A journey that started many months ago, with auditions, call-backs and early rehearsals for Gone Rogue Productions’ production of the fast-paced thriller Tape and their gender-swapped twist on Oscar Wilde’s classic farce The Importance of Being Earnest in February has now come to a close… and what a journey it’s been. Writing as a cast member of Earnest, it’s been a truly memorable, and at times admittedly very challenging, rehearsal process. In the midst of getting to grips with our characters of the opposite sex (mine was a ‘glamorous’, iPhone-obsessed Gwendolen!), we’ve all had to acquire certain skills, mannerisms and performance techniques which we never could have imagined we’d have to when we started with SUSU Theatre Group years ago – like learning how to apply make-up and walk in high heels, for example!
But ultimately it’s been an absolute blast from start to finish, and has been another brilliant year of working with some hilarious, talented and inspirational people, without whose mutual support we wouldn’t have been able to pull it off. For me there’s no feeling quite like being part of a close-knit, supportive cast, working as a solid team to put on the best daily performance you can, and this show was no exception. I can’t thank them, my directors Jed, Joe and Poppy, or the company’s producers Chris and Jamie, enough for the opportunity – it’s been terrific!
Having to dress in this way every day for two and a half weeks was an unforgettable, if pretty weird, experience! (Credit: Joe Hart)
The rest of the Earnest cast and team – a fantastic bunch of people to work with, it’s been great getting to know them all, and I’ll miss our (fairly different) rehearsals!
The best thing about Edinburgh, though, is not only is it a great chance to step outside of your comfort zone and perform to audiences beyond the 'student bubble' (although this does have the side-effect of making them slightly more forth-coming and honest in their opinions sometimes!), but also the way the city becomes completely enveloped in a Festival feel in its entirety, from the sheer number of people walking around, to the celebratory atmosphere they carry and the merry smiles they wear. It almost seems like wherever you go, a performance of some kind or another is taking place, be it theatres, clubs, street pavements or, of course, the spectacular Royal Mile, where performers of every discipline you can possibly think of – theatre, comedy, musicals, magic, dance, cabaret, 'improv', circus, opera, choirs, and more – compete for attention (and, fingers crossed, ticket purchases!) in spectacular fashion.
Indeed, my personal favourite street performer this year was a mute clown who, at the beginning of his show, set-up a jukebox on a pavement corner and, despite juggling in quite an innocuous fashion at first, soon set about using a wireless remote to cause havoc, changing songs on the fly and in turn entrapping unsuspecting passers-by in some hilarious situations, like giving one passing car an impromptu provocative car-wash (I’ll let you imagine the music!) and putting on sunglasses (to the theme tune of The Godfather) whenever an elderly gentlemen walked by! It was simple stuff but ingenious, and it had his amassed crowds in stitches throughout. Other highlights included an improvised silent movie troupe, an impromptu performance of the Haka, and a giant dinosaur or two making its way down the road! If you’re looking for fresh ideas, international culture and performances of the highest quality, there really is no place quite like the Fringe!
And as for our company results, I’m delighted to say that, following on from last time around with Hanging Bruce-Howard, Gone Rogue Productions had a brilliantly successful year both commercially and critically, with its two shows Earnest and Tape, attaining mostly three and four star reviews across the board, particularly in the case of the latter, whose team also managed to be long-listed for the National Student Drama Festival Edinburgh award 2014 - a fantastic achievement. Likewise, we as the cast of Earnest had a wonderful time and were seen by some very receptive audiences for which we’re very grateful, including one on very special (and surreal!) day in particular, when a quite-possibly-famous guest (and accompanying media!) were in our audience – but more on that in early 2015 (when I’m allowed to talk about it)!
But even with a great deal of fundraising undertaken before we went up, the costs of the trip were huge in terms of venue hire, show rights and other expenses, so we were hugely grateful as a company to be granted this remarkable experience by the University of Southampton, without whose generous and benevolent support of our efforts, both through the G F Forsey fund and, personally, the ECS Student Development Fund, granted us this amazing opportunity. Overall, we were delighted with how things went and we truly believe that the company’s future looks set to be a bright one at the Fringe in the future, whichever lucky people are flying the flag for the University next year.
So once again I return from the famous Scottish city with stories aplenty to tell, and not enough words to tell them all in! Highlights of the three weeks included a repeat of last year’s memorable Arthur’s Seat climb (carrying on the tradition of playing a round of the classic drama game ‘Ninjas’ at the top!), catching in the region of 70 shows over 21 days (trying to get full value out of my company pass!), witnessing a Southampton alumnus and great friend, Joe Hart, place 3rd in a national comedy competition final (with an incredible set in the So You Think You’re Funny? event, whose previous finalists have gone on to do amazing things in comedy!), bumping into plenty of celebrities around and about (including John Bishop, Simon Callow and Jason Manford – a judge at the final – with some people in Gone Rogue even seeing Jack Gleeson, also known to some as King Joffrey!), and ultimately having the time of my life once again.
The annual ‘Ninjas’ Edinburgh championship took place – and things got suitably intense!
Meeting and chatting to Jason Manford was a surreal, and awesome, experience!
Another brilliant day in Edinburgh!
And so it’s time to get preparing for my fourth, and final, year in Southampton. It’s strange to think that, from now on, most things I’ll be witnessing down there will probably be for the final time – but I’m pretty sure that, at some point or another, I’ll be back in Edinburgh again, hopefully sooner rather than later!
Robin
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