We where really lucky to get the chance to talk with some of the group behind this amazing play at The Fringe 2010. The guys sat down and did our world famous e-interview and this coming Saturday is going to be the last the show is performed and we think it’s well worth taking some time out to see such a glorious show.

How have things been going, you all done and dusted for the summer shows or are there still some creases to iron out?

We have been rehearsing this show since Janurary of this year for an earlier production we did in Birmingham in March. We had to change the show a considerable amount in order to fit the 55 minute slot we had been given for the Edinburgh Fringe, as it originally lasted for two and a half hours! We’re now completely comfortable with the material that we have adapted and devised, but due to the nature of the piece each performance will always be different, so the show can never get stale for us or the audience.

What’s it like bringing a show to the Fringe and being part of their amazing line up?

This has been an incredible experience and has offered us fantastic publicity. Being at the Fringe has allowed us to get feedback from a large variety of people, and we have been lucky enough to see many brilliant shows. The competition is fierce, but stimulating. The energy and atmosphere of all the other performers and companies has been inspiring to be a part of.

Have there been any obstacles in producing this show?

Whilst all of us have had a lot of theatrical experience, its been a learning curve for us all in the production side of things. From promotions to press releases, and also the performance itself, it has been tiring … but all part of the fun!

How did you get into doing Fringe shows?

3BUGS, a Birmingham University theatre society, has great opportunities for students who are interested and dedicated to fringe theatre. Last year 3BUGS were awarded 5 stars by the Guardian for the production of Ophelia Drowning so this year the pressure was on!

What was the best feedback you got from your audience or the press?

Due to the nature of the piece, feedback differs according to the individual and what they take away from the performance. Three Weeks commented upon the “the impeccable acting skills of the five cast members” and the British Theatre Guide kindly gave us four stars, stating ”the five girls…conjure an atmosphere of surreal intensity as they move around the space’, so we are really pleased!

What was the Best and Worst shows you’ve played?

The best shows are when the audience is responsive and creative with their interpretation of the piece… but also their positioning!

What can people expect?

An ensemble of clowns, contemporary devices, physical theatre and linguistic abuse.The piece is transported onto a Promenade setting, so the audience explores the site specific basement of C Soco at their will. Based on the legend of Kaspar Hauser, we explore the effects of speech to an untarnished individual, following him through order and confusion.

Any new tricks up your sleeves?

Without saying too much, we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeve to keep the performance fresh every day…

Who has been an inspiration to you?

Elements of the piece have been inspired by companies such as Forced Entertainment, Punchdrunk and the Wooster Group. Academic theories from Post-Structuralism to Existentialism have also played a huge part in our artistic vision. However ,we have incorporated the wonderful clowning of LeCoq and playfulness of Marcel Marceau into our practice.

What advice have you been given, and what advice would you give other groups who might be bringing a show to the Fringe?

Make sure you have a good, solid team around you. If this is your first Fringe, start putting the wheels in motions a year before when it comes to promotional ideas and research.

This is the second famous person I’ve come to review at the Fringe, the first being Jennifer Coolridge and now Aunt Hilda from that iconic TV series Sabrina the Teenage Witch and much more besides. I have to admit I had not really seen her in much and I had not seen her do stand up so I was thinking this might be a little hit and miss.

Rhea’s husband and father of her new baby opened up for her. This really came out the blue and seemed a little strange. He had a few good jokes and the audience did start to warm to him though his act was very New York in it’s feel and his delivery. The revelation that he was Caroline’s husband and the gig got a big laugh.

Rhea came onto the stage like a mini explosion she was both manic and measured giving a slight insight into how the show would go, I guess it was here I saw why Mike opened up for her. Her Scottish accent was spot on and her show would take in fruit, sexuality, her relationships, her new daughter, and language which would become an overall theme of her show.

One of the surprising aspects of her show was the level of research she did on the countries she was gigging in. Most acts, no matter who they are, forget the name of the place they are in let alone be able to incorporate a lot of local stuff into their act. From TV, sales assistance around the world, and the tattoo, Rhea is a master storyteller in that she keeps her stories simple and easy but creative and insane, these are not just jokes, they are carefully crafted mini reality stories that Caroline delivers with a skill that is hard to ignore.

Her show has a few distinctions that does genuinely make it stand out. The first being a fearless attitude towards the audience and the attacks came heavy and long (poor Marco) yet very few US, though Rhea is Canadian, can get the balance right in attacking a UK audience. One thing we are is very open to attack and not only the British but Scottish people got a heavy dose of what we love and she handled it perfectly. This balance was important and think it added a great feel to the evening.

Unlike UK acts Rhea was quick to point out when the audience groaned at something which was another aspect of her show I really liked. There was a bald guy in the audience and she mentioned it, at which the audience groaned slightly in which she said ‘I think he knew he was bald when he walked in’. The difference between men and women, relationships, and when men stop talking had the Scottish women behind and in front of me almost on the floor laughing, this was wonderfully delivered.

Caroline Rhea probably stunned and impressed a lot of that crowd who thought they where just going to get some celebrity stories and what it’s like to be a celebrity. This is usually what bad comics when they don’t have decent material, for Caroline she had more material than the hour show would allow and she managed to slip in a few Hollywood insights along the way but she didn’t let this punctuate her whole show.

Her Sound of Music bit I could watch till I was blue in the face. Though this was a 16+ show she remained very respectful (sans the odd F-word) and didn’t bitch about celebrities she’s worked with and yet her 1st Class adventure was another hight point of her show.

‘This show was really impressing and I wanted more but such is the timing at the fringe Rhea was almost kicked off stage as the other show was about to come in. That aside she could have continued for another 20 or 40 minutes and it would have still remained fresh and funny. This show came of of left field and was one of the best things I’ve seen, Caroline Rhea should be seen, loved, laughed with, and crowned. Whatever you think this show is going to be lick, forget it, erase it from your mind, and sit back and get ready to be stunned!’

A South African duo The Brothers Street bring a new style and fresh ideas to the now very popular music/comedy shows at The Fringe. Their show was in a small overly hot room at Gilded Balloon and their show had the audience in stitches and at one point swaying. They won over the crowd and one thing was certain The Brother’s Streep are fast becoming a 2010 fringe favourite.

Their music was more creative and smoothly written than some of the other acts like theirs at the fringe. With topics ranging from a song about Disney Princess to their Ode to Anna Paquin the Brothers where really able to show the audience what they where about and just where their music and comedy where coming from. Their Anna Paquin song was actually sung to Anna when she was on The Graham Norton Show and they have been building up an international following ever since.

Musical comedy isn’t easy to do and some of the acts that we have seen have either been able to do it, and do it will, whilst others have been somewhat lacklustre. This, I have deduced, is down to the performers ability to write songs that are simply songs that can stand up on their own. The badder of these types of shows are like poets who write a poem but try to hard to make it rhyme. That’s like music comedy, it doesn’t have to have punchlines and such in every line.

Simon and Dylan manage to make their songs stand up as songs, they are well written, wonderfully accompanied by their acoustic guitar strumming, and performed with a good humour. One of the highlights of the show came from their Pirates themed four minute opera which was amazing, and when Simon came into the audience and sat in the front row and got the whole audience to sway, was pretty ace to see!

Their comedy did sometimes play second fiddle to their music and their performances together. Unlike their songs their jokes or sketches in-between was more conversation than stand up and they remained funny and engaging – and at times rather sweet. Towards the end of their show they tell us a story about how they got to come to the Fringe on the back of the Anna Paquin song, a New Zealand springfree trampoline company agreed to sponsor them if they wrote them as song. Looking at their flyer the guys didn’t lie.

‘This was a fringe debut from a duo who really knew how much it meant to them to be able to perform at the Fringe festival. They gave the show their all with great songs and beautiful banter these guys really know how to make an impression. The Brothers Streep are a music comedy duo like no other!’