Would you mind giving us an insight into what your show/event/performance is?
It’s about Ludwig Van Beethoven who was an extraordinary character who would almost certainly be ‘labelled’ in all sorts of ways were he around today.
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
I put the show together with Guy Masterson. We were very focused, taking it in turns to pretend we were Beethoven and, if one of us said anything the other approved of, we’d write it down. There was a lot the other DIDN’T approve of…
How does it feel coming to (back to) the Fringe?
I first came to the Fringe in the late eighties when it was a very different beast. It’s absolutely terrifying, if I’m honest.
With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?
I think age, which might seem an odd thing to boast about, is actually an advantage. Neither Guy nor myself are spring chickens but we have an extraordinary energy…perhaps coming from the fact that, at our age, we HAVE to have it…
On that, is there anything in the production or production team’s backgrounds which influences the way the show is performed or told?
I’m not the first person to be obsessed with Beethoven by any means but I’ve often been told I look like him. And whilst I (obviously) don’t have his talent the more I read about him the more I identify with him, especially the more eccentric side of his nature. So although it sounds like a cliché, as soon as I dress up I feel I become Beethoven. It gives me a license to play the piano in a very different way to how I normally play when giving recitals.
Guy too has a musical pedigree, his father was a concert violinist.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
I’m hoping they’ll take away some of my financial burden by being on the large side.
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
After some deliberation we decided I’d perform in a German accent. So I’m rather nervous about actual Germans attending…but perhaps that’s not an issue. If I heard a German speak German but with an English accent I’m not sure I’d know that was the case…and whilst a lot of people get hung up on cultural appropriation, we’re hoping people will just see this as what it is…an affectionate tribute.
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 relax by hanging upside down (I hold the world record for singing upside down and recently went on Children in Need playing the violin inverted). This is a practise I developed at Edinburgh about thirty years ago when I had a bad back and the stage team at Southside built me a scaffold so I could hang upside in gravity boots. I’ve been doing it on a daily basis ever since.
As regards other shows I’ve always thought the joy of the Fringe was never to plan, just allow yourself to stumble on things. Sometimes coming across a real turkey can be as satisfying, in a slightly curious way, as coming across something brilliant…but often not…
Ludwig: Unfinished Business runs at Venue 20, Front Room at Assembly Rooms
Runs: 6th – 30th August at 12:35pm
Photo credit – Peter Mould
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