In our ongoing Edinburgh Fringe 2026 interview series, we are speaking to artists and creatives who are bringing their shows to the Scottish capital this summer.
In this interview, we speak with playwright and performer Doug Deans about his show Horrorshow.
What can you tell me about your show?
Horrorshow is a gig-play set in the year 2009, on the Isle of Wight. It's about Dan and Ollie, two teenage boys who break into a music festival with a rucksack full of stolen weed, which they plan to sell to the posh kids. It's a fun and surprisingly moving coming-of-age/coming out story, full of original songs, played by a cast who double as a three-piece rock band.
How would you describe the style of your show to anyone who has never seen you before?
Horrorshow is a piece of gig theatre, which is one of the most exciting forms of theatre out there right now. Not strictly a 'musical', but it has music at its heart. Imagine going to a live music gig, and every song, and the chat between each song, weaves into one cohesive story. What I love about gig theatre, and what I hope we achieve with this play, is that we take a piece of typical new-writing, and by giving it that injection of live music, we give it that extra edge.
What was the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of this piece?
I wouldn't say it was one lightbulb moment, but more like a succession of lightbulbs coming on one by one, to illuminate the room. I always wanted to be in a band, and I knew the only way I could do that would be to write a play that revolved around a band! I also knew that I wanted to write a piece of gig-theatre, because it's such a powerful and energizing theatrical form.
Horrorshow is a gig-play set in the year 2009, on the Isle of Wight. It's about Dan and Ollie, two teenage boys who break into a music festival with a rucksack full of stolen weed, which they plan to sell to the posh kids. It's a fun and surprisingly moving coming-of-age/coming out story, full of original songs, played by a cast who double as a three-piece rock band.
How would you describe the style of your show to anyone who has never seen you before?
Horrorshow is a piece of gig theatre, which is one of the most exciting forms of theatre out there right now. Not strictly a 'musical', but it has music at its heart. Imagine going to a live music gig, and every song, and the chat between each song, weaves into one cohesive story. What I love about gig theatre, and what I hope we achieve with this play, is that we take a piece of typical new-writing, and by giving it that injection of live music, we give it that extra edge.
What was the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of this piece?
I wouldn't say it was one lightbulb moment, but more like a succession of lightbulbs coming on one by one, to illuminate the room. I always wanted to be in a band, and I knew the only way I could do that would be to write a play that revolved around a band! I also knew that I wanted to write a piece of gig-theatre, because it's such a powerful and energizing theatrical form.
I've been thinking about who I was as a boy. What I wish I could have said to him. I think we all wish we could do that sometimes. Sit down and with our younger selves and tell them what they need to hear. I'd wanted to write a coming of age story, set in the era of the "lad", but make it about two boys who's connection is more than that.
Also, it surprised me that there weren't many pieces of theatre that explored music festivals. It's strange, because music festivals are so innately theatrical. One of the things I find fascinating about them is affect they have on anyone who goes. They unlock a part of themselves that they keep under lock and key for the rest of the year. They act in odd ways. You could say it's an expulsion of a lot of witheld tension, which is let out in one uproarious go.
Festivals are also very political. Certain members of the community are locked out. They're also quite ecologically damaging. We've all seen pictures of the typical post-festival clean-up, the empty tents, the rubbish and waste. One can't help but find it a bit, on a fundamental level, wrong.
So, bringing all of those together to tell this story about these two boys who break into a festival that they've never been allowed to attend because they're priced out of it, set in their home town of The Isle of Wight, there's a real invasiveness to the story that I couldn't resist.
What makes 2026 the perfect year for this specific story or performance?
Two reasons. First of all, I've noticed that in the past couple of years, the mid-to-late 2000s has gained a certain nostalgic currency, both amongst millennials like myself, but also the younger generations, Generation Z, and whatever the current generation is. It's interesting because it's the way that, when I was a teenager, me and my friends viewed the 80s. We were a generation removed from that period, and as such, we began to- sort of mythologize it. And I'm seeing that with my own youth now. The 2000's are being mythologised by a younger generation who weren't part of it.
I wanted to look at that nostalgia, and how we can paint the past any shade we want to, but it doesn't take away the fact that the past is just as difficult, just as troubling, just as messed up as we are right now. There's also a lot of interesting parallells between 2026 and the 2000's. The disruption of a social order with the internet's first tentative steps. The global financial crash of 2008 upending the job market, and people's expectations of working life, when this thing called 'Capitalism' suddenly cannot deliver.
How will you mentally and physically prepare for a run at the Fringe?
Well, in all honestty, this is the first time I've performed in my own work at The Ednburgh Fringe. So, how am I mentally preparing? I am just trying to remind myself that it is going to be fun. That it is unbelievably exciting to be going to The Edinburgh Fringe, with a new play, with a bunch of new songs. I cannot let perfectionism or hustle get in the way of joy.
How will you mentally and physically prepare for a run at the Fringe?
Well, in all honestty, this is the first time I've performed in my own work at The Ednburgh Fringe. So, how am I mentally preparing? I am just trying to remind myself that it is going to be fun. That it is unbelievably exciting to be going to The Edinburgh Fringe, with a new play, with a bunch of new songs. I cannot let perfectionism or hustle get in the way of joy.
I've also been running, and trying to lose a little bit of weight. I need to be match-fit for this!
If you couldn’t use a flyer to attract audiences, what ridiculous object would you hand out to people to get them into your show?
I've been clearing out my music collection recently, so what I'd probably hand out is my old CDs and my vinyls, with a little post-it attached to each one with the time and date of our show.
What is the one item in your Fringe Survival Kit that you can’t live without at the Fringe?
That's easy. My iPod Classic from the 2000's that is still going strong after all these years, and a good pair of chunky over-ear headphones. The music that accompanies me on my walks up and down the streets of Edinburgh, especially those long walks back to your digs at the end of the night, I don't think I could do without it.
What would you deem as success at the end of the Fringe?
They say that the Fringe average audience is 5. In my view, anything above those numbers is a success. So, if any of our shows are above that number, I'll be happy!
Other than your own show, are there any other shows you would recommend at the Fringe this year?
House of Life. House of Life. House of Life. House of Life. House of Life.
If you couldn’t use a flyer to attract audiences, what ridiculous object would you hand out to people to get them into your show?
I've been clearing out my music collection recently, so what I'd probably hand out is my old CDs and my vinyls, with a little post-it attached to each one with the time and date of our show.
What is the one item in your Fringe Survival Kit that you can’t live without at the Fringe?
That's easy. My iPod Classic from the 2000's that is still going strong after all these years, and a good pair of chunky over-ear headphones. The music that accompanies me on my walks up and down the streets of Edinburgh, especially those long walks back to your digs at the end of the night, I don't think I could do without it.
What would you deem as success at the end of the Fringe?
They say that the Fringe average audience is 5. In my view, anything above those numbers is a success. So, if any of our shows are above that number, I'll be happy!
Other than your own show, are there any other shows you would recommend at the Fringe this year?
House of Life. House of Life. House of Life. House of Life. House of Life.
Also, we always want to support our fellow East-Midlanders, and the guys at House of Life have been particularly smashing it with this show. It's so easy to see why. It's an explosion of joy and absurdity and silliness. It's a fucking good time. One of the most anarchicly joyful shows I think I've ever seen.
What is one Edinburgh spot that you would recommend people to visit when they're not watching performances?
The giant Gothic grandfather clock that's about 20 meters tall in The National Museum of Scotland. The National Museum of Scotland is free to get in, it's full of really interesting stuff, but there's a giant Gothic-looking, Eastern European, hand-carved grandfather clock, that goes off, on the hour every hour, with a very strange display of music and dancing folkloric figures.
Can you describe the show in 5 words?
PLAY PLUS BAND EQUALS BOSH!
What keeps you inspired?
Theatre. The people that make theatre. The people that go to theatre. The people that make theatre at The Edinburgh Fringe. The people that go to theatre at The Edinburgh Fringe.
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing the show?
I hope that you get the same level of joy watching the show, as I got from writing it. And I hope that you look back on the scrawny scrappy teenager that you once were, with a little bit more fondness, and a little bit more love.
When and where can people see the show?
Summerhall, Anatomy Lecture Theatre (one of my favourite rooms at the Fringe), 25-31 August, 7:15 (Running time 60 mins).
What is one Edinburgh spot that you would recommend people to visit when they're not watching performances?
The giant Gothic grandfather clock that's about 20 meters tall in The National Museum of Scotland. The National Museum of Scotland is free to get in, it's full of really interesting stuff, but there's a giant Gothic-looking, Eastern European, hand-carved grandfather clock, that goes off, on the hour every hour, with a very strange display of music and dancing folkloric figures.
Can you describe the show in 5 words?
PLAY PLUS BAND EQUALS BOSH!
What keeps you inspired?
Theatre. The people that make theatre. The people that go to theatre. The people that make theatre at The Edinburgh Fringe. The people that go to theatre at The Edinburgh Fringe.
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing the show?
I hope that you get the same level of joy watching the show, as I got from writing it. And I hope that you look back on the scrawny scrappy teenager that you once were, with a little bit more fondness, and a little bit more love.
When and where can people see the show?
Summerhall, Anatomy Lecture Theatre (one of my favourite rooms at the Fringe), 25-31 August, 7:15 (Running time 60 mins).
Tickets are available from https://festival.summerhallarts.co.uk/events/horrorshow/
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