An Edinburgh man has shared how he raced all the way from Greece just days after getting married in order to perform in the Fringe.
Following a romantic ceremony in the Mediterranean with the love of his life, Maria, Michael Edwards then jetted back across Europe, sacrificing his first few weeks of wedded bliss for a stint at the festival. Performing in ‘ Horse Country ’ a satirical play at the Assembly George Square studios during August, Michael managed to fit both tying the knot and his first show into the space of just three days.
However, speaking about the experience, Michael said that he had the full support of his new wife, after they met making a small film together 11 years ago.
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The 36-year-old said: "Maria and I met in Central Saint Martin 11 years ago. Maria was on an Erasmus program from Athens School of Fine Arts and I was studying Acting at Drama Centre London. I saw a little post on the notice board one day asking for Actors with ‘deep voices’ to audition for a film. I was lucky enough to get the part - Maria told me later on that only one other person had applied.
"We made a terrible film but felt very connected to each other’s personalities. At the time however, we were both too busy to go out on a date. Before I knew it, it was too late, and Maria had already flown back to Greece.
"Fast forward three months and I’m in another show. Back then it was just before the time when it became highly inappropriate to spam email all your contacts with whatever you were doing at the time. This is exactly what I did to promote the show. I got an email back from Maria informing me she was still in Greece, but that I should come over there and see her.
"I thought that’s a hell of a long way to go see someone I barely knew and told her that it was a pretty crazy proposition. She told me that I was crazy and should go for it. And with that I jumped at the opportunity and bought my tickets. I planned to stay in Greece for two weeks... I stayed two months."
Planning their wedding for a small island near Athens, the couple said they knew the Fringe was a "possibility", but didn't quite expect the turnaround to be quite so quick.
In the end, Michael was forced to leave his wedding party the following day, only to travel from Greece to London, onto Newport for a rehearsal and then up to Edinburgh to get on stage.
Despite having to sacrifice their honeymoon for now, and the last two months giving him "no time off", Michael added that they are used to doing things unconventionally, with the pair getting matching 'M' tattoos instead of wedding rings.
He said: "The fringe was always a possibility, but you never really know.
"Having absolutely no time off for about two months before the wedding meant that stress levels could go through the roof, so we needed to look after each other a lot as we constantly ran about solving problems.
Commenting on when they will eventually get a honeymoon, Michael added: "Maria has been dreaming of visiting Vietnam for many years now. We can’t wait. We just learnt how to scuba dive together so I’m hoping to get a bit of that in whilst we’re out there."
You can find more information on Michael's show and how to get tickets here.
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