Love. Loss. Revenge. Redemption. A radical queer reimagining of the classical ballet. Our Giselle is a hopeless romantic who comes to realise the brutal reality of queer intimacy is a far cry from Hollywood’s happily-ever-after. A hypnotic dance-theatre show that weaves ballet, the avant-garde and a lip-sync cabaret with an epic original soundscape ranging from Judy Garland to SOPHIE. It’s Giselle like you’ve never seen it before – Matthew Bourne meets Leigh Bowery. Created by Jack Sears, choreography from The Royal Ballet’s Hannah Grennell and featuring a world-class ensemble.
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show/event/performance is?
Giselle Remix is a queer reimagining of the classical ballet, blending the highbrow world of contemporary and classical ballet with the energy of fringe queer cabaret. It’s part dance, part theatre, part cabaret, part performance art, and part soundscape—creating something wholly unique and interesting. The show sits somewhere between Matthew Bourne and Leigh Bowery. It’s created by a fringe artist and choreographed by a Royal Ballet dancer, merging contrasting worlds to make something fresh and exciting.
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
The creative team behind Giselle Remix is a real mix of highbrow and lowbrow. It’s created by me, Jack Sears — a fringe artist who’s worked across this’s festivals in all sorts of roles. I’ve been a Roundhouse Resident Artist and a Pleasance Associate Artist. The choreography is by Hannah Grennell, a Royal Ballet soloist who has extensive experience working with Wayne McGregor, Crystal Pite and Christopher Wheeldon.
It’s produced by Patrick Bone — who’s worked with Sonia Friedman Productions and Peter Morgan’s Netflix development team — and The Project People, a rising fringe-producing duo quickly becoming a go-to powerhouse.
Our five dancers have experience training or working at places like Rambert, English National Ballet, and Studio Wayne McGregor. They’re also visual artists, choreographers, and performers working internationally. Lighting design is by Lucy Adams — who started at the fringe and now works with the National Theatre, so she really gets both worlds.
Jonny Woo plays the queer icon — he is a queer icon. A huge influence on me personally, and an honour to have on stage.
The process started in late 2021 when Hannah and I were invited to co-curate a night at the Royal Opera House under the theme of Queer Nightlife. We made a 40-minute rough-cut version of Giselle Remix with Royal Ballet dancers and a few hours’ rehearsal. From there, I built the story, Hannah choreographed, and I worked with Celwyn of Gwent, a brilliant sound designer and musician, on the score.
With Arts Council funding, we developed the full version for a three-week run in 2024. Each time we perform, it shifts and grows with the space — but always keeps the heart and ethos of the piece intact. So we are excited to bring it to the fringe!
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
It feels amazing to be back at the Fringe. Having worked many years at The Pleasance both in London and Edinburgh (nepotism works!), I feel really supported by them in all departments – programming, marketing and street team and my beloved box office and volunteers, and it’s great to see so many familiar faces again. I truly love the Fringe—flaws and all—and I think I’m naturally a Fringe artist. Bringing a show that’s truly Fringe to its core, something alternative and queer that doesn’t fit any clear genre or box, feels exciting here because the audience is looking for that kind of work.
After years doing other things, it’s thrilling to bring this show to Edinburgh with an incredible team and amazing dancers. The production values are high, and in a time when the Fringe is ready for bigger, bolder work, it’s exciting to be part of that movement.
I’m nervous, hopeful, anxious, and exhilarated all at once. The Fringe is often the best and worst month of your life simultaneously. I’m just really looking forward to the experience, to performing in a venue that’s supported me for years, and honestly, there’s no better place to be than beautiful Edinburgh.
With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?
There are so many shows here—it’s not a competition, of course—but we’re all vying for the audience’s time, attention, and love. What makes our show stand out, I think, is that it taps into a current appetite for bigger, more expansive productions. We’ve had a real era of beautiful, important one-person shows, but with rising ticket prices, there seems to be a shift. Audiences now often want more for their money—more spectacle, more bodies on stage, more sensory experience.
That’s what we’re bringing: a homegrown production with real scale and ambition. We’re pulling strings behind the scenes to make it work, but at the heart of it is something rich in both style and substance. We’ve got some of the most talented, rigorously trained dancers—genuinely the best you could hope to see—and we’re working with the absolute top-tier of Fringe-based artists and technicians. These are people at the height of their craft, and they’re pouring everything into this show.
The choreography is by Hannah, who trained and danced with the Royal Ballet—one of the most elite ballet companies in the world. The lighting design creates a sensual, music-video-like atmosphere, and the sound design is immersive and sweeping. It’s a show with broad appeal that’s aiming to deliver something bold, exciting, and memorable—something that justifies your ticket and gives you a full, elevated experience.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
There isn’t a specific message or feeling I want the audience to walk away with. I feel like if I tried to dictate that, I’d probably fail. I’ll present the show as honestly and fully as I can, and whatever people take from it is entirely theirs.
What matters most to me is that, for an hour and ten minutes, they feel genuinely entertained. As the Fringe becomes more expensive, audiences are rightly being more thoughtful about where they spend their money. I just want people to leave thinking, that was worth every penny. If they feel they got full value for their ticket and had a great time, that’s the main thing. Anything beyond that is a bonus.
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
I always find this question hard to answer, but honestly, there’s no one who isn’t welcome. If you’re interested in the themes, or even just intrigued by something that doesn’t usually appeal to you, then come. I want anyone and everyone to feel like they can be in the room.
When we first did the show at the Royal Opera House, I remember thinking, well, this could be the beginning and the end of my career all in one night—because where the show goes can be quite raunchy, or explicit, or unexpected. It’s playing with this collision of highbrow and lowbrow, and naturally, that creates some cultural tension. But that’s the point—that friction is part of the excitement.
I don’t want to only perform to people who are already on board. It’s much more interesting when there’s a mix—when people are challenged, surprised, or even unsure. The only thing I’d ask is, if it’s really not your thing, feel free to slag it off after the show, not during. Just let the hour and ten minutes happen, and then say whatever you like.
If you’re looking for something made with real passion, care, energy, and love—by a group of people who trust each other, who believe in what we’re doing, and who are giving everything to deliver the best possible experience—then we’d love to have you. Everyone’s welcome. Just, you know… slag us off afterwards.
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?
Well, I’m actually in charge of washing the costumes this year, so a chunk of every day will be spent doing that—which is fine… that’s the Fringe!
On days off, I’ll probably just stay in bed but there are loads of shows I want to see too. I will be watching Jonny Woo’s Suburbia at Summerhall—it’s on just before Giselle: Remix, and he’s literally running from his show to ours. He’s not even getting a day off – a work ethic I could only dream of having.
I’m also really excited about a few Pleasance shows. Sam McGregor’s Hold the Line, Ellie Whittaker’s The Crawl—I know a few of the people involved, so I’m so excited to catch up. And the Project People, who are co-producing us, have a whole slate of shows I want to check out (hoping they give me free tickets for these mentions!)
And Lauren Lambert Moore—she was our stage manager last year—is directing a show called Funny Though. She couldn’t work on Giselle: Remix this time, which is really sad, but I’m excited to see what she gave us up for!
In your ideal world, how can we improve the Fringe, performance, and the industry?
That’s a really good question. Having worked a few different jobs at the Fringe—mainly as a box office deputy manager—I’ve seen a few sides of it, and I still don’t have a clear answer. What I do know is that it’s getting more and more expensive. Accommodation is astronomical, and putting on a show is starting to drift away from what the Fringe is meant to be about.
There’s always this tension between keeping it affordable and still trying to make your money back, or at least stay in line with what other shows are doing. It’s such a massive ecosystem—with so many people involved, from audience members and tourists to artists, companies, venue staff, and directors. It’s complicated, and I wouldn’t pretend to know how to fix it.
I also think, culturally, there’s been a push for a while now to bring shows to the Fringe in the hope that a TV exec will see them and take them on to bigger things. And I don’t judge that at all. If you’re an artist or performer, and that’s where the money is, then I completely get it—go get your coin.
But what I’m proud of with this show is that it’s very much a Fringe show. It’s made for this moment, to be experienced live, here. There’s no plan to turn it into something else or chase a bigger format. What you’re paying for is the show, right here, right now. That’s what it exists for. (Though, of course, if any TV execs are reading this—I’m not saying no!)
In a realistic world, I know there’s loads about the Fringe that would be hard to change, and I’m probably too naive to fully understand the scale of that. But maybe one small thing we can do is put more focus on shows that are made specifically for the Fringe, rather than always thinking beyond it. That way, it becomes more about the experience happening in the room, in this place, during this month.
Giselle: Remix runs at Venue 33: Pleasance Courtyard – Forth
Runs: July 30th – August 24th
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