With the Edinburgh Fringe being the world’s largest arts festival, it attracts creatives from all over the globe. Some travel from nearby towns in Scotland and others make the journey from the other side of the world, leaving behind their daily lives for the summer. For one of my last articles in the lead up to the festival, I was keen to speak to an international theatre company travelling over for it and find out what the Edinburgh Fringe means to them. Ottawa Little Theatre are performing for the second time and bringing John Muggleton’s contemporary thriller ‘An Act of Grace’ to theSpaceUK. It is a play about a mysterious, wealthy widow who enlists a lawyer and financial advisor to help get her affairs in order and encourages audiences to reflect on ‘just how far they would go to protect their deepest secrets’. I recently had the opportunity to find out more about the show from co-producers Venetia Lawless and Lindsay Laviolette, who are also directing, designing and acting in ‘An Act of Grace’.
What can you tell me about the Ottawa Little Theatre and your theatre work in Canada?
The Ottawa Little Theatre is the longest running continuous playing theatre in Canada. We are in our 111th season. Our organization is entirely volunteer driven bringing together people from all walks of life and background including professional and non-professional theatre. We are passionate about our theatre community and both serve on the board of directors at the Ottawa Little Theatre. The full-length iteration of our show, An Act of Grace was a part of this year’s season and was well-received by over 4000 audience members. As co-producers of the show, we have a cumulative experience of almost 50 years in professional and semi-professional theatre both in Canada and abroad. We have had so many wonderful opportunities working in various areas of the theatre as actors, directors and designers. This is our sixth creative collaboration as artists and we cannot wait to share our work with audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe.
2024 is the company’s second time travelling across the pond for the Edinburgh Fringe, after first taking John Muggleton’s play ‘Burn’ to the festival in 2022. What was it about the experience that has convinced you to return to Scotland for another year?
Before we left in 2022 a seasoned Fringe-goer told us that “there is no other place in the world to be than in Edinburgh in August”. We didn’t know what she meant at the time, but now we do. We couldn’t agree more. Nothing can really compare to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival when it comes to high-octane creative vibes. When we were at the Fringe in 2022, we saw great success with our show Burn. We had an amazing venue (shoutout to the folks at theSpace!), wonderfully receptive audience members and a near-sell out (92%) run. We honestly couldn’t have asked for more. 2022 was our first time at the Fringe, and many things, including our sleeper success as newbies, caught us by surprise. Before the plane even left the tarmac to take us home, we were already plotting our return.
‘Burn’ won the Carol Tambor Incentive Award in 2022. In what way does John Muggleton’s writing captivate audiences?
We feel his writing is universal in its humour, naturalistic dialogue, and it is uniquely compelling in how it draws you in as an audience member. John Muggleton’s writing style has been compared to J.B. Priestley and David Mamet. He writes with the audience in mind – wanting to keep them on the edge of their seats and keep them guessing until the bitter end. His storytelling, clever plot twists, and well-drawn characters are ultimately at the heart of what makes John’s writing so captivating.
You are bringing another piece of John Muggleton’s work, ‘An Act of Grace’, to this year’s festival. What can audiences expect from the contemporary psychological thriller?
Audiences can expect a fast-paced storyline with the right balance of humour and tension. The show starts with a bang and draws audiences in from the very beginning. The plot is full of surprises that will leave audiences guessing until the very end.
What can you tell me about the characters at the heart of the story?
We can’t really describe the characters other than to say that things aren’t always as they seem. As described in our synopsis, Grace is a wealthy widow who has invited Chuck, a former golf-pro turned financial advisor, and Tony, a successful lawyer, to her country estate to assist her in getting her affairs in order. What happens next is more than the two had bargained for.
You have said that the show “will have global appeal to lovers of contemporary edgy theatre and psychological games”, how are you hoping to keep audiences engaged across the 60-minute running time?
60 minutes is nothing when you are having fun. Similar to Burn, An Act of Grace’s unexpected plot twists leading to unnerving circumstances, snappy dialogue, and a strong against-type female character will appeal to modern audiences. Our audiences have recently described it as a rollercoaster ride that they want to get back on again as soon as the ride finishes. One audience member described it as “juicy”.
How have you developed the play ahead of the festival?
The full-length Canadian production has been under development since March. However, the adaptation from our full-length staged version to what you will see at the Fringe in its one-act form, began in earnest on the 7th of July. The adaptation, which was originally staged on a proscenium stage for a 382 seat house, has been adapted and re-blocked for a much smaller and intimate audience of 72 with a ¾ thrust stage. Our original production featured a very opulent sunken living room which is impossible to replicate when you have 5 minutes to set up and strike your set at the Fringe. Traveling internationally as a show has meant that we have had to put our faith in re-designing at a distance- when we land we will have two days to source our set pieces and bring the whole vision together. It’s a bit like running blind – but that is part of the excitement and challenge of the Fringe! Another interesting challenge that we’ve encountered as we have re-developed the show, is the transport of a central prop in our show: a gun. We communicated with the Home Office, Scotland Police Department (and more specifically the firearm and licensing unit) – all to ensure that we could fly with and bring a plastic toy gun into Scotland. These are the sorts of logistics that many UK-based companies may not face when preparing their shows ahead of the Fringe.
To what extent are you upending your lives for the summer, to perform at the festival again? What are you most looking forward to about your Fringe return?
For some in the company, it will be their first time at the Fringe and we are looking forward to sharing that experience with them. Many of us are leaving partners, pets and jobs for the month of August just to be able to experience this. We fell in love with Edinburgh the first time that the two of us were there with Burn. It felt like for an entire month, we got to set-down roots in a beautiful city. If it weren’t for our dogs, partners, and jobs – we probably wouldn’t have left. The intensity of emotion, the high-stakes of putting on a show (when you don’t know what you are doing the first time around), and the exhilaration of the unknown was all so addictive. We can’t help but want to chase that feeling again. And that opening night party that The List hosts? I mean, c’mon. What a beautiful fever dream. We can’t wait to make our return – to all of it.
Watching An Act of Grace at Fringe
I for one found it fascinating hearing about the additional logistical requirements for bringing the show to Edinburgh from abroad. The company’s first couple of days in the city are going to be so busy! If thrillers with twists and turns are your cup of tea, you can catch the previous Fringe award-winning theatre company in action from 2-24 August (excluding 11th) at theSpace @ Niddry St – Upper Theatre (Thrust) (venue #9). Performances start at 12:05 and tickets are available via the festival website.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
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