As a theatre and travel enthusiast, I am always intrigued by shows or documentaries about people’s travel experiences. There’s something to be said about the power of taking a step outside of your routine, being somewhere new and having the time to be at one with your thoughts. Writer and performer Wayne Stewart had a totally new travel experience in 2021 and walked across France. Initially documenting his experiences in a journal, the thoughts and reflections have inspired a personal theatre show that is heading to ZOO Venues at the Edinburgh Fringe. I recently had the opportunity to find out more about Wayne’s travels and also discover if creating the show was an opportunity to revisit the experiences and process them.
2025 will see you make your Edinburgh Fringe debut at ZOO Southside. How did you get into writing and performing?
I’ve always loved storytelling in some form. I started performing when I was a kid, then moved into stand-up in my early twenties – I liked the immediacy of it, the challenge of holding a room with just words and a mic. But I eventually stepped away from comedy and started exploring theatre as a different kind of space, one where I could still use humour, but go deeper. Writing became a way to untangle thoughts I didn’t quite understand yet. Performance gave those thoughts a shape. Somewhere in that overlap, Chrome Yellow was born.
You are presenting a solo show ‘Chrome Yellow’ at the festival and it centres on your experience walking 650 miles across France in 2021. What inspired you to create a piece of theatre based on your experiences?
Originally, I wasn’t planning to make anything from the walk. It was something I did for myself – a kind of quiet rebellion. But afterwards, people kept asking about it, and I started revisiting the journal I’d kept along the way. I realised there was more there than anecdotes about blisters, baguettes, and pigeons. There was grief. Faith. Doubt. Absurdity. Connection. It started as a travel story, but became a much more personal excavation. I wrote the kind of show I wish I’d seen when I was a little bit lost.
In ‘Chrome Yellow’ you ‘retrace your journey from Saint-Malo in Brittany to Argeles-Sur-Mer on the Mediterranean’. How did you go about adapting your travel memories into a piece of theatre?
It began with the journal – 50 days of notes, sketches, quotes, and fragments. I pulled them apart to find the patterns. The structure of the show mirrors the unpredictability of the walk: some days are light and funny, others fall into existential rabbit holes. I didn’t want to sanitise it or make it a neat, inspirational arc. The walk was messy, so the show leans into that. I shaped it like a path – we wander, we pause, we detour – but we keep moving forward.
It combines storytelling, travel journal entries and original songs. To what extent has creating the show been an outlet for processing your experiences?
A huge extent. At times it felt less like writing a show and more like piecing things back together. Bit by bit. Performing Chrome Yellow helps me make peace with things I didn’t know were still unresolved. There’s something about standing onstage and saying the quiet stuff out loud in front of other people – it transforms it. You’re not just remembering an experience, you’re inviting people into it. And once it’s shared, it feels a little less heavy.
Who will ‘Chrome Yellow’ appeal to and why?
Anyone who’s ever questioned what they’re doing with their life. Anyone who’s needed to get away. Anyone who’s lost themselves, or found unexpected clarity in chaos. The show speaks to the restless, the curious, the spiritually confused, and the emotionally honest. It’s for people who laugh at dark thoughts, cry at happy moments, and like their philosophy with a side of peaches.
How are you preparing for your festival run?
Like an endurance sport. Early mornings, lots of walking, regular vocal warmups and even more coffee. I’ve got two preview shows under my belt and I’ve been working with some brilliant people to help shape the piece. I’m also preparing emotionally – making peace with the fact that Fringe is a bit wild, that not every day will be smooth, and that showing up with honesty is more important than perfection. Oh, and I’ve stocked up on tinned peaches!
Hear about Wayne’s travels across France at the Edinburgh Fringe
I am sure there is something everyone can relate to in Wayne’s writing, especially the concept of feeling lost and the longing for clarity. What a unique experience it must have been, walking a distance across a different country! You can catch ‘Chrome Yellow’ at the Studio venue at ZOO Southside from 1st to 24th August (not 12th and 19th). Performances start daily at 12:25, with tickets available via the festival’s website.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
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