The Scotsman Fringe First Awards - The Pleasance Grand August 25th 2023
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FunTranscript
00:00:00 Good morning everyone and welcome to the Scotsman Fringe Awards 2023. Give yourselves all a
00:00:18 round of applause for being here today at the end of the festival. It's an absolute
00:00:27 joy to be here presenting the Scotsman Fringe Awards this week, not least because this year
00:00:33 we celebrate the 50th anniversary, which is why we've just been playing Harry Styles'
00:00:37 Golden, the 50th anniversary of the Scotsman Fringe Firsts, which were started back in
00:00:45 1973 by the late great arts editor of the Scotsman, Alan Wright, who thought that it
00:00:50 would be a good idea to encourage new work on the fringe. And the Scotsman, with the
00:00:55 help of all sorts of people, all our critics, everyone who works there and our generous
00:01:01 sponsors, we've managed to carry on doing that for the last 50 years on the fringe,
00:01:07 celebrating new work. So 50 years of the Fringe Firsts, another round of applause. There's
00:01:17 always loads of people to thank when it comes to the Fringe Firsts, but at the moment I'm
00:01:21 just going to thank one group of people, and that's the fabulous team here at the Pleasants
00:01:26 for hosting us here for these ceremonies and for our ceremonies in week one and two. So
00:01:32 to Anthony Alderson and all his wonderful team, thanks to them. And of course, after
00:01:42 we've awarded our final week's Fringe Firsts today, there will be another, a raft of other
00:01:46 wonderful awards which we will talk about as we come to them, but it's going to be a
00:01:51 really rich morning of celebration of what we hope is some of the very, very best work
00:01:56 on this huge and wonderful fringe. But first, our week three Fringe Firsts. We've already
00:02:03 made six awards in week one and seven in week two, but this week we make a final five awards.
00:02:11 And as you know, we always have a very special guest star to hand out the awards for the
00:02:16 Fringe Firsts. And this week, our very special guest star is a remarkable artist and woman.
00:02:24 She is a world renowned musician. She is a world renowned advocate for music education.
00:02:33 In 2019, she founded her own foundation for music education, which is now working in 103
00:02:41 countries across the world, online during the pandemic and in person. And last year,
00:02:47 she stepped up to become the first woman and the first person born in Scotland to lead
00:02:53 the Edinburgh International Festival. She is Nicola Benedetti.
00:02:59 Welcome, welcome. Welcome to the Fringe and welcome to this kind of synergy between the
00:03:15 festival and Fringe that we know is the great thing about Edinburgh in August. Nicola, it's
00:03:19 been your very first Edinburgh International Festival as artistic director, the first one
00:03:25 you've programmed. How has it been for you? Tell us about some of the highlights of the
00:03:30 last couple of weeks.
00:03:32 Thank you so much. Can I just first of all say thank you so much for having me here.
00:03:35 It's such a huge honour and pleasure to be part of this ceremony. So thank you to all
00:03:41 of you. It's been an overwhelming journey and quite an incredible thing to be part of
00:03:50 this sort of ecosystem. For us, we've had 300 different performances and a lot of things
00:03:56 going on, people coming from all over the world to perform at the International Festival.
00:04:01 But I haven't been able to sleep for about three weeks at all. And it's not because every
00:04:07 night has ended at two or three in the morning, but it's because I get home after having interacted
00:04:12 with and spoken to so many thousands of people during the day. And I think just the general
00:04:17 sort of body energy that you get from all of these people just gives you such an adrenaline
00:04:24 that's uplifting. The whole thing is a life-affirming experience. It kind of makes you feel pretty
00:04:30 good about the world. So it's been wonderful.
00:04:33 Oh, that's great. And of course, your programme for this year's festival had some pretty strong
00:04:42 themes based on the last book written by Martin Luther King before his death, based on this
00:04:47 theme of where do we go from here, to which his answer was community or chaos. And from
00:04:54 your sort of conversations with people and the events that you've been running at the
00:04:58 Hub, do you feel that people are really engaging with that theme? Because it's a very powerful
00:05:03 one.
00:05:04 Oh yeah. I mean, my intention was to just try to kind of open up our conversation and
00:05:09 open up our doors as much as possible. And asking a question obviously incites a lot
00:05:14 of feedback and a lot of answers or more questions. And we started the festival this year with
00:05:23 a massive celebration of community. We had hundreds and hundreds of non-professional
00:05:29 musicians from all over Scotland actually taking over the gardens in Prince of Street
00:05:33 Gardens. And I think if there is an answer, it's that Edinburgh in the summer demonstrates
00:05:40 that people, despite all, still do want to go through the effort of coming together,
00:05:45 being together and kind of risking that trust that you need to be amongst millions of other
00:05:52 people and experience things collectively. So it's been a very kind of positive answer
00:05:59 to the question, where do we go from here?
00:06:02 Oh, that's great. Thank you so much. Thank you, Nicole. And thank you again for joining
00:06:06 us today. So we move on to this week's five Fringe First Awards. And we have all the big
00:06:14 themes today. We have love and the failure of love. We have money and we have the struggle
00:06:21 for freedom and for empowerment. So some fantastic themes in today's play. And the first play
00:06:28 we're going to celebrate is a play about love or about the failure to find love. It's a
00:06:34 fabulous dialogue written by Miriam Batty. It's witty. It's powerful. It was co-produced
00:06:43 by some of the most distinguished theatres in England, Pains Plough Theatre Company,
00:06:48 Soho Theatre and the Belgrade Theatre. And it features two absolutely fantastic performances
00:06:56 from Archie Backhouse and Letty Thomas as a couple who have met online, who are on their
00:07:03 first date, who come within a hair's breadth of making some sort of commitment to themselves
00:07:09 out of sheer feeling that they've got to commit themselves sometime to someone, so why not
00:07:14 now? And who then kind of pass like ships in the night. So it's sad. It's funny. It's incredibly
00:07:22 powerfully observed and it's really speaking to a whole generation of theatre goers, you
00:07:27 know, deeply anxious about the quality of their connection to other people, about the
00:07:32 quality of their personal relationships and about how they can support that in such a
00:07:37 fragmented world. It's a terrific piece of work and it is Strategic Love Play. Please
00:07:43 come and accept your award.
00:08:11 Just I'll quickly say thank you. I'm Miriam. I wrote the play. I'm very, very unrelaxed
00:08:17 about this. This is massive for me. I brought a play to the Fringe ten years ago and I was
00:08:25 like refreshing The Scotsman every day thinking I was going to win. And ten years later, we've
00:08:30 got one and it means the world to me. I have to thank Pains Plough, led by this incredible
00:08:39 woman, Katie Posner, who literally pulled this play out of me in shifts. She's incredible.
00:08:46 Jill Greer at the Soho as well. Absolutely extraordinary supporting me writing this play
00:08:51 that I thought I would never write. And I'd also like to thank the Coventry Belgrade and
00:08:57 Landmark Theatres. But most of all, this play is very personal and stressful for me. And
00:09:04 I would like to thank the custodians of the play, which are Archie and Leti. Because it
00:09:09 means it's quite a huge thing to ask people to kind of play fragmented parts of your psyche.
00:09:19 Thank you for looking after her, basically. And also I just wanted to say Leti, I've worked
00:09:24 with Leti. This is the fourth play I've done with her. Does that make you my muse? I don't
00:09:28 know. But I just I'm so proud of you. Thank you so much for looking after me and looking
00:09:33 after her as well. Thank you.
00:09:35 Thank you so much. I love to take old pictures.
00:09:45 Thank you very much.
00:09:52 Oh, that's fantastic. We all know, though, that in the age of #MeToo and of concern about
00:10:00 continuing violence against women, some women find their interactions with men deeply problematic.
00:10:09 And Beasts, which is playing at a zoo playground, is a magnificently powerful monologue written
00:10:19 and performed by Mandy Chivasa about a young woman living in London who one night finds
00:10:26 herself stalked by a man that she refers to as the Beast or a Beast. Mandy reacts to this
00:10:35 with anger, with questioning about why she has to put up with this kind of thing. She
00:10:42 says, who starts being creepy at 9pm, which is the hour of the night when this happens.
00:10:48 She's angry and she is looking for ways to empower herself. And because Mandy has an
00:10:54 African heritage, a Zimbabwean heritage, she looks to that heritage for a way of finding
00:11:00 her own inner Beast, if you like, her own inner self that is strong enough and violent
00:11:05 enough and empowered enough to really resist the kind of pestering and harassment that
00:11:13 young women so often still, sadly, in these times, suffer on our streets.
00:11:19 It's a wonderful piece of physical theatre. It's produced by Women Arts. Its full title
00:11:25 is Beasts, Why Girls Shouldn't Fear the Dark. And as Ruva, the main character, says, I don't
00:11:32 remember the dark ever bothering me, ever attacking me. It's not the dark. It's the
00:11:38 people who lurk in the dark.
00:11:40 So for the powerful monologue with fantastic movement and fantastic poetry, please welcome
00:11:48 Mandy Chivassa and the field team from Beasts.
00:11:55 Thank you so much. Thank you. I'm not great at speeches, so I'll keep it short.
00:12:24 So, Beasts was written after an incident of street harassment and a really low point in
00:12:31 my life. And I wanted to write a story that can reach other women and let them know that
00:12:35 they are seen and that they are powerful. And yeah, it'll be really great to see lots
00:12:41 of you come and at Zoom till the 27th is when we're on. And it'll be really nice to have
00:12:46 more people watch the show. Audiences have been up and down, but it'll be great to just
00:12:51 reach more people with the show.
00:12:52 Firstly, I want to thank the team, because even though it's a solo show, it's not just
00:12:57 me. It takes a whole team and most of them aren't here. But yeah, thank you so much.
00:13:03 I want to thank the Scotsman. Thank you so much for this opportunity. And I want to thank
00:13:06 Zoo, especially James. He gave us the opportunity to come here. The arts aren't always the most
00:13:11 accessible, but he gave us a platform and it means a lot to me. So thank you so much.
00:13:16 [APPLAUSE]
00:13:35 Now, another radical reaction to the pressures put on women. Chloe and Natasha exploded onto
00:13:45 the fringe scene last year with a fantastic sort of gay take on the cowboy tradition called
00:13:52 And Then the Rodeo Burned Down. And this year they have returned with, if anything, a more
00:13:59 explosive show called What If They Ate the Baby, set in 1950s suburbia, where women all
00:14:07 knew that nobody should ever return a dish empty and that some things should be kept
00:14:12 under the table. Centre stage is a little kitchen table under which a few things happen.
00:14:18 And Chloe and Natasha's brilliant takedown of that suburban culture consists of the two
00:14:24 characters interacting in a very conventional way at one level, but then that alternating
00:14:30 with dreamlike sequences, although they become increasingly real, in which they make wild
00:14:34 and passionate lesbian love to one another all over the tabletop and everywhere else.
00:14:41 In this kitchen, the choreography is scintillating, the writing is quietly brilliant, and Chloe
00:14:48 and Natasha are two of the most compelling performers on the fringe. Please welcome them
00:14:53 down from New York, Chloe and Natasha.
00:14:56 [applause]
00:15:14 Hi! Thank you so much. This is so, this is a crazy, crazy honour. This is only our second
00:15:19 Fringe, and so it's beyond our wildest imagination for this to even happen, let alone happen
00:15:26 twice in a row. Yeah, it's crazy. We're like, we're an incredibly small, independent
00:15:31 company. It's just Chloe, myself, and our lighting designer, Angelo, coming from New
00:15:35 York City. And in New York City, we've struggled a bit to gain our footing and kind of gain
00:15:41 recognition for what we're doing, so that's what makes this so incredibly special to us.
00:15:46 We'd love to thank The Space UK, especially Charles and Nick, for making this happen,
00:15:49 making it possible for us to even return this year. Yeah, we'd also like to thank our wonderful
00:15:53 lighting designer, Angelo Sagnelli, for lighting us on stage. And for sleeping on the couch.
00:15:59 Yeah, and for like, never getting tired of us. Yeah. Also, in our last speech, we forgot
00:16:05 to thank our mothers, so thank you, Mom. Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Dad.
00:16:12 We are beyond excited to be here, have the opportunity to be here to get this award,
00:16:16 but most of all, we're just excited that we don't have to fight over last year's plaque
00:16:19 anymore. We have our own now. Endless, endless thanks to Joyce and to the Scotsman. Thank
00:16:25 you so much for this honor. We're so grateful. Thank you so much.
00:16:28 Amazing. Oh, dear. Chloe Rice and Natasha Roland, bags of talent. Fantastic. You should
00:16:51 see the sticky-out dresses with the many, many petticoats. You know the way. Oh, gorgeous.
00:16:56 Right. Okay. We move on to money and a very brave show which tackles this tough stuff.
00:17:05 It is tough stuff in theatrical terms because it all happens on screens, on computers, in
00:17:11 offices that most of us never get to penetrate. But the tough stuff of finance and money and
00:17:19 the huge shifts of money in the global financial system that affect all of our lives, but over
00:17:24 which we have practically no control. The insider from the Danish theater company Catapult,
00:17:32 which is part of the #DanishSeason, is a tremendously powerful solo show performed by Christopher
00:17:40 Tidbjerg-Rønne. It's an astounding performance. He is a young corporate lawyer in a glass
00:17:49 box who is gradually drawn into the big real-life comics scandal of the early 2010s in which
00:17:58 no less than 55 billion pounds was ripped off from the treasuries of various European
00:18:04 countries by a very skillful and highly influential international group of financiers who had
00:18:11 worked out this way of enriching themselves and robbing the public purse of all those
00:18:17 countries. Eventually the network was bust and the scenario in the show is that the central
00:18:26 character is facing his police interrogation which comes in the form of a voiceover. But
00:18:31 the intensity of the performance, its physicality as well as its restraint and the magnificent
00:18:40 use of visual imagery of the kind of world that these people are creating for us all
00:18:46 projected onto this box and the wonderful artistry of the sound design make this a truly
00:18:53 memorable show. The team from the insider, please come down and accept your fringe first.
00:18:59 [Applause]
00:19:15 Thank you so much. Even though we still can't quite believe this, we can really feel it.
00:19:26 This is, we are so overwhelmed and so proud of this fringe first and this really means
00:19:34 a lot to us. So a big thank you to Scotsman and the fringe first jury. There's a long
00:19:41 list of people we want to thank but I will try to do it as quickly as possible. First
00:19:46 of all the creative team behind the insider who is back home right now, except of course
00:19:53 our fabulous actor, the insider himself, Christopher. A big thanks and congratulations also to indeed
00:20:04 our writer Anna Skog Jensen who has a baby daughter right now so she couldn't come. And
00:20:11 therefore, yeah, and the director Johan Sarau, set and video designer Sine Krogh, lighting
00:20:18 designer Jens Hansen and the incredible sound designer team Peter Albregtsen, Sonny Engelstorft
00:20:24 and Markus Jellenborg. And all the others of the stream team including hardworking catapult
00:20:30 editor team here on stage, Kian, Malina and Amanda. And I also like to give a big, big
00:20:41 thanks to journalist Nils Vestrup from the National Danish Television DR for helping
00:20:47 us with the deep research into this hard comics scandal. And then I want to give a huge thanks
00:20:55 also to the incredible, effective and super nice crew at the zoo including James, thank
00:21:01 you, and the Danish Arts Council for supporting us and a big thanks also to Karen, Sarah and
00:21:08 Michelle from #Danish for big, big support before and during the Fringe. So thank you
00:21:13 so much.
00:21:14 Thank you. Thanks. Thank you for a wonderful show.
00:21:17 Fantastic. And that great show at Zoo Southside until Sunday, please catch it if you can.
00:21:38 Superb. And finally to another show that is truly packing them in at the Anatomy Lecture
00:21:45 Theatre in Summer Hall. Ben Targis Lorenzo is one of those shows that exemplifies one
00:21:54 of the things that can happen on the Fringe where somebody who is best known as a stand-up
00:21:59 comic and an award-winning stand-up comic makes a leap into full monologue theatre.
00:22:09 Ben Targis Lorenzo is the story of how Ben in 2020 during the pandemic gave up his life
00:22:16 really to care for an old neighbour, an honorary uncle called Lorenzo who had lived in the
00:22:22 basement of his family house when he was a little boy and was, Ben Targis says, the only
00:22:29 adult to really show him any understanding, any real care, to really see him as a child
00:22:36 in a very sort of noisy and competitive family. And Lorenzo is coming to the end of his life
00:22:44 and Ben Targis takes on the role of carer. It's not easy. They're not always in complete
00:22:50 harmony with each other. But with the help of some beautiful carpentry and a real artistry
00:22:58 in controlling the relationship between the tragedy and the comedy of the story, because
00:23:03 both he and Lorenzo are very funny guys, even as Lorenzo approaches death, Ben Targis turns
00:23:11 this into a gorgeous hour of theatre that interacts beautifully with the audience and
00:23:17 talks about some of the saddest subjects that human beings ever have to face, the loss of
00:23:23 precious and unique individuals, but does it without mawkishness, with great humour
00:23:29 and with huge eloquence. Ben Targis, please come and accept your princess, Lorenzo.
00:23:36 [Applause]
00:23:51 Hello. Sorry I've come dressed like an extra from a Wes Anderson film. I had to run and
00:23:58 do my show in just a little bit. I actually failed my English GCSE so I'm taking this
00:24:05 in its place. Big love to the Soho Theatre family. We lost Adam Brace, who loved this
00:24:22 place, who loved what we do, and he's still here in our stories, and he's going to be
00:24:30 in our stories for as long as we can tell him. For Lee Griffiths, who stepped in to
00:24:36 fill Adam's shoes, who journeyed with me to the end. For Maddie Wilson, superstar producer,
00:24:44 you're a gem. For Rose Hockaday, who makes the show with me every day. That one time
00:24:51 that you said, "Today's show is actually quite good." It meant more to me than this.
00:24:57 No, in fact, this is nice. This is nice. To Robert Wells, who'd never designed lighting
00:25:05 before but said, "Fuck yes." I love that attitude. To Tom Hartshorn, my brother in
00:25:13 carpentry, see you for those wonderful living wage jobs when we get back. And yeah, these
00:25:20 names are not going to mean anything to you guys, but they mean the world to me. Letty
00:25:25 Butler, Lizzie Manfield, Jos Norris, Barry Ferns, Miranda Holmes, David Luff. Thank you
00:25:31 for your blind faith, your clear-sightedness. Everything that has ever been made that was
00:25:38 worth anything was made together, and you are my family. Thank you.
00:25:43 [Applause]
00:26:01 Wonderful show. Catch it if you... Nicola, come and talk to me. So, how was that for
00:26:09 you? Oh, it's so moving. My goodness, just incredible. Yeah.
00:26:15 Great. And tell us, with the final weekend of the festival coming up, what are you...
00:26:20 Is there a special treat that you would advise people to try to get in on if they possibly
00:26:24 can, or something special that you're really looking forward to?
00:26:28 I mean, I couldn't possibly choose one thing. There's so many things over the last couple
00:26:32 of days. Well, I'll choose one, because this morning...
00:26:35 [Laughter]
00:26:37 Because this morning I heard Gustavo Dudamel talking very inspiringly on the radio about
00:26:42 the Simon Bolivar Orchestra performance, and about his relationship with the project in
00:26:48 Rapploch, and all of that wonderful initiative to help kids get involved in classical music.
00:26:55 Yes, yes. So, they have one performance left, which is tomorrow evening, and to have an
00:27:01 entire orchestra of... I think it's over 100 of them, over from Venezuela. And it's the
00:27:07 first time... Yeah, they've got together... Actually, Aberdeen and Edinburgh were one
00:27:11 of the first places that they toured in the world, when they kind of broke onto the scene.
00:27:15 So, it was so important for me to bring that orchestra over, and it's amazing to have them
00:27:20 here. But can I just say one thing? Because I know we're wrapping up.
00:27:23 Yes.
00:27:24 It's just the most beautiful gift to have... I don't want the next couple of days to end
00:27:31 at all. I want this just to continue forever. And just for me to be able to be a part of
00:27:37 this moment is really just such an honour. I'm so grateful to have been invited, just
00:27:42 to see such incredible work being done. So, I want to thank you, and thank Shonan, and
00:27:46 thank everybody.
00:27:47 Thank you very much, Nicola, and thank you for joining us today.
00:27:50 Thank you so much.
00:27:51 And good luck.
00:27:52 Thank you.
00:27:53 Thank you.
00:27:54 Thank you.
00:27:55 Thank you.
00:27:56 Thank you.
00:27:57 Thank you.
00:27:58 Thank you.
00:27:59 Thank you.
00:28:00 I think Nicola's got to rush away, because obviously she's on a busy schedule during
00:28:05 the festival, but it's been wonderful to have her here. So, thank you very much again, Nicola.
00:28:09 Thanks.
00:28:10 Thank you.
00:28:11 Wow.
00:28:12 Now, we're going to have some music. And we are lucky and privileged to have with us
00:28:22 the company from another successful Summer Hall show, which won a Fringe first last week,
00:28:28 Gunter. The fantastic tale by Dirty Hair Theatre Company. The fantastic tale of a witchcraft
00:28:38 case in England in 1605, but told from the perspective or by a company that looks like
00:28:47 a modern women's football team. It's a fantastic show with songs, with energy, with
00:28:55 a huge feminist politics, like all the shows we've seen this year that touch on the history
00:29:00 of witchcraft trials in this country. And it's an absolute delight to welcome the brilliant
00:29:06 company from Gunter to perform a song from their show. I'll try to get off the stage.
00:29:12 Hello. Hey, guys. I'm Lydia. I'm one of the co-creators of Gunter. I thought I'd just
00:29:18 give a tiny bit of context for what you're actually about to listen to. The first song
00:29:22 is called Lord Scupper the Man. It's sang by the three women who are accused of witchcraft
00:29:27 by Brian Gunter before they go on court. The tune then rolls into the court scene itself
00:29:34 where Elizabeth Gregory, who is his kind of main target, is kind of cross-examined by
00:29:40 the villagers. Sounds like we're going to be here for half an hour. We're not. Yeah,
00:29:45 let's see how that goes. Thank you so much for having us.
00:29:48 [Applause]
00:29:53 Just going to wiggle over a little bit.
00:29:57 Yeah, yeah.
00:29:59 Thanks for having us.
00:30:06 [Music]
00:30:15 Lord Scupper the man for once, take him for what he's worth. Swear on the heart of a
00:30:24 babby, he's the one that caused the hurt. Take him for what he wants, I'm the one that
00:30:30 fed the earth, fed the earth. Lord Scupper the man for once, give him the bloody nose.
00:30:44 Swear on the heart of a babby, he's the one that tore the fold. Take him for what he wants,
00:30:52 I'm the one that bled in birth, fed the earth. Ooh, when he looks at me, he puts his hooks
00:31:09 in me, he said, ooh. Oh, when he takes me down, that man, he breaks me down, ooh. Take
00:31:26 him for what he wants, I'm the one that bled in birth, fed the earth.
00:31:40 I think it's time to hear from another one. Have we got a Philip in attendance? Johnson's
00:31:45 son? Yes, I'm here and I have my truth to be told. Elizabeth Gregory's a witch and a
00:31:50 scald. If you'd like to go from the start, Philip, perhaps it'd be good to tell the jury
00:31:54 when you first noticed a change in Elizabeth. Oh, and if you could keep it within an eight
00:31:58 bar rhythm too, that would be fantastic. Well, I noticed in mass in the seeing of the piece
00:32:03 that Elizabeth Gregory would start to sneeze. I heard it, Paul. She shouts when she has
00:32:08 something to say. On the occasion in question, she refused to pray. Are you claiming, Philip,
00:32:13 that Elizabeth is working against Christ? Well, she's certainly not working with him.
00:32:18 Interesting. Next to the staff, Alice Decafoot, Brian Gunter's neighbour. I saw what I saw.
00:32:25 Elizabeth Gregory's an eyesore. That's inadmissible evidence, not fact. Fine, well, she should
00:32:31 go and shave her back. Alice, this is serious. It's life or death. The jury needs to know
00:32:37 exactly what you've seen. Well, her and her husband don't share the same bed and haven't
00:32:41 done it for years, if you know what I mean. I'm a bad woman. But you ain't seen nothing yet.
00:32:49 Elizabeth Gregory has sold her soul to the devil. Did you know she never does as she's
00:32:54 told? She's a bad woman. Thinks she's done something that she'll regret.
00:33:00 Next to the stand is Nicholas Curford, a friend of Brian Gunter. You're here to do a character
00:33:04 testimony? Yep, yep, yep. He's a nice guy. Yeah. No, he's a friendly guy. He's always
00:33:12 bringing round bits of stuff, you know. He's a nice guy. But that's besides the point, really,
00:33:18 because what I actually want to say is... She's a bad woman. Thinks she's done something
00:33:25 that she'll regret. Elizabeth Gregory has got split ends. She's a fugly slut and she's got
00:33:32 no friends. She's a bad woman. Thinks she's done something that she'll...
00:33:38 Next to the stand is Gerald Duckett, claims Elizabeth Gregory told you to pick up your
00:33:43 little jewels. Pick up my little, which I thought was ironic, considering she caused
00:33:47 a plague and that plague was bubonic and that plague killed my wife, not before my three
00:33:51 kids and the cheek of Gregory asking me for two quid at the market the day after. I'd
00:33:56 laid them on the wrist. You see, I saw it in her eyes before it fell in my chest. She
00:34:00 caused all this ill and all this pain in the world. There's no coincidence that the devil
00:34:04 likes old girls. So he catched her and he snared her and she gladly took the bait. He
00:34:08 dined and holed his Sabbaths while Satan bakes a cake. You agree the evil mission to make
00:34:12 people fucking sad. So believe me when I tell you that this woman is mad and she's bad and
00:34:17 she's glad that I'm no longer a dad in this beautiful little village which was everything
00:34:21 I had. So she has to be a witch. This isn't just a fad. This is God's honest truth. She
00:34:25 is bad. She's bad. She's bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad. See, she fits.
00:34:36 And also, please, a huge round of applause for Nora and Hannah and Lydia and Julia from
00:34:54 Gunter. What a company and what a presence.
00:34:57 Okay, well now we have four other fabulous awards to give away. And the first is the
00:35:08 Holden Street Theatres Award which has been associated with the Fringe for many years
00:35:14 now and offers an opportunity for a show from the Fringe or a pair of shows depending on
00:35:19 how the judging pans out in any given year and it's always very difficult, to transfer
00:35:25 to the wonderful Adelaide Festival, home of the second biggest, I believe, Fringe in the
00:35:30 world. And here to talk about the shortlist for this year's Holden Street Theatres Award
00:35:35 and to announce the winner are Shona McCarthy, Richard Jordan and Adam Robertson of Holden
00:35:41 Street Theatres. Please welcome them to the stage.
00:35:44 [Applause]
00:35:51 Hello, I'm Richard. Firstly, congratulations to all the nominees and winners today. Martha
00:35:59 Lott, who is the Artistic Director of Holden Street Theatres, is really sorry that she
00:36:03 can't be here. A family issue has meant she couldn't be in Edinburgh this year but I can
00:36:06 tell you she's been very much here in spirit by the number of phone calls she's been giving
00:36:10 everyone on the judges panel at about three o'clock in the morning. Holden Street Theatres
00:36:15 is kind of Adelaide's centre for new writing. It's a theatre that runs all through the year
00:36:19 and the idea of the Holden Street Theatre Award actually began in the Pleasant's Courtyard
00:36:23 in 2006. Martha sat down with myself and another colleague of ours, Paul Lucas, a wonderful
00:36:29 producer from New York, and said, "Do you think if I created an idea of an award that
00:36:34 could help support a show that could come from Edinburgh the following year to Adelaide
00:36:38 and we could help support and bring it in February the following year, do you think
00:36:42 that's something that would work and companies would be interested in?" And we both nodded
00:36:45 enthusiastically and thought, "Yeah, somewhere in Australia that would go down pretty well."
00:36:50 So it was born out of that and the first award then happened in 2007. It went to a play called
00:36:57 Potato of Inverness and since then the award has grown and grown. Sadly in 2020 we lost
00:37:04 Paul very suddenly. Some of you in the room will know who he was. I'm sorry you didn't
00:37:11 get to meet him because you would have really loved our friend. He was this wonderful ball
00:37:15 of absolute colourful loveliness. His words whenever he met companies he would say to
00:37:19 people, "What do you need? How can I help you?" And that to me, epitomises what Fringe
00:37:24 Spirit is all about. So he's very much here in spirit. I know he would be so thrilled
00:37:29 with the award shortlist we've got. It's been very difficult to sort of pick a winner so
00:37:34 it's become a very long list this year. The other thing I just want to say is it's been
00:37:37 really tough through COVID and Martha has fought very, very hard to keep this award
00:37:43 running. It can't be done with a few people who've hopped in and helped sponsor that and
00:37:47 make it possible and she just asked me if I would mention those and those are Weslow
00:37:50 Holdings, the Barton Theatre, Arts South Australia, Jeff Hardy Wines, Cooper's Brewery, Beck
00:37:57 Hardy Wines, so it sounds like you do win, you're going to have a pretty good party in
00:38:01 Adelaide, Nicholas Elight Design and Nova Tech. So without them and their collaboration
00:38:06 this award wouldn't be happening and I'm now going to hand over to Shona and Adam to reveal
00:38:11 the shortlist and tell you a little bit more. I think Martha's sent a letter over as well
00:38:14 for Adam to read so thanks.
00:38:16 Hi, so my name's Adam. It is a privilege and an honour to be here representing Holden Street
00:38:26 Theatres as an awards judge for another year. Myself and Martha have known each other for
00:38:31 about 30 years. We were drama students, wide-eyed drama students back at Drama Centre London
00:38:36 in the early to mid-90s and we have maintained that creative artistic relationship for 30
00:38:41 years so that's something to be said for that. So she has asked me to read this letter and
00:38:47 so I will put my specs on and quickly read the letter and the shortlist. So a letter
00:38:53 from Martha. "2023 not only marks the 50th year of the Edinburgh Fringe but also the
00:38:59 20th anniversary of Holden Street Theatres as a venue. So it's a very special year all
00:39:04 round. Holden Street is a venue that produces new work, supports artists and houses multiple
00:39:09 residents all year round but our Fringe programme is the jewel in our crown. We would like to
00:39:15 thank the Scotsman for having us as part of their ceremony since the first award in 2007
00:39:20 making this the 17th year of the awards. Thank you also to the Edinburgh Fringe Society for
00:39:26 all their help with the judges and shows, the venues, producers and artists for delivering
00:39:31 such an incredible quality and range of performances this year. My first Fringe was in 1993 so
00:39:38 it's very challenging for me not to be there especially in the 50th year but unfortunately
00:39:44 I can't be due to family commitments and because we're heading into production for our next
00:39:49 show. A huge thank you to all the companies that have sent me copies of their work online.
00:39:55 It's wonderful to be able to see the shows from here. I'd like to thank my lead judges
00:39:59 this year, Richard Jordan and Adam Robertson and all of the multitude of people who send
00:40:06 me their tips and suggestions and the other secret judges who have asked to remain anonymous.
00:40:11 I hope to be there next year and I can't wait to have another incredible Edinburgh
00:40:15 Fringe production headlining our programme next year. Special thanks to Lisa Waite from
00:40:20 the Adelaide Fringe who's been helping running around printing and collecting wine.
00:40:26 That's a great job to have. It just goes to show that the Adelaide Fringe supports venues
00:40:32 and artists even on the other side of the world. Unfortunately our trophy didn't arrive
00:40:37 in time so the winner will receive a beautiful certificate and a bottle of wine, I think
00:40:42 Adelaide wine today and a trophy when you arrive here in sunny old Adelaide.
00:40:48 Okay so just read out the shortlist and it's probably the longest shortlist I've ever seen
00:40:53 in the history of shortlists but that just speaks to the wealth of talent that's been
00:40:58 on display this year's Fringe. Public the Musical presented by Stroud and Notes at the
00:41:06 Pleasance Courtyard. I want to say so much about all of these but we haven't got time
00:41:14 but these Ben Targer's show, Public, Lady Dealer, just so many shows that reduced me
00:41:19 to tears, made me weep and grateful to be part of this whole journey here. But Public
00:41:25 the Musical, Lady Dealer presented by Grace Dixon Productions at Roundabout. Ben Targer,
00:41:32 Lorenzo presented by Soho Theatre written by Ben Targer. A Mountain for Elodie presented
00:41:38 by Creative Partners Productions and Aria Entertainment at the Gilded Balloon Paterhouse.
00:41:44 It's a Motherfucking Pleasure presented by Flo Bord at the Underbelly Bistro Square.
00:41:51 England and Son presented by Mark Thomas at Roundabout Summer Hall. In Loyal Company presented
00:41:58 by David William Bryan at the Pleasance Courtyard. Shadow Boxing presented by Daniel Newton at
00:42:05 the Assembly George Square Studios. Horizon Showcase, Birthmarked presented by Brooke
00:42:11 Tate at the Assembly Rooms. Horizon Showcase, oh I just read that one, The Insider presented
00:42:19 by Theatre Catapult at Zoo Southside. A Portrait of Ludmilla as Nina Simone presented by Ludmilla
00:42:27 Dabo. David Lesko, C. Ducairos, Something for the Weekend at French Institute in Scotland.
00:42:32 And the last but not least, Blue represented by CCEGHM at the Assembly Rooms George Square.
00:42:39 So all that's left is for me to hand this very sexy envelope over to Shona and we'll
00:42:46 reveal the winner.
00:42:48 Joyce can I take one wee second to say something first?
00:42:52 Yeah.
00:42:54 Hi everybody, I just wanted to take this moment before revealing the contents of this envelope
00:42:59 just to say a massive, massive thank you to everyone. I hope you're all feeling it in
00:43:05 the air but I think this year's Fringe has brought a kind of tangible positivity and
00:43:11 reconnection and listening to Joyce this morning talk about all of the shows and the poetic
00:43:17 and passionate way that she does. It's just such a reminder of what an extraordinary festival
00:43:25 and moment that this is, every year in August in Edinburgh. So I just wanted to ask everybody
00:43:31 to give each other a massive congratulations because every artist, PR, venue manager, programmer,
00:43:37 producer. It's been an extraordinary year already and I've got my ticket for Beasts
00:43:49 on Sunday, I can't wait.
00:43:52 So, the winner of the Holden Street Theatre Adelaide Award is England and Son by Ed Edwards.
00:44:02 [Applause]
00:44:16 Look at this high quality certificate we have, this is so Fringe it's unbelievable.
00:44:21 [Laughter]
00:44:24 We have a couple of things, one person who was on our really long shortlist and who definitely
00:44:29 deserves to be because I watched his show yesterday and it blew my mind was Nathan Quealy
00:44:34 Dennis for Bullring Techno Makeout Jams. Absolutely incredible, I'm really sorry I don't know
00:44:43 how I never got that memo and the other thing to know is that I think it's Mark Thomas has
00:44:49 got Covid or he's, yeah, so I think he's had to cancel some shows and he cannot be here
00:44:55 to collect this award but I imagine...
00:44:58 You're Mark Thomas, so come on in.
00:45:01 Yeah, a massive big up to Nathan Quealy Dennis, just got to say that, he is a superstar. But
00:45:06 listen, I'm Katie Posner, I run Pains Flower Charlotte Benner, I'm absolutely delighted
00:45:11 to have the opportunity to accept this on behalf of Mark Thomas. He has given me a speech
00:45:17 so I'm going to read it. So, on the off chance we win this, can you please read the entirety
00:45:23 of this short statement including the preamble. Firstly, I would like to say, fuck the Tories.
00:45:29 [Cheering]
00:45:32 Oh, it gets better. Thank you to the judges for this award, I'm genuinely thrilled, fuck
00:45:38 the Tories. I also want to say thank you to Pains Plough, amazing, Summer Hall, Home Manchester
00:45:45 and the stand, fuck the Tories. And especially I wish to thank Ed Edwards, the playwright,
00:45:51 Cress Brown, the director, Tine Selby and Katherine Brown at Tin Cap, fuck the Tories.
00:45:58 Sorry, I can't be with you but Covid is struck, please, please keep safe and well. Fuck the
00:46:05 Tories, fuck the Tories, fuck the Tories and thank you, fuck the Tories.
00:46:09 [Cheering]
00:46:20 Well, thank you Mark Thomas for that. And I think, just tell us what you think Mark.
00:46:32 No, it's actually a wonderful show, England and Sun, one of our week one Fringe First
00:46:37 winners, so please if you ever get a chance to see it, and I'm sure it will be touring
00:46:42 and obviously going to Adelaide, then please grab that chance. Thank you to Richard, thank
00:46:49 you to Adam and thank you to Shona McCarthy who of course as Chief Executive of the Fringe
00:46:54 doesn't have her problems and questions and busy moments to seek at this time of the year.
00:47:02 Our next award is one that's very close to the heart to anyone who saw, particularly
00:47:09 Henry Naylor's wonderful solo show Angels here on the Fringe some years ago. It was
00:47:15 performed by a magnificent young actress called Philippa Braganza who very sadly lost her
00:47:22 life later in the year when Angels was such a huge success. And in her memory, the Gilded
00:47:29 Balloon and Henry Naylor, with the support of Philippa's family, have instituted the
00:47:35 Philippa Braganza Award which goes to an emerging female artist doing brilliant solo work on
00:47:41 the Fringe. So I'd like now to welcome to the stage Karen Corrin of the Gilded Balloon,
00:47:47 Henry Naylor and Felicity Holbrook, a friend of Philippa's who is one of our judges and
00:47:56 also herself an actress and performer. Please welcome them to the stage.
00:48:10 Hello folks, thank you very much for that choice. The award celebrates the best emerging
00:48:19 female solo show and also it celebrates Philippa's life. The award has now gone on for five iterations
00:48:28 I think and it's gone to some fabulous acts. I want people to know if you don't win it
00:48:35 today, that people have been nominated, your shows are brilliant. It's such a fine margin
00:48:41 between who wins and who doesn't and on a different day, any one of you could have won.
00:48:46 The judges that chose this have been fantastic, they're literally some of the best in Britain.
00:48:54 But also, if I may just personally say, Philippa was a very good friend of ours and this award
00:49:04 helps keep her memory alive for us. She was incredibly talented, incredibly smart. She
00:49:12 was a great campaigner, she believed a lot in green issues and for us it's very important
00:49:20 to keep her memory alive. One other thing I also want to say is, the people involved
00:49:30 in this festival, you are amazing. We're all putting ourselves completely on the line,
00:49:35 possibly more than any other endeavour in the arts in Britain. Some people are producing,
00:49:41 directing, performing their own shows. You're really putting yourselves on the line.
00:49:47 I think with the stresses and strains that the whole of society has been going through,
00:49:56 people can be suffering a lot and yet hiding it. There's some fantastic actors here.
00:50:02 Look at your friends, have a look, ask them if they're okay, ask them again if they're
00:50:08 okay and ask them again if they're okay because it is an incredibly difficult and risky job
00:50:17 and bless you all for doing it. We are some of the most sensitive people in society and
00:50:33 I think we need to look out for each other. So with no further ado, I'm going to hand
00:50:37 you over to Felicity who's going to read out the nominees and give you a brief description
00:50:41 of the show. The standard here was phenomenal and thank you so much to the judges for picking
00:50:46 out these awards and thank you to Karen for arranging it all.
00:50:49 Thanks Henry. So once again it's been such a privilege to see so much excellent work
00:50:58 being put on and to celebrate that as a part of Philippa's award. We are, as Henry says,
00:51:03 incredibly grateful to our wonderful panel for lending us their insight and expertise
00:51:08 to allow us to celebrate these amazing acts and to celebrate Philippa and the incredible
00:51:12 person she was. It's been an extraordinarily difficult task this year and I'm sure in a
00:51:19 moment you'll understand why when you see the calibre of our nominees. They all embody
00:51:24 the spirit of creativity, impact and excellence that the Philippa Braganza Award champions.
00:51:31 So again, our shortlist is a little longer this year so I'm going to read through all
00:51:35 of our amazing nominees and then I would ask you to show all of them your huge appreciation
00:51:40 at the end of the list. So first up, in an incredibly raw and brilliantly nuanced performance
00:51:47 of a new play by Martha Watson Allpress, the audience of the Roundabout at Summer Hall
00:51:53 are invited to share in a day just like any other day for the lady dealer Charlie. But
00:52:00 Charlie's hilarious and hugely likeable bravado is gradually and heartbreakingly stripped
00:52:05 back by our utterly compelling first nominee, Alexa Davies. Our second nominee's brave
00:52:13 and gripping performance uses clever movement and precise storytelling to interweave the
00:52:18 process of embalming a body with the recounting of a harrowing experience. Both writer and
00:52:25 performer, she has brought the powerful, engaging and visceral When We Died to Summer Hall this
00:52:31 year, Alexandra Donaghy. The Pleasance plays host to Ill, an energetic, sparky and humorous
00:52:41 story about place, trauma and family, where the audience are taken on a journey from Cape
00:52:46 Town to Mauritius and back again. Using just two plain wooden boxes, every scene is specific
00:52:53 and transformative, guided assuredly and expertly by the dynamic Sophie Jones. Omo creates an
00:53:02 incredibly special place at Summer Hall. In a performance filled with warmth, huge emotion
00:53:09 and delicate touches of humor, our fourth nominee uses Mimu gloves in an amazing fusion
00:53:15 of technology, movement, voice and music. In it, we are reminded that home and belonging
00:53:23 are more than just bricks and mortar by the utterly captivating Lula Mbratu. Conveyed
00:53:32 with astonishing pinpoint accuracy at Summer Hall, our fifth nominee is a chicken. This
00:53:38 wonderfully skilled performer is hugely impressive as the actor rooster turned revolutionary
00:53:43 bird and never once breaks from the incredibly demanding physicality of a pecking, strutting,
00:53:49 staring chicken. She is the innately comic and highly impactful co-writer and performer
00:53:55 Eva O'Connor. And finally, in a gloriously unique show where the audience become a part
00:54:02 of the story, taking on the roles as encouraged, Eldersy Beast at Assembly George Square Studios
00:54:08 removes any expectation in an exploration of self. It is a really special show after
00:54:14 which you cannot help but feel glowing and energized thanks to the skill of our final
00:54:19 nominee, Andrea Spisto. Please do give them all a huge round of applause.
00:54:24 So, as I said, it was an incredibly difficult decision, but we are all absolutely delighted
00:54:43 to announce that the winner of the Philippa Braganza Award for 2023 is Eva O'Connor for
00:54:49 Chicken. Hi, Eva can't be here today because she's performing chicken right now. And I'm
00:55:12 sure she's going to be so excited to find out when she comes out of her show today.
00:55:16 And so thank you all on Eva's behalf.
00:55:19 Thank you. Thank you. And are we allowed, I think we are, to congratulate fringe legend
00:55:35 Karen Corrin on becoming a grandmother just before the fringes. Thanks to her, our wonderful
00:55:44 daughter, Katie Corrin, who those of you who have worked at the Gilded Balloon will certainly
00:55:49 also know. Okay, our next award, the Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award. It's obvious
00:55:57 from what you've already heard about the shows we're celebrating today, that the pressures
00:56:02 on the mental health of individuals in our society are only mounting with every day that
00:56:07 passes in a time of economic and climate crisis. So this award becomes ever more important
00:56:14 in highlighting work that approaches those mental health issues in a way that explores
00:56:22 and expands our understanding of them. So please welcome to the stage, Julie Cameron
00:56:27 of the Mental Health Foundation and the Scotsman's Festival Editor, Andrew Eaton-Lewis, to announce
00:56:34 the shortlist and the winner.
00:56:41 Hi everyone. My name is Julie Cameron and I'm the Associate Director with the Mental
00:56:49 Health Foundation. We are an organisation who work across the UK with offices in Glasgow,
00:56:55 Belfast, Cardiff and London. And really we aim to create a society with good mental health
00:57:00 for all, not just for some. And how we do that is we challenge governments to try and
00:57:05 create those conditions that are required for everyone to be born into conditions that
00:57:10 enables them to flourish throughout their life. But also through running programmes
00:57:15 and importantly challenging stigma, challenging the stigma that continues to exist around
00:57:20 mental health so that people know that they're not alone and that support is out there. And
00:57:25 one of the ways that we do that is through the arts, through awards like this that continue
00:57:30 to do that, shining a spotlight on challenging mental health and things that go on in people's
00:57:36 lives that hurt and that are painful but actually you can get through. And we also do that through
00:57:42 every October we also run the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival. So look out for that
00:57:47 too. But with no further ado I think I'll pass over to Andrew who can read out the shortlist
00:57:51 of the amazing things that are going on in the programmes that we've had this year.
00:57:56 Good morning everybody. Firstly I want to thank the Colnwell Charitable Trust for supporting
00:58:09 this award over the next three years. This is now a £5,000 award to an outstanding new
00:58:15 piece of work about mental health. So thank you to them. This award is also being dedicated
00:58:22 to the memory of someone we have lost who we would all have loved to have been here
00:58:27 with us today. Tim Cornwall was the arts correspondent for the Scotsman for many years and after
00:58:43 leaving that role he continued to be a part of the Edinburgh Festival team working with
00:58:48 us. He was a beautiful soul, someone we miss very much. He was someone who could write
00:58:55 about almost any subject that came to mind with great empathy and thoughtfulness. I should
00:59:01 say he had a particular interest in mental health related work. He himself was bipolar
00:59:08 which was something he wrestled with for a long time. I think Tim would have really appreciated
00:59:17 and really enjoyed the work that the shortlist is about to read out. There is some really
00:59:22 outstanding work being made about various different aspects of mental health at this
00:59:27 year's festival. The decision of the winner was only made at 10 o'clock last night which
00:59:32 is why I'm reading it out of a scrappy piece of paper. So we have a bottle of fizz in lieu
00:59:41 of a plaque. There will be a plaque at some point very soon. So all of these shows are
00:59:48 outstanding in their own way. I shall read out the shortlist. So How to Bury a Dead Mule
00:59:56 at Pleasantstone. A very powerful piece about PTSD and war veterans. I'm going to read this
01:00:08 title out in full because I feel that this should happen at least once. Choo choo! Exclamation
01:00:13 mark, open brackets, wait. Or have we ever thought about star star star star star star
01:00:20 space star star star space star star star star star open brackets because I have close
01:00:27 brackets close brackets at Pleasantstone. No one is coming at the Scottish Storytelling
01:00:38 Centre. Really beautiful show that combines traditional Irish storytelling with a very
01:00:46 personal story about mental health. No Longer Here sadly. It's finished its run but I'm
01:00:51 very delighted to have it as part of the shortlist. King at Dance Space. Extraordinary performance,
01:00:58 extraordinary dancing and a very sensitive and thoughtful treatment of a mental health
01:01:04 issue. No Love Songs at the Travis. A wonderful new musical exploring the subjects of post
01:01:19 mental depression which is something that really should be talked about more. Before
01:01:24 the Drugs Kick In at the Space. Which I kind of don't want to spoil too much by describing
01:01:33 it but it's an extremely clever show that really kind of plays with the idea of stand
01:01:39 up comedy around about mental health in a way that I had not seen before. And finally
01:01:45 Woodhill at Summerhall. Which is just a fantastic campaigning piece of work about the British
01:01:56 prison system and all the problems with it. This is obviously a difficult decision. All
01:02:03 of these shows are deserving of this award in lots of different ways but there can only
01:02:08 be one winner. And the winner of the Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award for 2023 is
01:02:16 Choo Choo. And if you're here please come down and take a look.
01:02:45 I guess now I have to say something. Thank you so much. Oh my god. I mean right. Okay.
01:02:51 So that title sounds a bit mad doesn't it? Basically it's a show about intrusive thoughts
01:02:58 and OCD. And I can't quite believe I'm here saying this but I suffered with intrusive
01:03:06 thoughts for five years on my own without knowing what it was called. And to be here
01:03:12 to say that we've won this award is just amazing. So thank you so so much. Thank you.
01:03:30 I would just love to thank Duncan who is the other person in this show. We also have Laura
01:03:36 who's our amazing BSL interpreter and other character as well. The whole team has been
01:03:42 phenomenal. We have to thank Nerida as well who's our director, has also shared some amazing
01:03:50 experiences with us. What else do I say? Duncan help me. Rosie and Herth who did our fucking
01:03:56 ridiculous music design, sound design. Garin Clark who did our LX. Kerianne our producer
01:04:01 who like massively believed in us and the show and in Night and his company and pushed
01:04:05 us to come here and get out of our comfort zone. The Sherman Theatre in Cardiff who with
01:04:11 Pleasance sent us through the National Partnership Programme to be here. Everyone at Pleasance
01:04:16 has been really supportive and wonderful even when we got very sick and had to cancel some
01:04:19 shows. Yeah I can't believe it's £5,000. Thank you everyone so much and again thank
01:04:34 you to Nigh. For anyone who hasn't chosen Thoughts or OCD they know one of the most
01:04:38 categorising things about it is that it makes you feel alone and you can't talk about them
01:04:43 and you feel like you're a bad person and an imposter and it's been so amazing working
01:04:47 with Nigh and with Nerida to see them share those things which are so scary to share and
01:04:53 I just am in awe of them all the time so thank you to them.
01:04:56 Thank you so much. Have a great festival.
01:05:06 Fantastic. Thank you very much. Another judging panel that has had a really difficult job.
01:05:33 And now our final award for today. It is the Brighton Fringe Award, one of the most time-honoured
01:05:40 relationships between the Edinburgh Fringe and another arts event. The relationship with
01:05:46 Brighton Fringe has been celebrated through this award for many years and please welcome
01:05:51 back to the stage Richard Jordan who's the patron of the Brighton Fringe Award and also
01:05:58 Adam Pearson who's of the Brighton Fringe.
01:06:09 Hello again. It's really great to end the awards this morning on an award that celebrates
01:06:13 emerging talent because in Edinburgh, like all fringes, so many of us are on the start
01:06:18 of a creative journey when we come here. We take our audiences on that journey as well.
01:06:23 We don't always know where it will lead but we hope it's going to be exciting and rewarding
01:06:27 and today is fantastic to be able to do that. We recognise how important fringes are around
01:06:32 the world and how important open access fringes are so that they afford that opportunity to
01:06:37 as many people as possible who want to come and share their stories with us all.
01:06:42 The Brighton Fringe is the third largest fringe in the world. It happens in May each year.
01:06:47 This year's been wonderful because it's been great to see a lot of the shows that sort
01:06:50 of warmed up some of them in Brighton now playing and having hit runs here up in Edinburgh
01:06:54 and will go off hopefully elsewhere around the world.
01:06:57 This award began in 2011 with that intent to encourage emerging talent so it would bring
01:07:02 an award the following year to come down to Brighton. It's quite unique because it works
01:07:06 with a different venue each year in Brighton so it tries to give a real remit and this
01:07:10 year we're working with the Actors Theatre, formerly the Marlborough Theatre.
01:07:14 And it's been a really, I mean you're going to hear this, there's 10 nominees which is
01:07:18 the biggest number we've ever had. It's reflective of the quality of work that's up here.
01:07:23 It's also reflective of the necessity that fringes are affording to so many artists at the moment.
01:07:28 It got into a very heated debate about who should win and I can tell you on the list
01:07:32 all of you who are nominated could have walked away with this award and I hope that the nominations
01:07:37 will help you as you go forward into taking your work and companies elsewhere.
01:07:42 In the end we have done something rather unique which is we've decided that we needed to have
01:07:45 a special commendation, a runner-up and a winner and I'm going to hand over to Adam
01:07:50 to reveal that shortlist and those awards.
01:07:53 First of all my name's Ben.
01:07:56 Thanks Donny.
01:07:59 God! It was funny once but twice.
01:08:04 Yes, my name's Ben, hi everyone, thanks for coming, thank you.
01:08:09 Yeah, just to repeat what Richard has said, yes this is a list of 10 incredible shows
01:08:15 and we have at the very last minute added a special commendation, so last minute in fact
01:08:20 that we haven't actually got your certificate ready yet but it will be coming, we promise.
01:08:25 So I'm just going to go through the nominees now.
01:08:29 Also this is Richard's handwriting so I apologise.
01:08:33 My mum always wanted me to be a doctor so I'm afraid Ben is the suffering one.
01:08:37 So if I mispronounce anyone...
01:08:39 I can't stand to look at your shoddy paper.
01:08:41 Character Floor by Philippa Dawson and Nat Kennedy.
01:08:46 Birthmarked by Brooke Tate.
01:08:49 Unforgettable Girl by Elizabeth Gannawan.
01:08:52 Diana the Untold and Untrue Story by Linus Karp and Ork Productions.
01:08:57 Slash by Emily Allen and Leah Hennessy.
01:09:01 Jacob Storm's Tennessee Rising, The Dawn of Tennessee Williams.
01:09:06 Playing Latinx by the Mariana Milano Theatre.
01:09:11 Oat Milk and Honey by Moco Piano and Circus.
01:09:16 Crap Ballet by Shekhov's Gun and Dugsy Days by Sabrina Ali.
01:09:21 [Applause]
01:09:28 So last minute the special commendation isn't even in the envelope either.
01:09:33 Yes, I'm proud to announce the Brighton Fringe special commendation goes to Birthmarked.
01:09:39 [Applause]
01:09:54 Unfortunately Brooke couldn't be here.
01:09:57 And my hat does say don't give a duck but I do give a duck about this so thank you so much.
01:10:03 Yeah, just on behalf of Brooke and the whole team this recognition is huge so thank you to you guys and to the panel.
01:10:13 [Applause]
01:10:21 Thank you and then for the runner up for the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence is...
01:10:31 Diana the Untold and Untrue Story.
01:10:34 [Applause]
01:10:53 Well there were three of us in this category so it was a bit crowded.
01:10:58 But thank you, thank you so, so much. I want to thank you for especially for supporting and celebrating queer work.
01:11:05 Because as I'm sure a lot of you know there's been a lot of both hate and protest against queer shows and trans shows, drag shows here at the Fringe.
01:11:14 There's been posters torn down, there's been hate online.
01:11:18 Last week in London at Two Brewers there were two people who were stabbed outside just for attending a queer venue and that is a venue we perform at all the time.
01:11:26 So we are so grateful that you're celebrating queer work. Even if it's only second place but still.
01:11:32 [Laughter]
01:11:35 And also for celebrating stupid and silly work. We make incredibly stupid and silly work but that doesn't mean that it also can't be impactful and powerful and have meanings and messages.
01:11:45 So thank you for that. Thank you to Diana of course for being such an inspiration and for...
01:11:51 [Cheering]
01:11:53 This show very much is in all its stupidity and bad taste at times a very lovely celebration of her.
01:11:59 Thanks to her incredible team and especially to... there's only two of us in the company and that is possible because this person standing next to me is doing multiple, multiple jobs.
01:12:10 He's performing, he's puppeteering, stage managing, teching, lighting, designing, making projections work.
01:12:16 And also being the nicest person to all the Front of House and tech team members. Like he becomes best friends with everyone in all the venues.
01:12:23 And he's also the love of my life. So Joseph Patterson.
01:12:26 [Cheering]
01:12:35 If we weren't already engaged for four and a half years this would be the time to propose to you really.
01:12:40 [Laughter]
01:12:41 Thanks very much. This is fucking great. We're really happy. Love you very much. This has been the joy of my life.
01:12:48 Trans rights are human rights. Thanks very much.
01:12:50 [Cheering]
01:13:04 And finally I'd like to announce the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence. The winner is Character Flaw by Phillipa Gosser and Matt Canaday.
01:13:13 [Cheering]
01:13:29 Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you to my director, Nat, who's in London. And yeah, everyone who's helped.
01:13:42 My mum had a stroke at the beginning of the year and she's the reason that I got my act together and applied for Fringe.
01:13:49 She couldn't come but everything that I'm doing is for her. It's making her proud. So this will make her really proud. So thank you.
01:13:56 [Cheering]
01:14:17 Thank you to everyone involved in the Brighton Fringe Award. A great award. And that is the last award for today.
01:14:26 And so we end this Scotsman Fringe Award ceremony for 2023. As I said at the beginning, there are always so many people to thank.
01:14:35 Thanking the Pleasants again. You've seen their fantastic work just now. What hosts they've been to us for several years now. They've been wonderful.
01:14:43 [Cheering]
01:14:46 I want to thank our generous sponsors, the University of Edinburgh, without whom it would be very difficult in these times to continue with these awards.
01:14:56 So thanks to the University of Edinburgh for their sustained and very generous support. It's wonderful.
01:15:05 I want to thank the whole fantastic Scotsman team. Our editors, Andrew Eaton-Lewis and Roger Cox. All of our judging panel and all of the reviewers for the Scotsman
01:15:16 who run around the Fringe looking for the shows that we want to nominate for our Fringe Firsts.
01:15:22 And of course all the judging panels of all the other awards we've celebrated today who put in huge amounts of work.
01:15:30 And I think if people could be flies on the wall at the judging discussions that all of these panels have, they would see how much everyone involved cares about theatre
01:15:40 and wants to celebrate the greatest of the work that is here on the Fringe.
01:15:46 I think finally, I just want to thank all of you for being here to congratulate all of the winners and to congratulate everyone who was nominated for any award.
01:15:58 And indeed to congratulate and celebrate everyone who, as Henry said, put themselves on the line to perform at this wonderful Fringe.
01:16:07 These are not the easiest times for our society and they've certainly not been the easiest last few years for theatre.
01:16:16 We've heard the names today of a few great and valued members of this Fringe community who have been lost during those difficult years.
01:16:24 And all of you will have other names in your minds that have been lost during that time.
01:16:30 But I think what we've seen this year in the Fringe 2023, despite all the issues surrounding the Fringe,
01:16:36 all the problems with costs and all of the other controversies surrounding it,
01:16:41 is that this festival still retains a tremendous power to bring people together,
01:16:47 to highlight issues that we really need to be thinking about and considering,
01:16:53 and considering together in a shared space, in the shared experience that is live performance.
01:17:01 We all know, as people who work in that field, how powerful that is.
01:17:05 So my biggest thanks today goes to everyone who makes it possible for this festival to continue,
01:17:13 for their hard work, for their courage and for their sheer determination to make it work,
01:17:19 to get the shows on and to do good work on the best Fringe in the world.
01:17:24 So thank you very much. Join us for a drink in Arthur's Bar after the show.
01:17:29 Everyone is very welcome. And please join us again, God willing or the universe willing,
01:17:35 a year from now for the Scotsman Fringe Awards 2024. Thank you.
01:17:41 [applause]
01:17:47 [music]
01:17:52 Thank you for coming. I'm sorry that the trees are all gone.
01:17:57 [music]