Co-Artistic Directors of Whisper Theatre Collective, Britt Anderson and Richie Schiraldi, are bringing a show all about Dads to the Edinburgh Fringe this August. The family friendly character comedy will be at Braw Venues for the entire festival and see the US-based company follow a pair of Dads on a camping trip. Keen to feature a Physical Theatre and Circus-themed show on the website, I recently had the opportunity to ask the pair some questions about the show and also find out more about the fun personalities they are bringing to life on stage.
What can you tell me about the origins of Whisper Theatre Collective?
WTC formed in May 2019 after we earned our MFAs in Ensemble Devised Performance at Columbia College Chicago and Arthaus Berlin (formerly LISPA). The original group was made up of us (Britt Anderson and Richie Schiraldi), Fate Richey, Ben Heustess, and Gabrielle Wilson. Our first year of training in Berlin was with a cohort of 33 artists from 15 different countries, which instilled in us the values of collaboration, intersectionality in art-making, and creation through embodiment. We spent our second year in Chicago, and each of us had created a show for our thesis projects. We had the opportunity to take two of these shows, Wild Women and Oneironauts, to the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe at Summerhall. Seven years later, we’re still making physical, original, experimental theatre built to tour. We’ve made a total of 8 shows!
What inspired you to create a show that follows two fathers on a camping trip?
We love dad humor, and we love playing these dad characters. We needed a framework for all of the bits and sketches we were writing, and a camping trip (and the car ride to get there) felt like the perfect, loose container to let these dads shine, giving them freedom and access to all types of antics.
Everyone has a trip with a buddy they’ve been putting off, from coffee dates to excursions across the world. Finally getting to go on that trip brings a journey of excitement, personal challenges, and fun that we’ve been wanting to express through these characters.
How did you end up devising these characters and their personalities?
It was midnight, the night before our first out-of-town performance of an absurd, cabaret-style show, Broken Planet Show. Only three of the 6 of us were able to make it, so we were short of a few acts. We were brainstorming in this gorgeous, art deco home of the mayor’s son, when Callum Grant, head of the project and Clown God in the show, said, “Ok.. you two are acrobats. What about.. dad jokes and acrobatics?”
With minimal costumes, hardly any prep time, and maybe a couple of mustaches, the Well-Balanced Dads were born. The audience loved the concept, and we continued to develop the characters and material for monthly performances with Broken Planet until BP debuted at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe. It grew from a 3-minute bit into multiple 5-8 minute acts, including a 10-minute act of fighting with string cheese sticks, which became a staple for multiple variety shows in 2024 in Chicago and the Edinburgh Fringe that year.
Our audiences loved these characters so much that we made a 50 minute show, which has had a profound impact on adult children and families. Through playing in front of audiences and a little inspiration from our own fathers, their personalities have blossomed.
How do you infuse circus and physical comedy into ‘Well-Balanced Dads’?
For us, the most exciting part of circus and physical comedy is to use it as a vehicle for storytelling. It’s a natural language for the characters. Sometimes the Dads use it as a way to express heightened emotions, and at other times they use it to do ordinary things! If one of them tells a really good joke, they’ll take a celebratory high-five to the next level by adding a flip to it. If they need to reach something on a high shelf, why not do it by standing on each other? The Dads use partner acrobatics as a way to communicate, to celebrate, and sometimes to impress.
What is your favourite thing about performing the piece in front of audiences and why?
We love getting to play with people as these characters, whether it’s during a flyering encounter on the street or the portion of the show where we ask audience members to take a roadtrip with us. We love when the script goes a little off the rails because we’re all having so much fun. That’s where the magic is: engagement and connection with the audience. We believe in creating experiences where we all get to play.
If you were to look ahead to the end of August, what would you like to have achieved by the end of your Edinburgh run?
If we can complete the run without getting injured or canceling a show, that’s an achievement! It would be amazing to get an award, a 5 star review, and/or another opportunity for the show, too. We want people to connect with our work, to know we’ve had an effect, and to find ways to keep bringing these dads to new places. We would also love to high-five as many kids and get as many adults to play as we can.
Catch Well-Balanced Dads at the 2026 festival
This certainly sounds like a show for all ages, with audience enjoyment at its core. Also, after featuring Broken Planet Show on the website last week, it has been really interesting to find out how the two shows are connected. Well-Balanced Dads is based at Alba Theatre at Braw Venues @ Hill Street (venue 41) from 7th – 30th August (not 18th). Performances start at 16:30 (1 hour) and the show is on sale via the EdFringe website now.
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