In our ongoing Edinburgh Fringe interview series, we are speaking to artists and creatives who are bringing their shows to the Scottish capital this summer.
In this interview, Jordan And Skinner discusses their show Auntie Empire.
.jpeg)
Auntie Empire is a riotous, anarchic, grotesque piss take of what it means to be British from a Scottish perspective.
Where did the inspiration for this piece come from?
I had a Summerhall residency in 2019 where I spent a week experimenting with live gore effects. In order to test those effects out I needed a character so I thought about who I would most like to disembowel and Auntie Empire was born.
I had a Summerhall residency in 2019 where I spent a week experimenting with live gore effects. In order to test those effects out I needed a character so I thought about who I would most like to disembowel and Auntie Empire was born.
How have you approached developing the show?
The character of Auntie has existed in many forms. She has been a short film which I made with my pal the film and TV director Niamh McKeown (Dinosaur) and did very well on the film festival circuit, then she was the central character in a 3-act 3-hander play which I wrote during my creative Fellowship at IASH (Institute for Advanced Studies of the Humanities, Edinburgh University) which is a fellowship supported by the Traverse Theatre, which took her into quite a different performative world. So then I decided to go back to basics and team up with Jordan & Skinner and take her into the world of bouffon, the dark clown, and in this world she has begun to really find her voice.
Can you describe the show in 3 words?
Anarchic, hilarious satire
How do you mentally and physically prepare for a run like the Fringe?
I haven’t done a run at the Fringe for over a decade, I find pop ups or short runs much more sustainable in every sense of the word.
I haven’t done a run at the Fringe for over a decade, I find pop ups or short runs much more sustainable in every sense of the word.
What is one hidden gem in Edinburgh that everyone should visit?
I’m not going to tell you my hidden gem in Edinburgh because as a Scottish artist part of what I like about being in Edinburgh in August is escaping to the parts of it that still feel like the city I know and love for the rest of the year.
Are there any other shows at the Fringe you’d like to recommend?
Disaster Plan also has a pop up presentation of Kieran Hurley’s HEADS UP at Shedinburgh on the 2nd August, and also if you’re into insanely visceral takes on the classics go check out Company Of Wolves’ The Bacchae at Assembly Roxy.
What was the first piece of theatre you saw which had a big impact on you?
My mum took me to see a touring production of Mother Courage when we lived in Queensland, Australia, in 1988 and during the production we discovered I had a severe allergy to feathers which were hurled about during the production causing me to stop being able to breathe. Despite this, I refused to leave the show until the end of it at which point I was hospitalised.
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing the show?
I hope the audience comes away feeling uncomfortable about the idea of British identity or how Britain portrays itself to the world.
Where and when can people see your show?
22 August 5:30 at Summerhall https://festival.summerhallarts.co.uk/events/auntie-empire/
Post a Comment