Well this showcase came as something of a surprise and after making all our careful plans we realised we had a clash and there was very little we could do about it! So as I took my seat in I knew that half way through I was going to have to get up and run over to the final show for me tonight…comedians don’t like it when you leave midway through their set, so my timing was going to have to be exact!

This was going to be a tall order to ask of me but I thought I would be able to get in a few of the acts before I had to do my dine and dash!

Tonights Lineup: ADDY VAN DER BORG, Hils Barker, Luke Benson, Ahir Shah, Tony Dunn

Tony, noting that there was only a few of us in decided to come and sit with us. This was a preview show so big audiences and such where bound to be a day away, but the show was still warm, friendly, and funny. Tony talked to us all, had a lot of banter with the girl band that was in, and you could see that outside of a preview his material was going to be pretty harsh, funny, and warm.

All is not lost, Ill be back on the 11th and will ensure I remain for the whole of the acts!

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

We are primed, pumped and pasteurized: like posh tobacco. Our London previews were a mighty success but who knows what will happen in Edinburgh? No two shows are the same and there’s plenty of room for things to go horribly wrong.

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

The weird and wild spinning around us at the Fringe are a bonus – we’re here to put on our show. Any other way of thinking would be a brain-hemorrhaging mistake.

How do you to guys work together, what bad habits do you think drive one another nuts?

We find it best to develop ideas in a tense atmosphere of hatred and blame.

Have there been any obstacles in producing this show?

One (fairly) high wall, a (54-yard) zip-wire, three (unarmed) dwarves and a (soya) milkman.

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

One reviewer thought that the Ultimate Banquet challenge was a satirical comment on the hunger crisis in developing Latin America. We just thought that eating a live elephant stuffed with olives was funny.

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

Our worst show was probably the performance when a woman in the front row who was sweating profusely, caused a perspiration-allergic man to suffer a massive anaphylactic shock and was rushed, in vain, to A&E. From a performance perspective, this happened to be our best show.

What can people expect?

Baby-bodied quizmasters, orgy-loving popstars, Deutschland dancing duos and one ethnic fiancée.

Any new tricks up your sleeves?

That would be telling.

The Fringe 2010 is now in full swing and York based student theatre company Unwish Theatre is about to stun Edinburgh Fringe audience. Written by Tom Vickers and directed by Jonathon Carr & Tom Vickers the guys took the time out to give us a pre-fringe interview. Their show is going to run for the whole of the festival and we are going to be reviewing their performance later this week.

Cast: Josh Giles Littlewood, Georgia Bird, Ella Gaworzewska, Ryan Lane & Emily Spooner

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

Tom: We had an intense period of rehearsals at the beginning of August ending with a performance to a few people we knew to get feedback. Now I think it’s just a matter of returning to the show and the characters ready for our performances.

Jonathon: Things have been going really well. We had as tom says a period of intense rehearsals which really gave us our show. Since being up at the fringe we have ironed out or the creases and our show is ready to go.

How did Unwish Theatre come about?

Tom: We have known each other since meeting at York Drama Society and we knew then that we where thinking about theatre in similar ways and got along well. Then someone mentioned the Fringe. Jonathan just turned to me and said the immortal words, ‘You write plays don’t you?’.

Jonathon: I had worked last year as a producer bringing a highly successful Faustus to the fringe and was really interested in taking another show to the Edinburgh fringe festival. As Tom was one of the best writers I know I though this is exactly the sort of person I want to work with and the company and the script blossomed from there.

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

Tom: It’s probably the most exciting thing I’ve certainly done with theatre. There are some really good shows this year, and a lot of young companies from York as well, along with some more established ones.

Jonathon: This is my second time at the fringe which is amazing but bringing my own work and being in C venues is just fantastic.

How do you to guys work together, what bad habits do you think drive one another nuts?

Tom: ‘Carnivàle’ is the first show we’ve worked together on, so we both have directing experience and our own methods that come with that. Work with the actors is fairly equally divided, we discuss beforehand who’ll work on what and what’s appropriate for this stage of development etc. Bad habits? That’s what living together for a month is for. You can’t have bad habits in rehearsal – problems just have to be dealt with. There were moments during casting agreed we were worried about getting anyone interested but over the few days after that it all just came together.

Jonathon: I think if we have any bad habits they are so similar we don’t notice them. It’s the first piece of theatre we have collaborated on but we’ve both brought uniquely different styles to the direction which is exactly why it’s been such a great experience.

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

The best feedback we got during our special viewing was that people loved it. You can’t really ask for more than that. Let’s hope the press enjoy it just as much.

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

Tom: Worst is better not mentioned. Really, trust me on this. The best for me right now is the last show I directed. It was a piece I wrote whose huge title can be shortened to ‘Bepo’, and was a journey through the last hundred years or so with a troupe of clowns. Having that much fun and at the same time seeing something whose script was so close to my heart made real – there’s no feeling like it.

Jonathon: I agree with Tom the worst is best never mentioned. I’ve recently directed a version of the last five years which was a fantastic experience as doing a musical was so different from creating a play and I learnt so much in the process.

What can people expect?

Jonathon: An intimate evening immersed in the 1920’s.

Tom: Something different, I hope. That’s always the trick.

Any new tricks up your sleeves?

Tom: Isn’t that what half of theatre is; trying to pull out as aces when no-one’s expecting it? But you’ll just have to
wait and see, unless there’s anything Jonathan wants to give away.

Jonathon: Well I will give away that it brings a new type of dining experience theatre to Edinburgh….

Who has been an inspiration to you?

Jonathon: Surprising my old youth theatre group remains still one of the most inspiring and useful sources of information that ive found during my time working in theatre.

Tom: A few years back I had a days’ workshop with Bruce Myers, an actor I’d loved since first seeing him in Peter Brook’s ‘Grand Inquisitor’. He was a absolutely an inspiration.

What advice have you been given, and what advice would you give someone bringing a show to the Fringe?

Tom: Talk to your cast, and get them talking to each other. Some directors like to get all Stanislavski on an actor but the best work I’ve done is where there is complete dialogue between everyone. It’s all one big experiment; nothing’s sacred, so just have a laugh.

Jonathon: Find lots of money is always a good start but seriously just have conviction in your show. Don’t take reviews to seriously but make sure you’re ready to hit the ground running and flyer and poster everyone!

*All image Copyright Unwish Productions 2010

Nine looks set to be a very interesting and captivating piece at this year’s Fringe, with Justjohn and South East London-based Eltham College returning with a staging of the Broadway musical Nine, adapted from the Fellini film 8½.

This Tony award musical by Maury Yeston tells the tale of Guido Contini, a highly regarded film director from the 1950′s, known for his work within the Italian film industry. His successful and fashionable exterior is hiding a darker truth. Contini is troubled by a complicated domestic life, and he is surrounded by women as he slowly deteriorates.

Described as a musical for anyone who is enchanted by cinema, seduced by Italy and moved by music, Nine sounds like something that will be truly enjoyable for everyone, regardless whether your a huge musicals aficionado or don’t know a single one.

This will be there third consecutive appearance at C venues, with 2009 seeing them performing several sell-out shows of Lionel Bart’s perennial classic Oliver!