Edy Hurst’s Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Himself is the show where I, Edy Hurst, have received the startling news that I am related the women accused in the Lancashire Witch Trials. Audiences will join me as we convene with the spirit world, calling out to my ancestors for some sort of insight and guidance. Also the Vengaboys keep turning up. Also I got diagnosed with ADHD. But don’t focus on the last one, because I sure can’t.
Edy Hurst speaks to Corr Blimey about their startling discoveries and new show in Edinburgh
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show/event/performance is?
Edy Hurst’s Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Himself is the show where I, Edy Hurst, have received the startling news that I am related the women accused in the Lancashire Witch Trials. Audiences will join me as we convene with the spirit world, calling out to my ancestors for some sort of insight and guidance. Also, the Vengaboys keep turning up. Also, I got diagnosed with ADHD. But don’t focus on the last one, because I sure can’t.
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
The show was commissioned by Lowry in Salford as part of their ‘Developed With’ programme, previously supporting comedians such as Sophie Willan, to create a new show that pushes their work in a new direction.
It was directed by award-winning comedian Joz Norris. It’s the first time I’ve ever worked with a larger creative team, previously making everything from lo-fi animations, large cardboard props and giant hoops to jump through, to pre-recording voices and music. And reader, would you believe it? Working with an incredibly talented team of people is not only a fun-great experience but also gives you space to dig deeper into what you want to say and how to say it.
From lighting design by Lily Woodford-Lewis, Set Design by Lucy Sneddon to a wide team of collaborators who helped bash through the tangle of ideas in the show including Joe Kent-Waters, Amy Vreeke, Cerys Bradley and Mikey Bligh-Smith just to name a few. It’s been a big creative change for me, and has been a big step up to muck around with lots of theatrical elements in a way that just wasn’t an option before.
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
It’s a question that constantly haunts me, do we ever come back to the Fringe? Do we ever return anywhere? Can we truly ever step in the same river twice? Do we dip our spoons in the same tin of beans, or is it forever changed with each scoop? This question stalks me like a spectre, an elusive being running between tree and bracken in the woods. I hear a crack of sticks, but turn to find nothing there. My name called out from the darkness, but no owner of the sound.
I can’t wait!
With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?
I’m pretty confident that it’s the only show in the world about the Lancashire Witch Trials, the Vengaboys and absolutely nothing else all at the same time. A lot of people try to say the show is also about the experience of receiving a late-stage ADHD diagnosis, but I really don’t see it, sorry. It’s just, quite clearly, about lots of in-detail hyper-focused information on the 1612 Pendle Witch Trials, and how the Vengaboys secretly made a concept album in which they learnt to circumnavigate the globe, and nothing else at all.
And if there’s another show that does that, then I really think that person needs some help, because that’s a very specific, bold set of life choices to have made, and it sounds like they’re trying to work through something with a loose-fitting metaphor.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
I’ve got some stickers that audiences are welcome to have, also I think I might be selling t-shirts too. Some people have said that the show ‘really resonates with them as someone navigating their life after a late-stage Neurodivergent diagnosis and meant a lot to be seen like that’ but I’ll be honest, I can’t see what they’re talking about.
I’d also like everyone to leave with a full understanding of how the Vengaboys’ 1999 Party Album tells the tale of the euro-dance band gaining the skills and knowledge to circumnavigate the globe.
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
Well, I certainly hope that Sir James Altham and Sir Edward Bromley, judges in the trials recounted in the Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster aren’t there, because they’re in for a real shock on their skills as judges! Actually, maybe we could change their minds with, you know what, let ‘em in! They’ve been clamouring for tickets, give the piggies what they want.
I’d like for anyone that hears the words ‘Lancashire Witch Trials, Vengaboys and Nothing Else’ and thinks ‘yeah gimme a bit of that’ to be in the audience. And if you think that’s a bit much, then look I get it, but it’s not getting any less.
The amount of much-ness you’re getting is actually incredibly good value for money.
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?
OH NO! I’m GOING TO FORGET SOMEONE. I can’t relax when I’m trying to remember my esteemed friends and colleagues and their shows! I always forget. I always feel terrible. And they will never find out or know. But alas, like Odysseus on the Greek seas home, still we sail. Swish swish float float.
Joz Norris – You Wait, Time Passes.
Joz directed my show and has an incredible eye for narrative character-focused silliness, using daftness to explore big ideas that make you feel things.
Joe Kent-Water’s Frankie Monroe is DEAD! (good fun)
I 100% don’t need to recommend this as I’m sure he’ll sell out following last year’s Award-winning show, but Joe helped work on a lot of physical comedy for my show, and Frankie is such a brilliant grotty creation. He’s back from hell – finally! Come and see if he kept his trowel
Molly McGuiness: Slob
Molly is great! A performer who you just really enjoy spending time with and hearing more about their life, as well as being a great joke writer. And lemme tell you, there’s a whole lot of living in this show, it’s her debut show about how to choose a great buffet and the slob lifestyle.
Paul Campbell: The Lost Tapes of Somerfield
Paul and Molly run an amazing night in Manchester called Paul and Molly try Heron Foods, where they try Heron Foods. a true connoisseur of the supermarket. This is the first show about the death of a supermarket, our beloved Somerfield. Pay your respects with a true original that was in the trenches when it fell.
Cerys Bradley: Queers Tales 4 Autistic Folk
If you like my show that combines folklore, pop culture and (allegedly) neurodivergence, then you’d be really hard pushed to come up with a reason why Cerys’ show isn’t also right up your street. It’s a delightful hour-long community-building experience through a world of fantasy and crushing reality!
Some more recommendations: Jain Edwards, Pat Cahill, Phil Ellis, Jake Donaldson, Steffan Alun, Lulu Popplwell, Ben Pope, Frank Foucault and Jeez, I’ve definitely missed some people off I’m so sorry. Also, if you own a time machine, go back to last year and watch Dr. Doolittle Kills a Man (And Reads Extracts from his New Book) because the title alone is a work of art. But if you do own a time machine, I think there’s some other stuff to sort out before that show, alright?
In your ideal world, how can we improve the Fringe, performance, and the industry?
We’ve not spoken a lot about giving each performer a jet pack for the Fringe, and I think that really shows. These would improve accessibility for performers, dramatically reduce travel times navigating the hilly world of Edinburgh, and if you were to sell your pack following a run, you could net back anywhere from £1,000 – £150,000 on the resell market, and that would be a real economic boon to many companies and artists.
Now that would be an ideal world choice. It could also be that the issues faced at the Fringe are issues that are across the arts industry, only that due to the incredibly concentrated period of time, they’re highlighted and brought to the fore during the month of August. To try and address issues with the Fringe would also involve how we support artists and companies across the UK, particularly those that face barriers to industry, be they social or economic. There’s no clear-cut solution, but there are lots of good small ideas, and lots of organisations such as Best in Class doing phenomenal work simply because they saw a problem and want to make a change.
Has the Fringe already changed, no longer the place where, in a relatively low financial risk setting, you could develop as a performer and figure out a new show, but instead a platform and showcase of best work? Was it ever that, or only that for companies fortunate enough to have big backing from production teams, agencies and the like?
Is it forever changing each year, as phones4u shops fall and bars even further out from the centre put 20 chairs in a row and register as a venue? Do we ever step in the same Fringe twice? Do I really have any particularly useful insight as someone who’s never run a festival? When do we get our jetpacks?
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