Red Rose Dramaturgy: Gabby So @ Edfringe 2016

Red Rose / White Rose

Greenside @ Royal Terrace

Aug 5-13, 15-20

There were two actresses in Strindberg's play: one I called his white rose, the other his red rose. One was a spotless wife, the other a shameless mistress. Who's the stronger anyway – a housewife desperate to keep her husband home, or a free spirit destined to shut herself out of the marriage institution? The answer lies within the 1940s Shanghai.

Hong Kong’s beloved actress-writer-producer, Gabby So, makes her debut this year at the Edinburgh Fringe with her one-woman show Red Rose/White Rose. With its story and characters inspired by one of China’s most influential modern writers, Eileen Chang, the play will examine the complexities of female roles in the face of love, power and social status in a modernising China.

Set against the backdrop of 1940's Shanghai, So plays Chang as she probes the greatest moral dilemma, with the complexities of an emotional life, through her heroines Red Rose and White Rose  - both fashioned in China’s most iconic dress the ‘qipao’. The audience will find themselves immersed in a contemporary portrayal of Chang’s dilemmatic life as wife and mistress and, as the plot develops, will recognise the familiar characters of Mrs. X and Miss Y from August Strindberg’s 1889 play, The Stronger.

What was the inspiration for this performance? 

A man proposed to me and I did not have the answer. So I decided to get into the characters of both wife and mistress, find out which role I enjoy more on stage, and then take corresponding actions in life.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?  
I talked to my artist friends about my plan of going Ed Fringe, for those I could spark joy in their eyes I invited them on board. And then naturally they formed a team.

How did you become interested in making performance? 
I literally grew up with Julie Andrew's "The Sound of Music" having watched it for over 300 times. In the film there was a scene in which the seven kids of the family performed a puppet show for their father. That inspired me to entertain my parents and family friends with self-devised showcases since the age of five with my younger sister.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance? 
No. For every show I try something new, something I am a bit afraid of - the last one was a musical and this one is a monologue inspired by Chinese Opera's minimal aesthetics. So I have not found a way to make a performance yet and probably will not ever.

What do you hope that the audience will experience? 
The struggles of being a spotless wife in face of a shameless mistress. Many interpretations of Strindberg's script aim at answering the question of who the stronger woman is, but I am more intrigued by their own Achilles' ankles.

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience? 
Intertextuality with Eileen Chang's novella "Red Rose, White Rose". When you think of a mistress as a red rose and a wife a white one, you will see the beauty and the beast of them both. 

Do you see your work within any particular tradition? 

Contemporary Chinese one-woman drama - but with my personal twists.   

A former script developer for Will Smith and now Philip D’olier’s protégé, So’s true passion and calling lies in theatre, where she feels the richest introspective representations of human experience come to life. Her previous performances have earned her public acclaim in her homeland, with two sell-out shows - Breakfast at Tiffany’s and The Ritz-Diamond - both sponsored by the Hong Kong Arts Centre and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council. Her work has also been highly received by titles such as The Standard, Time Out and the South China Morning Post.

Screw Your Dramaturgy: Klahr Thorsen @ Edfringe 2016

SCREW YOUR COURAGE! (or The Bloody Crown!)

Greenside @ Infirmary Street (Venue 236) ​ 13:50 Aug 5-13, 15-20, 22-27

In this one-woman show, a Brooklyn actress confronts her most stubborn demons. Cursed with an unshakeable obsession to triumph in the role of Lady Macbeth, will she finally come to terms with Shakespeare’s most misunderstood heroine? Or will she succumb to madness, Serbians and enchanted bagpipers? Warning: Contains drama and insanity. 

What was the inspiration for this performance? 

I've always been fascinated by Lady Macbeth.  About six years ago, I was participating in a very intense program at Shakespeare & Company (here in the States) and was working on the role.  We were strongly encouraged to draw parallels between the trajectory of our characters and the trajectory of our own lives.  One night I was writing during a mandatory journal writing session (SO American!), and the idea hit me like a ton of bricks.  I knew that I could do it, and I knew that it had to be a solo show. 

How did you go about gathering the team for it?

That's a huge question because it's been six years in the making!  Matt Hoverman and his Go-Solo Workshop here in New York City was absolutely instrumental in the writing of the show.  My friends Autumn Mirassou, Kacie Laforest, and Perri Yaniv were my rocks during the initial staging, and now my director (and former teacher) Eileen Vorbach has joined on!  I've also relied heavily on my friends from Shakespeare's Globe for their continued support and guidance and, of course, my husband Sean who is possibly the most patient man in Brooklyn (imagine how often he's had to run lines with me!). 

How did you become interested in making performance?

When I was a student at The Second City Conservatory in my hometown of Chicago, making performance was the only thing we did!  Honestly, I was terrified of improv, but my Mom had just died and I needed a challenge and a distraction.  And, boy did I get one - when it goes wrong (which it easily can) it can be quite daunting.  But when it worked, it was pure magic! 

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?

That's hard to say because it was my first solo show, and it's worlds apart from improvising with an ensemble or doing a play.  I definitely used techniques from The Second City, but I also used a lot of techniques that I learned during my Fellowship at the Globe.  Performing at the Globe is an extraordinary experience because that theatre allows you to open up and have an intimate conversation with a thousand people.  Actually, it doesn't just allow it - it demands it!  I address the audience directly quite a bit in SCREW YOUR COURAGE, which was an intentional choice.  I wanted the audience to feel that they were coming with me on a journey rather than just observing me. 

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

I hope they're surprised by the show.  There are many elements in the piece (comedy, drama, Shakespeare, contemporary language, and... Shakespeare in Serbian).  It's a lot of fun, but it also deals with some very serious matters, such as my family's history of mental illness.  

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

I wrote three witches into the story for the purpose of exposition (and, yes, their lines are mostly written in trochaic tetrameter because... giant nerd).  Otherwise, I tried to use a comedic touch to move the story forward.  I think that helps the audience when things get serious.  After all, even King Lear had a fool. 

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?

Certainly it's part of the solo theatre revolution we've been having here in New York City, and it's part of the ongoing fringe theatre tradition as well. 

Dramaturgy by Niggle: Richard Medrington @ Edfringe 2016

PUPPET STATE THEATRE COMPANY presents

JRR Tolkien’s

Leaf by Niggle

At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016 and part of the Made in Scotland Showcase 2016

Scottish Storytelling Centre, Venue 30

Aug 4 Preview 17:00 Aug 5 -28 (not 10, 15, 22, 23) 17:00 (75mins)

Aug 17 17:00 BSL interpreted performance

Performed by Richard Medrington
Soundtrack composed by Karine Polwart and Michael John McCarthy
Directed by Andy Cannon; Lighting by Gerron Stewart; Design Support by Ailie Cohen; Movement support by Janice Parker; Stage Management by Elspeth Murray

Puppet State Theatre Company returns to the

Credit Brian Hartley

Scottish Storytelling Centre for this year’s Festival Fringe, as part of Made in Scotland, with its acclaimed new production of JRR Tolkien’s little-known short story, Leaf by Niggle. 


This solo storytelling show, created and performed by Richard Medrington, draws on Richard’s personal family history as an introduction to Tolkien’s original story. 

Surrounded by ladders, bicycles and heirlooms, Richard Medrington (Jean from The Man Who Planted Trees) recounts Tolkien’s miniature masterpiece with a beautiful soundtrack composed by Karine Polwart and Michael John McCarthy.

What was the inspiration for this performance?
I first read the story Leaf by Niggle back in 1992 and was so struck by it that I approached the Tolkien Trust and asked for permission to turn it into a puppet show. At that time the answer was a polite no. Over the next twenty years or so the story stayed with me, even seemed to pursue me at times, so in 2013 I approached the Trust again and this time they said Yes! In short the inspiration was a fascinating story with as yet unplumbed depths that I have enjoyed swimming in.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?
Some old collaborators from previous shows, a friend whose work I had long admired but with whom I had never worked, a musician whom I had worshipped from afar, a producer who was just great and who brought on board other fine people she had worked with in the past, and a beautiful woman who for some reason doesn’t totally object to being a company manager and my wife.

How did you become interested in making performance?
Started when I was five and was given the starring role in Peter and the Wolf. I remember the teacher saying “now Richard is going to play the part of Peter because he likes acting”. Not sure where she got that from but it’s true. Well, I like telling stories anyway. And framing them in interesting ways.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?
No. A much bigger team was involved. I have done a lot of one-man shows in the past, with minimal assistance, and then ten years of collaboration on The Man Who Planted Trees with Rick Conte where I played the straight man to his comic creation Dog. This was partly going it alone again, and partly having the reassurance of a large and capable team. 

Then there was the surprising stage in development when we realised that this wasn’t going to be a puppet show after all! Somehow, we just couldn’t make it work with puppets. We tried to adapt the story – to cut down the word count, move scenes around - but in the end it seemed that the best thing to do was to keep every word, in the same order and trust Tolkien’s skill as a storyteller. (We did change one word that’s no longer in common usage and removed four words that reflected 1930’s gender inequalities.) 

The “adaptation” now mainly consists in the framing of the story. There is a prologue, during which I talk about the set elements and props, most of which are objects from the family attic. All these elements turn up later in the telling of the story and “earn their keep”.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?
A stimulated imagination. A challenge to think. A feeling of safety. 

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
Lovely music, interesting visual and aural elements, without overwhelming the eye or the mind. 

We considered and rejected ideas of a walk-through installation, although in a sense the set does turn into that at the end of the show, when people are keen to look at the props and talk about the story. (Probably haven’t answered your question).

Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
Story theatre? Is that a tradition?

Leaf by Niggle is considered by some to be Tolkien’s most autobiographical work, springing from his fear of not finishing The Lord of the Rings. In 1939, as war clouds were darkening, he woke up one morning with the story almost complete in his mind and wrote it down.

Niggle is a struggling artist who is trying to complete his magnum opus, a painting of a curious tree. He isn’t sure when he will need to set out on his journey, but he is worried that he won’t be able to finish the painting before it’s time to leave. 

Leaf by Niggle is often seen as an allegory of Tolkien's own creative process, and, to an extent, of his life. It is a tale of transformation, which examines the relationship between an artist, his creation and his community. 

Richard Medrington is the artistic director of Puppet State Theatre Company and for the past nine years the company has been touring the world with its much lauded production of Jean Giono’s The Man Who Planted Trees.  

This new adaptation of Leaf by Niggle is a reflection of Richard’s long held ambition to perform a staged version of the story. In 1993, Richard gave an acclaimed one-off storytelling performance of the piece at the Carberry Festival and has nurtured hopes of performing it to a wider audience ever since. 

Agent of Dramaturgy: Sarah Sigal @ Edfringe 2016

Agent of Influence: The Secret Life of Pamela More

Underbelly Cowgate (White Belly), 56 Cowgate, Edinburgh, EH1 1EG Thursday 4th – Sunday 28th August 2016 (not 15th), 14:40

Mid-calf, navy blue day dress with pearl buttons by Victor Stiebel. Dove-grey tweed jacket and fox stole by House of Hartnell. Hat by Elsa Schiaparelli. Perfect for luncheons, jaunts around town and spying on fascists.

Lady Pamela, fashion columnist and socialite, is recruited by MI5 to keep notes on Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, suspected to be colluding with the German Embassy. But, Pamela suddenly realises that what began as an adventure has led to a deadly struggle for power in a world in the shadow of war.

After the critically acclaimed World Enough and Time by Sarah Sigal (Park Theatre 2014), Rebecca Dunn reprises her role as the beguiling Pamela More in this new piece. Writer Sarah Sigal comments, Some characters take on a life of their own. Pamela was always very demanding. Now she has her own show. And a Twitter account. Who knows what's next?

In the depths of a darkened bomb shelter, Lady Pamela tells a tale of adventure, espionage and intrigue, of glamorous cocktail parties, socialites and high fashion. This is a world where the news is filled with reports of economic crises, authoritarian governments and refugees fleeing war-torn countries.

From Jessica Beck, the director who brought Whiskey Tango Foxtrot to the Fringe in 2015, comes a journey of 1930s glamour and fear.

What was the inspiration for this performance?
My grandmother remembered reading about the Wallis Simpson/Edward VIII affair in America in the 1930s (where the newspapers didn't adhere to the reporting blackout) and wondering if it must have been a plot between MI5 and the CIA to get the fascist sympathising king off the throne. 

That curiosity passed down to my mother, and then to me. I find the 1930s particularly interesting now because I feel we're living in a parallel time - refugee crises, the rise of political extremism and isolationist policies. The choice between taking action or sticking your head in the sand in a period of uncertainty and fear feels universal. The spy story felt like an exciting way of exploring these themes.

How did you go about gathering the team for it?
I had already worked with Becca Dunn to develop the character of Pamela over a number of years for our last play together, World Enough and Time (Park Theatre, 2014). The director, Jessica Beck, and sound and lighting designer, Phil Hewitt, are both long-time collaborators, having worked with me on Dogfight (Underbelly, 2007) and Alice's Adventures in the New World (Old Red Lion, 2010), of which Becca was a part as well. 

Our assistant director Katharina Reinthaller has worked with Jessica on other shows and directed a short piece of mine last year. Our illustrator, costume and set designer Alberta Jones is a collaborator of Phil and Jessica's and our producer Carla Almeida is a friend. It's wonderful to be able to work in a team that I know so well and trust so much. 

How did you become interested in making performance?
I started acting when I was a child, then directing in high school and then writing when I was at university. I was lucky to have gone to a university that encouraged me to produce my own plays and discover different approaches to making work independently, not just through classes for my drama BA.

Was your process typical of the way that you make a performance?
Yes and no. Agent of Influence involved research, discussion, devising and work-shopping that fed into the scripting process. This is often typical of the way I work. However, the character of Pamela came from a previous play and we developed her into a one-woman show, which is something I've never done before.

What do you hope that the audience will experience?
I hope the audience will be able to laugh and enjoy Pamela's journey, but also learn something about the history of the inter-war period and be able to connect the themes and ideas in the play to the world we live in now.


What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?
I wanted to create a one-woman show that engaged with storytelling so that the audience could develop an intimate relationship with the main character and become invested in her journey. Some of the material in the play is quite heavy so I felt humour was essential to explore the period.


Do you see your work within any particular tradition?
For this particular project, I drew inspiration from Nancy Mitford, Evelyn Waugh, Eric Ambler, John le Carré, Alfred Hitchcock and the film noir tradition. However, I wanted to take the style and subject matter of the 1930s and view it through a feminist lens, focusing on the particular experience of a woman. In our society, we do not spend enough time telling the stories of women in history.

Sarah Sigal

Sarah Sigal has a BA in English Literature and Theatre from Gettysburg College and an MA and PhD from Goldsmiths College. She is a playwright, dramaturg and director working in physical theatre, devised work, site-specific performance and new writing. Sarah has made work for the Shunt Vaults, the Union Theatre, the Cheltenham Everyman, the Arcola, the Edinburgh Festival.

The Death of Lady Mondegreen a solo show by Douglas Morland.

Morland takes this idea of mishearing or mistranslation as a starting point to create an assemblage of sculptural and image-based works that tease at creating echoes and suggestions of form and meaning.

Utilising a variety of motifs , textures and processes that have appeared previously in his practice and through a process of composition, veiling and revealing, a fictive space is suggested – the stage-like space where the dramatic tussle of language to form or discern meaning takes place.


Morland’s film Broadcast Rites also deals with issues to do with the transmission, reception and physicality of information, while obliquely echoing the forms and motifs of the work it plays alongside.

Douglas Morland (b.1974) is a Glasgow-based artist and musician. He studied Drawing and Painting then attended the Master of Fine Art programme at Glasgow School of Art and has exhibited extensively, in the UK and internationally.