It’s club night and the tracks are spinning.
Two headliners crossfade between stories of love, sex, and losing their creative spark – set against a backdrop of precarious lives in urban London. Featuring original tracks inspired by early noughties and present-day R&B and garage, Bangers follows the highs and lows of two strangers struggling with their own pasts, while hurtling towards the future.
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show is?
I operate on the ethos that variety is the spice of life. I’m an actor, writer, singer, campaigner… and whatever else I’m passionate about at the time. Bangers is a gig, a club night and a play. It’s about the power of music and the way it shapes our attitudes to love, sex and gender. Our heroes Aria and Clef tell their own stories, playing multiple parts and colliding in unexpected ways as the DJ leads them towards their inevitable conclusion. It’s playful, moving, and full of bangers!
Tell us about the creative team and process involved?
Bangers started as a co-production between Soho Theatre and Cardboard Citizens. In 2022, we toured the show to community venues, followed by a 5 star run at Soho. We’re now bringing this show to a new audience, pushing the party vibes even further at Paines Plough’s Roundabout!
I’m excited to once again be working with the brilliant Chris Sonnex, composer/DJ extraordinaire Duramaney Kamara, and the talented actor/artist Jim Caesar. We’ve all got a strong connection to music so the rehearsal room is a vibe! It’s also great to be collaborating with Citz again, and working with the brilliant Ameena Hamid and Grace Dickinson.
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
I last came to the Fringe with my show Busking It (inspired by my 10 years as a busker). It was very rewarding but also exhausting! Bangers is a much bigger show so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified. But I’m also really proud of this piece and this company and excited to see how people respond.
There are over 3,000 shows at the Fringe. So, what sets your show apart?
I typed ‘garage’ into the EdFringe search engine and there are no garage musicals so that’s a start!
But in all seriousness, I think this show is unique – it treads the line between a night out and a piece of theatre; it features a wide range of tracks from different eras (but all bangers!); it challenges audiences to sit in grey areas and engage in difficult topics; and it’s also very funny (mainly because of the ad libs and talent of my co-stars)!
Is there anything specific you’re hoping for the audience to take away?
I’m hoping they leave wanting to dance! But I also hope it will have audiences thinking about how the music we love shapes us. There are lots of songs we grew up listening to that are now deemed problematic. How do we engage with that? Do we reclaim the bangers? Or write new ones?
Your ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t there…
I’d LOVE an audience of UK garage, grime and rap icons in attendance. Stormzy, Kano, Tempa T, Dizzee Rascal… the list goes on. I doubt my bars would match up but it would be amazing!
And for the Kurrupt FM crew to join us for an encore at the end!
And every major award and TV/film/theatre company in the country, obvs.
It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
I’m hoping to go for some walks and see some of the music Edinburgh has to offer. I’m also gonna find all the nice people doing shows and make friends with them. I definitely plan to see lots of theatre and comedy, but I don’t have loads on my list yet. My only recommendations so far are the rest of the Roundabout Season and Words and Music by Ed Gaughan.
In your ideal world, how can we improve the world of the Fringe, of performance, and the industry?
I think cost is a huge barrier to artists at Edinburgh and it would be great if there was more help: subsidised accommodation, free PR support, advice to first timers, and affordable registration fees to those who can’t afford them. It seems unfair that the more money an artist can spend on promo and publicity, the more likely they are to stick out amongst 3000 plus shows. It would be great if there was active levelling of the playing field. If the festival wants to keep engaging new and diverse talent it needs to make it easier for people from less affluent backgrounds to take part.
In an ideal world, the festival would also be reducing its climate footprint (less needless flyers, no plastic cups, and better-equipped venues!). It would spend more time actively engaging with communities outside of the festival goers and bringing these amazing shows to even more people.
I should highlight that none of these are purely Ed Fringe problems – they exist throughout the industry!
