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, Rebecca Perry discusses their show Confessions of a Redhead Coffeeshop Girl.
Hi Rebecca! Can you tell us about your show ‘Confessions of A Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl?’
The show is about Joanie Little - a recent anthropology graduate who is stuck working as a barista. Determined to make the most of her “underemployment,” she studies the “creatures” (customers) of her “coffee shop jungle” as if she were Dr. Jane Goodall or Sir David Attenborough. There are big laughs, jazzy tunes, co-worker showdowns and even a bit of romance!
How does it feel to return to the Edinburgh Fringe, a decade after you first performed this show here?
Honestly, it feels really exciting. What’s cool is that last time I did this I was in my twenties living through it - now I can celebrate what a fun time that was, and it's this fun nostalgia piece that is still enjoyed by millennials but is seen as a roadmap by Gen Z as they navigate their twenties - the landscape is different, but there are a lot of similarities.
The show is about Joanie Little - a recent anthropology graduate who is stuck working as a barista. Determined to make the most of her “underemployment,” she studies the “creatures” (customers) of her “coffee shop jungle” as if she were Dr. Jane Goodall or Sir David Attenborough. There are big laughs, jazzy tunes, co-worker showdowns and even a bit of romance!
How does it feel to return to the Edinburgh Fringe, a decade after you first performed this show here?
Honestly, it feels really exciting. What’s cool is that last time I did this I was in my twenties living through it - now I can celebrate what a fun time that was, and it's this fun nostalgia piece that is still enjoyed by millennials but is seen as a roadmap by Gen Z as they navigate their twenties - the landscape is different, but there are a lot of similarities.
The Fringe has changed a lot in recent years – how do you think audiences have changed since 2015?
The first time I came to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015, I noticed that my main audience was made up of daughters and mothers, mothers and grandmothers, mothers with kids in college, and families. Now, there’s a wider demographic attending the show, and people are just rolling the dice, willing to see anything they think might be interesting. It’s not considered “girly,” but I’m getting people of all walks of life from 9-99, because it’s something that applies to everyone, and it conveys a message of hope to anyone while tickling your funny bone.
The musical numbers in the show span jazz standards to pop. How did you decide on the soundtrack, and do you ever switch it up?
Basically, any of the songs that made it in had to have been playing on the radio while I was working in a coffee shop right after graduation in Toronto. At the time, indie pop music was the thing to listen to - anything from Mumford & Sons and Florence and the machine to the Canadian indie scene, which was booming. There’s some music you’ll recognize, but in a style and cover that you might not know by artists you don’t know, but something will still sound familiar. From Feist, whose music boomed after being in an iPod Nano commercial to The Head and the Heart, a Seattle hipster band, you’ll enjoy the variety and feel like you’re in a coffee shop ready to snap your fingers in appreciation.
You perform over 20 characters – be honest, do you have a favourite?
I love playing my boss - it’s very cathartic to get to play a grumpy old man who was very much a thorn in your side at the time, and now you can poke a bit of fun at the situation. There’s something rewarding about getting to be the bad guy and good guy at the same time as Gabe the gorilla talks to Joanie, our heroine.
The first time I came to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2015, I noticed that my main audience was made up of daughters and mothers, mothers and grandmothers, mothers with kids in college, and families. Now, there’s a wider demographic attending the show, and people are just rolling the dice, willing to see anything they think might be interesting. It’s not considered “girly,” but I’m getting people of all walks of life from 9-99, because it’s something that applies to everyone, and it conveys a message of hope to anyone while tickling your funny bone.
The musical numbers in the show span jazz standards to pop. How did you decide on the soundtrack, and do you ever switch it up?
Basically, any of the songs that made it in had to have been playing on the radio while I was working in a coffee shop right after graduation in Toronto. At the time, indie pop music was the thing to listen to - anything from Mumford & Sons and Florence and the machine to the Canadian indie scene, which was booming. There’s some music you’ll recognize, but in a style and cover that you might not know by artists you don’t know, but something will still sound familiar. From Feist, whose music boomed after being in an iPod Nano commercial to The Head and the Heart, a Seattle hipster band, you’ll enjoy the variety and feel like you’re in a coffee shop ready to snap your fingers in appreciation.
You perform over 20 characters – be honest, do you have a favourite?
I love playing my boss - it’s very cathartic to get to play a grumpy old man who was very much a thorn in your side at the time, and now you can poke a bit of fun at the situation. There’s something rewarding about getting to be the bad guy and good guy at the same time as Gabe the gorilla talks to Joanie, our heroine.
Have you ever thought about adapting Coffeeshop Girl for the screen?
Yes! I’ve been approached about creating a Hallmark-style film, but also an episodic where each episode would be bookended by a coffee shop open mic night, in between which Joanie describes a story of something that happened in the coffee shop, kind of like Kim’s Convenience or even Sex in the City - i.e. woman takes on life in her twenties in the big city. I even submitted it as a radio play to the BBC once! There are definitely plans.
What’s your go-to coffee shop order, and what does it say about you?
Mine’s a tea, milk, no sugar? Am I boring or just painfully British?
As someone who is married to a Brit, I think I’m allowed to say you are wonderfully British. I know a certain someone who likes placing that kind of order! My order shows that I came from the young millennial intersection of millennial and hipster - I’m very much into the vegan milks. I get an oat milk flat white or oat milk cortado, but I’m picky enough to ensure that the coffee isn’t so acidic that it will clash with the milk. I think what that says about me is that sometimes I’m a bit too picky - very symptomatic of millennials, I think!
Rebecca Perry’s ‘Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl’ is at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival until 25th August. For tickets and more information, visit: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5373/
As someone who is married to a Brit, I think I’m allowed to say you are wonderfully British. I know a certain someone who likes placing that kind of order! My order shows that I came from the young millennial intersection of millennial and hipster - I’m very much into the vegan milks. I get an oat milk flat white or oat milk cortado, but I’m picky enough to ensure that the coffee isn’t so acidic that it will clash with the milk. I think what that says about me is that sometimes I’m a bit too picky - very symptomatic of millennials, I think!
Rebecca Perry’s ‘Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl’ is at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival until 25th August. For tickets and more information, visit: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:5373/
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