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 writer and director Constance Evans about Knight's Dream.
What can you tell me about your show?
‘Knight’s Dream’ is an original musical inspired by ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ with a new pop/jazz sound track. While inspired by the Shakespeare classic, it also feels like a new story away from it’s original source material.
It’s set in a bar run by a cruel up-and-coming entrepreneur, Oscar. The bar faces a serious spiking problem from a drink casually labelled ‘Love Drug’ that the manipulative Bartender hands out to high paying customers. The show has comedic moment despite it’s dark topics and strong dance numbers
as well as sentimental ballads.
How would you describe the style of your show to anyone who has never seen you before?
I would consider ‘Knight’s Dream’ a dark comedy. It’s very much inspired by Fred Ebb’s work such as Cabaret or Chicago but with a modern twist similar to the humour and glam of Heather’s and Six. We have big dance numbers like Devil In Disguise which is our big villain number but also gentler songs such as So Designer which tells the story of a young woman getting caught in a relationship with an unkind older man. It’s something that will make an audience laugh, but feel a little uncomfortable too.
What was the lightbulb moment that led to the creation of this piece?
I started writing ‘Knight’s Dream’ when I was 20, doing a Foundation Course in acting at LIPA. I had already produced a Shakespeare inspired musical in my gap year in my home town and I wanted to do another one but wasn’t sure what. The idea occurred to me after a few rough nights out. Over the space of a month, I had been out on two separate nights out with two separate friends who both got their drinks spiked. Both experiences were awful and it occurred to me that spiking isn’t something that is in the main media, as a friend I wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with the situations other than trying to get the girls somewhere safe. After this, I wrote Love Drug the opening song which is the characters setting the scene of this drink that essentially makes you lose your mind.
What makes 2026 the perfect year for this specific story or performance?
I’ve spend the last four years working on Knight’s Dream. It’s been key to my university experience with me producing it every year and working on improving it and changing it. Now that I have graduated this year, it seemed like the perfect time to take the project even further by transporting in to the Fringe. We have got a lovely cast of very highly talented individuals who are perfect for each of their roles, we have both people who have been part of the show for the past three years and also people new to the group this year who have all just fit in perfectly.
How have you mentally and physically prepared for a run at the Fringe?
Fringe is super hard work! We did a couple of previews in Liverpool and a fundraiser for the show near where I live where everyone was staying in one house as a bit of practice for the Fringe! We have a few cast members who live internationally so we’ve had to continue our rehearsals over zoom for the
past couple of months!
If you couldn’t use a flyer to attract audiences, what object would you hand out to people to get them into your show?
We have actually had custom beer mats/coasters made to hand out with out with the flyers! They have the logo on one side and all the information on the back. We’ve also 3D printed some purple Knight chess piece keyring as little souvenirs.
What is the one item in your Fringe Survival Kit that you can’t live without at the Fringe?
I’m going to need my snacks! I’m planning to spend most of the days flyering and our show isn’t until the evening so I’m expecting some quite long days for myself and my cast and crew. I will be carrying some extra stuff for them too, just in case!
What would you deem as success at the end of the Fringe?
I would love to move the show forwards. I’ve worked with some incredible people on it who have improved it in ways that I couldn’t have by myself and I know there are more people out there with more experience than myself who could help me improve it even further. I think I’m looking for even more collaboration if possible and ways to make the show even better. As well as that, I want people to wander into our theatre, taking a risk on an unknown show and leave saying what a good time they had.
Other than your own show, are there any other shows you would recommend at the Fringe this year?
I’m definitely booking tickets to Endometriosis: The Musical as I’ve been diagnosed with it this year and can’t wait what these women have produced about it! Another LIPA production Brick is also making it’s Fringe debut so I will be booking tickets to see them. I personally am a huge Taskmaster fan so I’m definitely catching multiple comedians like Ed Gamble and Nina Conti while I can!
What is one Edinburgh spot that you would recommend people to visit when they're not watching performances?
I haven’t been to Edinburgh much before but I’ve always loved exploring the restaurants and bakeries. I’ll also be checking out all of the bookshops.
Can you describe the show in 5 words?
Mischievous. Manipulator. Twisted. Jealousy. Witty
What keeps you inspired?
Collaboration! I love to work with other people! When you find the right kind of people to work with and you’re both onto something, it’s the best feeling in the world. All of the actors bring something different to the show and there’s a lot of ‘Can I try this?’ Which the answer is always absolutely.
Sometime when they’re singing the songs, I kind of remember writing the music on my acoustic guitar on a beanbag without the beautiful harmonies that have been added by our musical director and going up to keys I couldn’t reach myself. It’s a real ‘Oh my God, I wrote this and it sounds good’ moment where I’m proud of myself and proud of them for putting it together.
What would you hope someone takes away from seeing the show?
The key message is how dark spiking culture is. While it’s mixed in with comedy, I hope that the final scene causes a bit of discomfort around the topic but I also want people to laugh at the jokes and hum the songs.
When and where can people see the show?
People can come and see the show between the 17th - 22nd of August at 20.50pm at TheSpace Lower Niddry. If you want to see more you can look at our Instagram @muchadoaboutmusicals or our website
Tickets are available from https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/knight-s-dream
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