.
Essential Links
Visit the Prague Fringe web site here.
Read our reviews here.
Browse the programme here
Here’s the Prague Fringe Facebook Page.
Follow Prague Fringe on Twitter.
View Prague Fringe on Instagram
I want to see … at Prague Fringe
Our intuitive show-finding tool.
I want to see…
… some surreal sketch comedy. Then see Birds
… some absurd clown. Then see Stuck
… an action-packed 60-minute circus show. Then see Chores
… an innovative exploration of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Then see Hamlet (an Experience)
… a multilingual physical theatre show combining movement, live sound effects, comedy and origami. Tnen see 2100
… lecoq-trained performers. Then see The Latebloomers
… an unique cabaret. Then see Johnny Darlin: Songs About Boys
… a world premiere by a triple Fringe First Winner. Then see Games by Henry Naylor
… a solo performer – improvisation, clowning and amazing magic skills. Then see El DIablo of the Cards
We’ll be adding more recommendations in the run up to, and during the Fringe.
Link Collage
Our ever-popular visual way to intuitively find a show to see at Prague Fringe.
Simply click on an image that draws you in to find a show, then get booking…
We’ll be adding more recommendations in the run up to, and during the Fringe.
Keyword Chaos
Another way to find a show at Prague Fringe.
We’ve trawled the programme and our own knowledge base and selected the most intriguing phrases in programme line up.
So, choose the phrase that draws you in, click on the link and get booking.
Use your intuition…
“an Irish mother was accused of killing her two children”
“Year 2100. The last human orbits a desolate earth, losing hope.”
“A topless Englishman talking about open heart surgery and life.”
We’ll be adding more recommendations in the run up to, and during the Fringe.
INTERVIEW
Actor and Producer Emily Carding from Brite Theater talks about Hamlet (An Experience)
What’s the theme of your show?
Hamlet (An Experience) is a one-woman condensed version of Shakespeare’s most famous play which creates an intense, intimate and immersive atmosphere by using the audience as the other roles.
What’s new or unique about the show?
Building on our previous work with Richard III (A One Woman Show) www.onewomanrichard.co.uk we combine Shakespearean performance with audience participation in a way which (to our knowledge) no-one else is doing.In this production audience memmbers are greeted as the players arriving at Elsinore for a rehearsal of the play within a play, but Hamlet gives them roles from his own life to act out, to help to tell his story truthfully.
How did the show come into being?
After our global success with Richard III (A One Woman Show), director Kolbrun Bjort Sigfusdottir and myself wanted to push boundaries even further. I had the idea to try Hamlet and came up with the first draft. This then was shelved for a couple of years until we found the time and resources to come together and make it happen. Kolbrun put the final touches on the script and overall concept which has really made it magical and brought it all together.
Describe one of your rehearsals.
We were lucky enough to have access to the circle studio at the Citizen’s Theatre in Glasgow during the day while I was there performing Richard III by night. A typical rehearsal would involve a good warm up followed by getting into character and then tackling the scenes. What was really important with this show in particular, even more so than the last, was that we were able to get a few volunteers to come and be test audience members. They were able to help us to hone the cue-scripts for the audience and make sure they were as clear and simple as possible, as well as making sure that everything flowed and was effective from whatever perspective they were experiencing it from. For instance, Ophelia is required to tear up her script, hand it out as flowers and then lie in the centre of the room. So for her funeral she gets a completely unique perspective.
How is the show developing?: We’ve finished rehearsals and now we have to wait until the first previews at Brighton Fringe to see how it goes down with an audience and whether any more changes need to be made.
How has the writer been involved?
Well he’s been dead for around 450 years, but we adapted the original text between us to get it down to the requisite hour and tell the aspect of the story we wanted to tell with the audience.
How have you experimented?
All our rehearsals contain a bit of experimentation, that’s how we make discoveries. You try things in different ways in the safety of the rehearsal space to find the most cohesive piece and mode of performance. In this, we started off with a few ideas which have been shed along the way, we’ve stripped it right down to being as simple and intense as possible. At the same time, we didn’t have the luxury of a long rehearsal process, so we had to come into the process with a very clear idea of what we wanted to achieve.
Where do your ideas come from?
This project is very much an evolution of our past work with Shakespeare. But we also were wary of repeating ourselves. We work together really well and bounce ideas off each other until we have a eureka moment and we know we have something exciting.
How do your challenge yourself or yourselves?
Audience participation, especially in this context, is always a massive risk. In this instance we’re giving them a lot more to do and trusting that that will work. Since we have such a good reputation with the last show, we’re putting ourselves on the line a bit by continually pushing the boundaries of Shakespearean performance and seeing how far we can take people before they abandon us!
What are your future plans for the show ?
This show is heading to Edinburgh Fringe in August. Future plans will depend on its success or otherwise, but it would be good to tour in the UK and internationally as we have done with Richard III.
What are your favourite shows, and why?
I enjoy theatre that has the sense of truly being an immediate, immersive experience. Not in a pretentous way. I want to feel like a character is really talking to me, so that’s the kind of work we make. That’s why I enjoy Mark Rylance so much as a performer. Andrew Scott as Hamlet achieved that too, despite the fact that I was up in the rafters somewhere watching him. That was a great production.
Show dates, times and booking info:
May 31st- June 2nd 8.15pm, Malostranská beseda – Inner Foyer
Book here
Company web site: http://britetheater.weebly.
INTERVIEW
Writer and Producer Tom Daldry talks about Caravan of Love
What’s the theme of your show?
Caravan of Love is a double bill of one-act plays, which explore mismatched couples, bad relationships and toxic love.
We’ve all been there. Haven’t we?
What’s new or unique about the show?
My writing aims to use language to explore how what is said is never what is meant.
For these plays, I’ve used a very familiar setting (for British holidayers) – caravans. They are interesting because they are used for holidays, and yet are utterly claustrophobic.
In this environment, everyday language & characterisation become intensified. Role play & fantasy get taken to an extreme.
It is my first play.
How did the show come into being?
The idea was born after a weekend-long Self-Discovery workshop, followed by a series of emotional breakdowns in a remote caravan site in the West of Ireland. It didn’t stop raining for a week. Inside and out.
I then went home and wrote like the wind.
I wrote to Paul Heaton (The Housemartins, The Beautiful South) and sent him the script. He gave permission to use Caravan of Love as the theme song, and within the show.
Describe one of your rehearsals.
Rehearsals are intense, fun and very physical. My writing is very specific and detailed – so in rehearsals we rip it up and start again.
Our office & small rehearsal space is at the top of an old cinema (Electric Palace) in Hastings, UK. We’re able to rehearse in the cinema – when we’re not distracting ourselves by watching European arthouse movies. Current passion: revisiting French New Wave classics from the ’60’s.
How is the show developing?
A challenge is taking the physical caravan setting and adapting it to an intimate venue. This encourages us to find the wild, surreal energy inside the pieces.
How has the writer been involved?
I am the Producer, and the production is by Theatre Nation – of which I am co-founder. The Director is also acting in it. So I do some directing of my own. Plus fundraising. Much fundraising.
How have you experimented?
I am a Polish dual national, and I am very interested in the Polish theatre tradition. Lots of British theatre is linear and issue-based. Our work uses a lot of physical improvisation to allow a fully expressed physical style to emerge.
Where do your ideas come from?
They come in flashes, which have an autobiographical seed – which is then taken to an extreme.
It’s difficult to explain, but I can tell when an idea has organic momentum. They don’t always lead to a fully fledged piece, but nothing is ever wasted.
How do your challenge yourself or yourselves?
By pursuing a life in the arts, and refusing to compromise.
What are your future plans for the show ?
After Prague, we’re taking it to Barnstaple & Hastings Fringe Festivals in the UK. Both lovely towns, and great summer festivals.
I hope, in the future, to adapt them into television plays. I’ve written a series of six caravan plays.
What are your favourite shows, and why?
Old-school Simpsons due to the collaborative writing process, and I happen to think it’s the best comedy writing ever to have graced the small screen.
Blue Remembered Hills by Dennis Potter because it captures childhood in a powerfully disturbing way. The inherent violence of childhood.
Samuel Beckett. Perfect for an evening of existential angst – of which I have many.
Martin Crimp. Master of language, and I LOVE his dialogue. It’s enthralling.
Jules et Jim (I’m now learning French, so I can watch French films without subtitles). Because my friend Patrick told me to put it. The ultimate polyamorous relationship movie.
Show dates, times and booking info: Prague Fringe Festival, the Museum of Alchemists.
29.05. 19:30 – 20:30
30.05. 19:30 – 20:30
31.05. 18:00 – 19:00
01.06. 18:00 – 19:00
02.06. 18:00 – 19:00
Book here:
http://www.praguefringe.com/
Company web site: http://theatrenation.org
INTERVIEW
Bryan Schall, Producer from Static Assembly talks about Nana Schewitz’s Pass Me Over Party
What’s the theme of your show?
Nana Schewitz’s Pass Me Over Party is a celebration of the heroic life and ever nearing death of our favourite 96 year old Jewish superstar, Nana Schewitz. If there’s one thing Nana has learned throughout her dragging life, it’s that practice makes perfect. And why not put this practice-mantra into practice with a practice funeral, ruminating not only on our inevitable mortality, but also celebrating our legacy and its ability to make us into eternal creatures.
What’s new or unique about the show?
Nana not only brings the gayest Jewish-ist party that Prague has ever seen, she also brings her award winning matzo ball soup served by some of South Florida’s most beautiful gentiles ever captured. And although not much is new about this nearing centennial, her drag show meets cabaret meets kosher catering is sure to be one of the most culturally insensitive productions that “central” Europe has ever witnessed.
How did the show come into being?
The world was first introduced to Nana Schewitz in her law-breaking performance at the Stone Groove Shagadelic Disco in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Nana not only hosted the daily pickle raffle and strip competition, but was also promptly detained by the local law enforcement for serving Manischewitz kosher wine to underage Protestant boys. Post-release and with a new affinity for criminal activity, Nana fled America to her motherland which has has unsuccessfully worked to prosecute her for the last 85 years, Germany. There, she began working on her most illicit, law-breaking, yet celebrated act: her death.
How is the show developing?
Nana Schewitz currently hosts a Tuesday afternoon drag show in her home of Berlin. There, she meticulously curates and develops her own not-so-Kosher performances with near-German precision. Unsurprisingly, most of her acts are received with utter disgust, including an all too traumatic city-wide wiener schnitzel barrage last October. However, with this ever culminating research and development (and collection of weiners), Nana has compiled a masterpiece which has driven the entire country of Germany into a state of furor: an accomplishment she is quite proud of. “If the people of Germany despise your comedy, you know it is perfect for the world stage” she was quoted saying to Der Tagesspiegel. Her interview with the popular German newspaper was quickly retracted by the editors, with apology.
How have you experimented?
Mostly orally, but Nana has found that a genuine performance comes from becoming a more genuine person. Once you’ve found a level of genuinity that is convincing, the experimenting comes from just being yourself and trusting your intuition with the work. Honesty, transparency, and openness are such compelling virtues on the stage, and Nana is working becoming more and more open every single weekend.
Where do your ideas come from?
Although Nana would tell you her ideas come from her deep ancestral link to a rich Jeudo-Yiddish history, the truth is that most of Nana’s ideas come from watching Dame Edna while smoking medically prescribed marijuana.
What are your future plans for the show ?
Originally, we planned for only one performance for the Pass Me Over Party: a simple funeral with lunch to follow. However, this was now almost six years ago when our Nana hit a staggering 90 years old. We were certain she wouldn’t make it too much further past the ninth decade, but here she remains at 96 years old, still nimble as she was at 69. So, until our sweet Nana finally departs from her flesh (for which our investors wait with baited breath) the party will continue on in any country that will still grant our fragile Nana a visa.
What are your favourite shows, and why?
Nana has currently been binging “The Walking Dead,” from which she received her current nickname.
Show dates, times and booking info:
Nana Schewitz’s Pass Me Over Party is on as part of the 17th Annual Prague Fringe Festival
May 25-27, 21:00-22:00
Café Club Míšeňská
Míšeňská 71/3 118 00, Praha 1
Tickets: 170 Kč in advance / 200 Kč on the door
Book here
INTERVIEW
Writer and Performer Max Scratchmann talks about The Last Burrah Sahibs
What’s the theme of your show?
The Last Burrah Sahibs is a one-hour one-man spoken-word-show about the mansion-house-dwelling life led by ordinary British mill workers in the old jute colonies along the Hooghly river in twentieth century Bengal.
Performance poet – Max Scratchmann – was born into this old-style colonial life of luxury and brought up in mansion house with fleets of servants long after “the Raj” was supposed to have ended – British rule ceased in India in 1947 – and then brought ‘home’ to a very different life in Scotland in the mid-60s.
What’s new or unique about the show?
This show tells the previously untold story – currently being written out of history – of the lives of Scottish mill workers in India 1n the 1950s and 60s, long after British rule had officially ended.
How did the show come into being?
I was born in India in the old Scottish colonies, the son of mill workers from Dundee. As the years have gone by I’ve become more and more aware that my father and his generation are being slowly written out of the history books, and I’ve been motivated to tell their story before it is lost completely.
Describe one of your rehearsals.
Strange, as there’s usually only me around, although I have worked with a freelance director on and off. I usually rehearse the show and film it so I can watch the pacing and the narrative flow and also stop it going over its slot time!
How has the writer been involved?
As I’m both the writer and performer I’ve been constantly involved.
How have you experimented?
The show started its life as a book, then a talk for TED-X and then was finally developed into spoken word theatre to incorporate more drama and on-going narrative. I then added background video utilising some of my family home movies from the late 50s and early 60s and have also experimented with adding small sections of poetry to the oral script.
Where do your ideas come from?
I have previewed the show and developed new ideas based on the audience reactions.
How do your challenge yourself or yourselves?
By taking the show to new places and venues.
What are your future plans for the show ?
The show is going to be at Wandsworth Fringe on 8th and 10th May, then Prague Fringe 31st May to 2nd June, then at the Edinburgh Fringe on 20th and 21st August, and after that, to infinity and beyond…
What are your favourite shows, and why?
I like shows with a strong narrative that push the envelope and take spoken word to new places.
Show dates, times and booking info for several Fringe Festival, including Prague Fringe…
8pm on May 8th and 9:30pm on May 10th at The Cat’s Back in Wandsworth – tickets: https://www.wandsworthfringe.
7pm Nightly from 31st May to 2nd June at the Golden Key, Prague – tickets: http://www.praguefringe.com/
8pm nightly at Woodland Creatures, Edinburgh on 20th and 21st August – tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/
Company web site: https://www.facebook.com/
INTERVIEW
Maria Magdolna Beky Winnerstam from Långsjö teater: Don Quijote in the Storm, The Little Fisherman
What’s the theme of your show?
Don Quijote in the Storm…
Discuss questions of mankind´s future in the midst of migrating crowds, in the middle of today`s environmental- and climate changes. Heavy with his lavish trash armor this hero with a clown nose rides out for making justice in the world.
The Little Fisherman…
Human greed and our way of connecting to nature.
What’s new or unique about the show?
Don Quijote in the Storm combines insights of climate-and sustainability research from Stockholm and Linköping university with Cervantes`classic and stages that through clown, mime, acting and live music enriched by the costumes of trash made by Johanna Törnqvist, textile artist. Creating a fragile and disorientated anti-hero we try to search for the right quest for a sustainable future.
The Little Fisherman combines the classic Grimms´ folktale, The Fisherman and his Wife, with insights that the member of the theatre company has learned through tapping into research on the Baltic.
How did the show come into being?
Don Quijote in the Storm…
The idea of Cervantes` anti-hero was a natural choice for us since the confusion of ideas, solutions and future scenarios demands us to be explorative and experimental when approaching these questions. Also, as we have taken part in and executed narrative workshop for an international group of researchers on the theme `Planetary Boundaries`, we have slowly developed ideas of the show.
The Little Fisherman…
Our company had a collaboration with researchers at Stockholm Resilience Centre. We gave creative workshops to them working with how and what they communicate when they tell about research on the Baltic sea. In exchange we received material to work with for our coming production on the Baltic, The Fisherman and his Wife which is for youth/ adult audiences. At the same time we produced this production for children which is using the same fairy tale but concentrating more on the level of myth than research.
Describe one of your rehearsals.
We always have some material to start with, a myth, a piece of research and some discussion what we essentially will say with the play. In the rehearsal room we have co-creational processes; ususally through experimenting and improvisation we develope scenes. We work with levels separatly; these levels can be: research content of a sustainability issue, the own/personal approach of the actor to this issue, the character, the level of myth, the relevancy of the myth in the room and the level of nature.
How is the show developing?
Since most of our shows are highly interactive and build on the contact with our audiences, we don´t ever stop working on the shows. We constantly develope and grow in this interaction with our audineces. Punch lines, timings and new small sketches born at all time.
How has the writer been involved?
We are writing oursleves.
Where do your ideas come from?
We follow our interests and hunches and our passion for mankind and our future.
How do your challenge yourself or yourselves?
We are constantly working on our imporvisational skills, dance and mime skills and try to surprise each other on stage.
What are your future plans for the show ?
Both productions have been on long tour but we are ready to do more.
What are your favourite shows, and why?
Oh, there are many. My favourite group is Theatre de Complicité, but I really like traditional kathakali shows in Kerala. Since I am a trained kathakali dancer/actor I enjoy mime, clown and physical theatre. However, Romeo and Juliet played by The Daylight Players of The Royal Shakespeare Company was a fantastic experience.
Show dates, times and booking info
The Little Fisherman
Dates: 25th, 26th and 27th of May 16.15-16.50
Place: Museum of Alchemist
Don Quijote in the Storm
Dates: 25th, 26th, 27th of May 18.30-19.20 and 28th of May 17-17.50
Place: Divaldo Inspirace
Book here
Company web site: http://www.langsjoteater.se
INTERVIEW
Writer, Performer, Producer Gavin Roach talks about The Measure of a Man
What’s the theme of your show?: Bold, powerful and liberating reflections on sexuality, masculinity and queer lives.
What’s new or unique about the show?
The Measure of a Man looks at one man’s sexual anxieties and pull out the kinds of stories that LGBTIQ+ theatre often shies away from – stories shrouded in embarrassment or shame.
The show is a perfectly-balanced blend of comedy and drama – from light-hearted and uproariously funny moments to gut-wrenching, dark moments that expose the scars and open wounds that still remain, hidden underneath the glitter.
How did the show come into being?
The show has slowly evolved over a five year period, shifting and changing as each idea fell into place, until the fully formed show found its place. I wanted to explore my own personal issues when it came to sexual anxiety and body image, but through further discussion, I found that the themes and story were greater than myself, so I continued to ask questions and listen to others and before I knew it, the show took shape.
The show forms Part Two of The Anxiety Trilogy, which is a collection of shows I have interwoven to fully explore the themes and narrative
Describe one of your rehearsals.
Usually rehearsals consist of me napping in the corner, eating to many doughnuts and crying like a four year old at the idea of actually doing any work.
How is the show developing?
With each show I am getting more and more comfortable with the themes and the structure and am able to take a few more creative risks. I have been loving audience reactions to the work and with each performance, I am really enjoying strengthening the relationship between the audience and the stories.
How has the writer been involved?
Considering the writer and the performer are one and the same, I would say they have been VERY involved.
How have you experimented?
As lame as it sounds, this is the first time I have stretch my wings in terms of using lighting and sound effects to enhance the performance. Normally I am a lights up/lights down kind of performer but with this show I wanted to use an integration of technologies to lift the performance and have a play with form.
Where do your ideas come from?
I tend to get ideas from a huge range of sources – paintings or movies or books but also ideas pop in my head in the most random of ways. News headlines often capture my attention and get the juices flowing, as does certain words or sentence structures and I have even written a whole play just around a person I saw crossing the street. There wasn’t much that was remarkable about that moment, but there was a spark and then a thread of a story and off I went on an adventure.
How do your challenge yourself or yourselves?
I try to make theatre that scares me.
What are your future plans for the show ?
After the Prague Fringe Festival I want to continue to tour the show throughout Australia and hopefully take it over to New Zealand.
What are your favourite shows, and why?
I adores shows that shudder and crack with emotion, passion and excitement. When I see a performance, no matter where it is, I want to feel. I approach theatre with an open mind and heart and am always ready for both to be challenged and enriched.
Show dates, times and booking info: Prague Fringe Festival 2018
29.05. 21:30 – 22:20
30.05. 21:30 – 22:20
31.05. 21:30 – 22:20
01.06. 23:00 – 23:50
02.06. 23:00 – 23:50
Book here
Company web site: https://www.facebook.com/
INTERVIEW
Playwright, Actor and Producer from Los Dos, J.B. Alexander, talks about Karlos Before the Law
What’s the theme of your show?
The theme of my show is borders — political, personal, psychological, cultural and existential. What function do borders serve? Why do we seek to cross them? What are the obstacles placed before us? What is the border between performer and audience? What is the border between artist and activist? Are borders real, or are they illusory.
The program blurb for the show is as follows:
In a dark cell near the border, a silent prisoner stands accused. Why has he sought to infiltrate our country? And how has he slipped past our defenses? Who will prevail – prisoner or guard? Or are they both merely characters in someone else’s story?
How did the show come into being?
I’m a huge Kafka nerd and I’ve always been fascinated by his parable Before the Law, which appears in The Trial (though it was published as a stand-alone piece during his lifetime). Text here: http://www.kafka-online.info/
The parable speaks of loneliness, of yearning, and of a longing to cross from a place of darkness to a place of light. Kafka’s text is existential, obviously, not political, but I thought the image of a guard preventing a man from crossing a boundary could speak to some of the current political discussion about immigration and refugees. So the play teases and explores the relationship between the two, without offering any pat answers.
How is the show developing?
I’m very excited to begin formal rehearsals next week. My collaborator is noted Mexican actor Antonio Vega (bio http://www.porpiedadteatro.
Where do your ideas come from?
From the dark recesses of my imagination, of course!
Though my imagination is usually provoked by a story or image of another writer (usually Kafka) which is then churned and churned to create something original and new.
What are your future plans for the show ?
We are doing a preview performance in NYC at The Tank on May 26, and then heading to Prague for the Fringe Festival. I’d like to do it again in NYC in the fall, but no current plans. Know any producers?
What are your favourite shows, and why?
The show feels indebted to Waiting for Godot, which is a favorite of mine. Except, here, instead of waiting, one character is seeking Godot and the other is blocking his way. If Kafka were an Irishman, he would have been Beckett.
Show dates, times and booking info:
Karlos Before the Law plays The Tank, NYC
26.05 7pm
More details here: http://thetanknyc.org/
Then onto Prague Fringe
A Studio Rubin
29.05. 20:00 – 20:55
30.05. 20:00 – 20:55
31.05. 20:00 – 20:55
01.06. 18:30 – 19:25
02.06. 18:30 – 19:25
Book here
Company web site: http://www.jaybeealexander.net
INTERVIEW
Paul Vickers, Mr.Twonkey, talks about Twonkey’s Night Train to Liechtenstein
What’s the theme of your show?
A tale of Inherited Wealth and Murder
When I was a young boy I sent a letter to Prince Charles asking if could take it upon him to visit smaller countries like San Marino, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. I felt it was important not to neglect them due to size. I have family in Liechtenstein they would love to meet the future kings. I got a letter back from the prince saying he had just been on a skiing holiday in Liechtenstein with the boys. In fact they pinned the letter on the notice board at school. I was bullied to tears. People reacted by trying to kill me. Pretty soon the letter was vandalized and destroyed by thugs. I feel its time for me to go to Liechtenstein. I need to pick up the money left for me by my auntie in her will, what could go wrong? Let me tell you about my late rich eccentric Auntie.
“It’s a hard world for little things”
(Lillian Gish in Night of the Hunter.)
This year Mr.Twonkey is going to make you cry in his first ever four-handkerchief show. Join him in his new fancy adventure featuring a tiny Al Capone, a mysterious package and a sexual dance that leads us off a cliff. We travel to the belly button of Europe to unlock a safety deposit box. Why is Mr. Trombone so sad and what’s it like to work as a gigolo?
How did the show come into being?
A dashing Yorkshire man (I.E Me) returned home from a holiday in Chicago and out of one the books on his shelf they rolled a Tiny Al Capone.
“They couldn’t kill me; I’ve been hiding there all along Tiny Al Capone, Tiny Al Capone”.
Until one day he slipped into a Babyfoot Table and was kicked into a light fitting and fried Tiny Al Capone,Tiny Al Capone.
That was the first seed of an idea.
Describe one of your rehearsals.
I sit with my puppets and sing to them.
Sometimes people come look at me and cheer me along.
Sometimes I drink tea and look out the window and think.
Sometimes I sit in the dark and cry.
How is the show developing?
It’s my best show …Please come! send Philip Hutchinson (he’s Wonderful).
Lynn Ruth Miller never comes….she’s all hot air but I still love her….but she is a tease.
How has the writer been involved?
I am the writer.
How have you experimented?
Bloody hell…..Yes I have…..always…ALWAYS.
Where do your ideas come from?
Twonkeyverse!
How do your challenge yourself or yourselves?
It’s challenging writing a new show every year but I love it…..and i’m getting good at it now.
What are your favourite shows, and why?
Maid Of Cabbage was great last year.
Lucy Pearman mixed Catherine Cookson with Father Ted with ease.
Show dates, times and booking info:
THE DATES:
Brighton Fringe 2018 The Caroline of Brunswick 2018:
11th and 12th of May 19:30 hours.
Prague Fringe at the Museum of Alchemists 2018:
25th,26th and 27th of May 19:45 hours.
London The Bill Murray Comedy Club 2018:
14th of June 18:45 hours.
Buxton Fringe at The Old Clubhouse 2018:
13th July, 19:00 hours and 14th July, 22:00 hours.
Edinburgh Fringe 2018 Heroes at Dragonfly:
3rd to the 26th of August (apart from the 8th and the 22nd) 18:00 hours.
Company web site: http://twonkey.blogspot.co.uk
INTERVIEW
A Debut Solo Show: Nathan Lang talks about The Stuntman
What’s the theme of your show?
It’s a physical comedy show about the best stuntman in the world trying to be a man but succeeding in being an idiot. So the story of my life, but in costume with stunts.
What’s new or unique about the show?
The Stuntman is my debut solo show and I will show you how the world looks from my perspective. Also I’m the only stuntman on the Fringe and I have the tightest onesie.
How did the show come into being?:
t came out of total self-inflicted humiliation. I did a one-week clowning workshop with Aitor Basauri from Spymonkey, a clown company I have idolised since I saw them in Melbourne in 2001. There was a lot riding on this for my dignity because this was precious time with one of my comedy heroes and I wanted so dearly to impress him. Aitor told me to slick my hair back and get into heavy boots and a tight outfit. I found a bright yellow onesie that a friend had given me because she didn’t known what to do with it, and The Stuntman was born. I was absolutely terrible all week and ended up going home and drinking whisky every night, then coming in fuzzy-headed the next day and just being worse. At the end of a week of totally sucking I had to host my alternative comedy night The Lost Cabaret. I figured it was a chance to reclaim some dignity, so I stayed in my costume and improvised 5 minutes as The Stuntman. It got laughs so I decided to remain a comedian and develop the show.
Describe one of your rehearsals.
Initially I spent a week breaking into my neighbour’s flat (he has more space) to devise with my director Dan Lees, who is a consummate clown and super experienced comedian. Every day I’d bring a bag of ideas to him and play around and try to make him laugh. As soon as he got bored he’d say “How do you think this is going?” But if he got really excited he’d stand up. Just stand up. That’s when I knew I was onto something.
How is the show developing?
I try something different every time I perform as The Stuntman. Early in Edinburgh last year I was doing an entirely non-verbal show. After one show getting heckled with primal chants by drunk Glaswegians for a whole hour, I decided to use more words for clarity and self-protection. In my Brighton and Prague Fringe seasons I am using a smoke machine for the first time and I can’t tell you how excited everyone should be about this. Why isn’t everyone talking about my smoke machine?
Where do your ideas come from?
When part of the show needs a creative solution, I think about it until becomes a constant meditation that I’m pretty sure I can leave for my unconscious mind to sort out while I try to remember where I put the dog leash. A good idea just pops up like hot toast.
How do your challenge yourself or yourselves?
I insist on trying something new every time I do a show or a gig, even when I can’t think of any new ideas. Improvised moments can open amazing possibilities for stuff you could never imagine. Some things the brain cannot do.
What are your future plans for the show ?
After Brighton and Prague Fringes (and London Clown Festival in May), The Stuntman goes to Shaftesbury Fringe (June 30), Hastings Fringe (July 20) and Edinburgh Fringe (Just The Tonic @ The Caves). I was thinking of asking to be the official clown at Stuntfest but I don’t want to get chased by huge beardy men in monster trucks.
What are your favourite shows, and why?
BRIGHTON FRINGE: My favourite show is Jon & Nath Like To Party because it is my sketch comedy duo and I am in it and I love doing it (19/20/26 May @ The Warren).
David McIver is a very clever character comedian and one of my favourite acts.
Other shows that inspire me and make me laugh a lot are: Gary Starr, Henry Café, Fabulon, Louise Reay, Shelley’s Birthday, Trishelle. There are others but they’ve already finished, suckers.
PRAGUE FRINGE: Again I have to say Jon & Nath Like To Party because I do our publicity and it is an awesome show from the best sketch comedy duo around (Malostranská beseda, 31 May – 2 June, 11pm).
David McIver gets another mention here but still I get no royalties.
Mr Twonky is brilliant and bizarre and very playful.
And I can’t wait to see Trygve Wakenshaw, a fellow antipodean and ridiculously funny mime.
Show dates, times and booking info:
PRAGUE FRINGE
31 May – 2 June 2018, 5pm
@ Divadlo Kampa
Nosticova 2a
Malá Strana
Praha 1
Book here
News Wire
All the headlines from Prague Fringe…
(visit their own news page here)
2018:
15th May 2018: Biggest Programme Ever (Prague.TV)
1st March 2018: Prague Fringe Festival (Living Prague)
2017
21st May 2017: Prague Fringe 15th Edition (Prague Morning)
20th May 2017: Prague Fringe grows up (Radio Prague)
10th May 2017 Prague Fringe – největší anglicky mluvící festival v ČR (Místní kultura-)
2016
21st May 2016: 5 Minutes: Actress Emily Carding (Plymouth Herald)
17th May 2016: Shows for Kids (Kids in Prague)
29th April 2016: How a Geordie became official chocolate supplier to the Prague Fringe Festival (Chronicle Live)
20th April 2016: Get Tin Bucket Drum to Prague (Artslink.co.za)
2015
17 April 2015: Curtain Rises on Fringe (Prague Post)
17 April 2015: Sneak Peek (Expats.cz)
2014
24 May 2014: Interview with Stu Mentha (The New Current)
22 May 2014: A Feast of International Work (Prague Monitor)
15 May 2014: No longer on the fringes (Prague Post)
13 May 2014: The Václav Havel Project heads to Prague (Washington Post)
13 December 2013: Steve Gove talks Prague Fringe (Lui Magazine)
