Welcome to the mid-noughties world of emo teen and future rockstar, David. He’s smart. He’s mature. He’s memorised a diagram of a vulva and it definitely didn’t make him feel sick. And he’s here to headline Sticky Floors – the coolest under 16s band night in the Bay Area. But when his bandmate doesn’t show, will he handle himself with a sense of poise and rationality? With live renditions of classic rock, original songs and emo bangers, this coming-of-age character comedy looks at how teenage boys communicate when, like, words are hard.
Laurie Stevens speaks with Corr Blimey about creating ‘David’, and their journey to the Fringe
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show/event/performance is?
David is about to play the gig of a lifetime: headlining Sticky Floors, the coolest under-16s band night in the Bay Area. But when his bandmate flakes on their one shot at emo stardom, David must embark on his music career alone. David’s One-Man Band (F*ck You, Steven) is a character comedy with live music about a thirteen-year-old boy who dreams of being a rockstar. The emo love child of Freaks and Geeks and Spinal Tap, it’s a mid-noughties nostalgia bomb of teenage awkwardness, angsty poetry and songs with ridiculously long titles. You can come and see the show at Underbelly Cowgate (Belly Dancer) from 31 July – 25 August at 16:10!
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
I created David in the Characters workshop at Gaulier, where we were given the assignment to ‘be unrecognisable’. The costume bits I’d ordered hadn’t arrived so I borrowed a bunch of friends’ clothes, gave myself a mascara moustache and gelled my bob into an emo fringe. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but there was something loveable about David that made me want to revisit him when I got back to London.
I tried the guitar, loop station and drum kit setup for the first time at the Soho Drag Lab, and it failed spectacularly. I wasn’t used to an electric kit, and it turned out that every time I hit the kick pedal, it slipped further away from me, taking half of the drum kit’s frame with it. So I ended up sliding across the stage, sort of chasing this drum kit that was expanding on one side and collapsing on the other. Since then, I’ve dealt with numerous musical tech hitches, and it’s added to the clowny joy of the show, but that day, oof…
Thankfully, it all got better from there. I received Camden People’s Theatre’s Starting Blocks funding and got Annie Siddons on board as dramaturg. She just got the character and the show from the moment we started rehearsals and has been a real guiding light throughout the process. Piotr Sikora has provided an outside eye – he’s got a brilliant knack for distilling things to their most funny, most simple form, whilst still keeping an eye on the shape of the show – and I’m working with Pierrot Productions and The Project People as co-producers, who have provided so much support and motivation in the lead-up to the Fringe. My brother, James Stevens, has also been an absolute gem who has really allowed me to take my bossy older sibling role to new heights.
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
This year is technically my debut, but my first experience of the Fringe was when I was 17, playing a jilted wife in Lorca’s Blood Wedding. Our only review was a polite three stars from British Theatre Guide and we were absolutely delighted with it – we would flyer by saying ‘Three-star show! Three-star show!’So this year, I’d love to channel the humility and sheer excitement of my 17-year-old self. I think she’d be thrilled about the show and the fact that Opium (now Legends) still exists.
With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?
I think the genre of the show is pretty unique – it’s a wild mashup of character comedy, theatre, live music, drag and clown. I didn’t plan it that way – I just tried to make decisions that felt right for the character and his world. Perhaps the craziest of those decisions was to learn to play the guitar and drums for the show…thankfully I come from a family of musicians so I was able to borrow my mum’s guitar and my brother’s drum kit!
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
The tone of the show is pretty silly, but at its heart, it’s about teenage boys struggling to communicate. The show is set in 2006, and I’d love for the theme to feel as dated as MySpace, Limewire and Motorola Razrs, but sadly it’s still relevant. On a lighter note, I’ve had feedback during previews that audience members have been inspired to play their old instruments after seeing the show. I would love to get people making music, whether that’s taking up an instrument, joining a choir or just belting out some noughties bangers in the shower!
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
The 2006 setting means millennials and older Gen Z will particularly enjoy the references, but being an awkward teenager trying to figure out your relationships is timeless! If you were in a band as a teenager, if you’re passionate about music, if you were that pretentious kid that thought you were deep because you skim-read ‘An Introduction to Philosophy’, then this show is for you. It isn’t for anyone who sailed through adolescence without embarrassing themselves. If there are any of those people out there, congratulations! Stay at home.
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?
My goal is to get to Portobello Beach as much as possible – it’s beautiful and feels so far removed from the Fringe bubble. I’m hoping for a heatwave that lasts precisely 3 hours so I can go for a swim, dry off and then do my show without overheating. I’m really excited to see Annie Siddons’s Dickie Dimplethorpe Has a Day (part of the inaugural Shedinburgh season, which I’m excited about in general). For brilliant alternative comedy debuts, go and see Ellen Turnill Montoya: Mr Handsome, Ozzy Algar: Speed Queen and Su Mi: This Motherphucker. For the best returning shows, try Piotr Sikora: Furiozo, Sh!t Theatre: Or What’s Left Of Us and Madeleine Rowe: Knight Knight.
In your ideal world, how can we improve the Fringe, performance, and the industry?
This isn’t a hot take, but…the cost of the Fringe is insane! Not only does this prohibit many people from getting to the Fringe in the first place, but it means that those of us who do make it do so at the cost of our mental health and personal finances. Of course, everyone does the utmost not to let the quality of their shows suffer, but it if it continues to be mentally and financially exhausting to take a show to the Fringe, people will minimise the risks they take in favour of making a safe, easily-marketable show. I don’t have all the answers, but if I were to start somewhere, it would be the cost of accommodation. It’s a barrier not only for artists but for audiences. And without the brilliant, open-minded, risk-taking Fringe audiences, none of this would exist!
David’s One Man Band (F*ck You, Steven) runs at Venue : Underbelly, Cowgate – Belly Dancer
Runs: July 31st – August 24th
Photo credit: Hector Manchego
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