Dreambite Collective return with a sharp new queer romcom, following a dancer and a climate activist whose holiday fling on a Mediterranean cruise unravels when they discover they’re dating the same person. As sparks turn to sabotage and the pair target the ship’s environmental impact.

Playwright Katrina Bennett has a chat with the team to talk romance, rivalry, and activism

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Would you mind giving us an insight into what your show/event/performance is?

Cruising is a sexy comedy drama about polyamory, protest and passion. Sam, a former climate activist looking for escape, ends up on a spontaneous cruise ship holiday where they meet Amelia, a dancer on the ship. Sparks fly and it seems like the beginning of the perfect holiday romance… until Sam and Amelia realise that they’re both in an open relationship with the same person back home. With tensions growing, the pair mount a competitive campaign of eco-sabotage against the mega-polluting cruise ship, each desperate to prove themselves as the better partner and activist.

Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?

Cruising began its life over 18 months ago when I bashed out a very messy first draft of the play and shared it self-consciously with my partner (Davy Roderick) and the rest of the Dreambite (the queer, women-led theatre collective I’m in with Clare Stenning and Lydia Sabatini). Thanks to both dramaturgical and emotional support from this crew, the version we’re bringing to Fringe is better by a million miles than the initial seed of the play.

Throughout the process, they’ve been hugely influential in building the characters’ inner worlds and essential in helping me kill my darlings and craft the script into a tight, pacey romcom. We’ve tested the show in front of audiences and received super helpful feedback. With endless redrafts behind us, we’re now excitingly forming the creative vision to bring this zany play to life. I can’t wait to share the final version with audiences at the Fringe.

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How does it feel coming to (back to) the Fringe?

This is our first time bringing a show to the Fringe which is both terrifying and exciting. It’s been a lot of work (and a lot of budgeting!) to reach this point so we’re now buzzing to reach the fun part: show off this play to audiences, see lots of theatre and comedy, drink lots of pints and eat lots of chips.

With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?

I can guarantee there’ll be no other shows at Fringe about polyamory set on a cruise ship. It’s a random combo, but I promise it works! Also, most political shows will leave you feeling dispirited about the state of the world and while Cruising has some tough themes, ultimately it’s a funny show with all the best bits of a romcom, plus a gay twist. So, hop onboard for a silly, sexy time.

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On that, is there anything in the production or production team’s backgrounds which influences the way the show is performed or told?

Our team’s personal experiences of open relationships and ethical non-monogamy hugely influenced the impulse to create this play, and it’s been gorgeous how all the conversations we’ve had about our queer experiences have shaped Cruising’s characters and journeys. There’s definitely been a balance at points between what we would say is ‘good’ ENM practice, versus what makes for a more dramatically interesting play—but that’s theatre! We’ll let audiences judge for themselves which elements feel authentic and which are more there to add some spice.

Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?

Honestly? Hope. It’s so easy to feel dispirited in today’s political climate and spiral into an ‘end of days’ mentality. We want Cruising to be a reminder that all is not lost—that you can gather community around you and carve out a brighter future together.

Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?

In some ways, the ideal audience would be the easiest audience: the socially conscious queers who fret about the same things as us, share the same cultural references and sense of humour, and want to fight against capitalist greed and climate collapse. In reality though, I think the ideal audience are the ones whose minds we could change through Cruising. I want cynics in the audience, people who are politically apathetic and disengaged and yet might just come away from our show thinking ‘huh, maybe community and collective action can work’. 

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 think relaxation plans might be a little far-fetched but I’m so excited to see as many shows as humanly possible. I’m in the Soho Edinburgh Fringe Lab and hearing about everyone’s brilliant shows means I’m gassed about seeing other Lab shows, including I Bought A Flip Phone at Zoo Playground, Nuns! At Assembly, and 123movies.com at Gilded Balloon.

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