A Perth -raised writer looks at the events that surrounded the storming of the US Capitol in a new play she has brought to the Edinburgh Fringe.
Rosa Maria Alexander presents Beg For Me, a one-act, two-player show exploring the dangerous world of alt-right activism in the context of the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
It will be performed daily at 1pm at Underbelly, in Edinburgh’s Bristo Square between August 3 and 29, having already had a run last November at the Pleasance Theatre in London.
While Rosa has been a performer at the Fringe before, this is her first time bringing her own writing.
“It’s quite exciting,” she told the PA.
Rosa now lives in London but her roots are in Perth. Literature is in the family genes - her dad Paul Philippou founded Perth publishing house Tippermuir Books.
Her first school was St John’s Primary and later she went to St John’s Academy.
Rosa remembers attending Ad-Lib Arts in Perth.
She returned recently to use their studio in St Martin’s House above the St John’s Shopping Centre to give Beg For Me a run though.
“I’m still in regular contact with everyone at Ad-Lib, it’s really nice,” Rosa added.
“Creative director Vicki Rice knew me way back in the day. It was natural to want to hook up and go through Beg For Me there ahead of the Fringe opening.
“I see the company recently received charitable status, which is fantastic in that it will mean Ad-Lib can continue to offer affordable classes.”
When Rosa went to find digs in London she kept it in the family, getting a flat with cousin Euan McLaren, former pupil at Perth High School.
Euan is doing the press and marketing for Beg For Me.
Rosa told the PA that the news events that inspired her play were seen by the world, but coming from a “progressive and inclusive” place like Perth meant for her, the alt-right violence was really affecting.
“ Perth always felt like a very accepting place,” she said. “There is such a community feel in Perth.
“With the Capitol insurrection, it was upsetting for me to see how hate crime can spread like fire. The internet connects us but it has a dark side too, effective for spreading hate.
“Although I have no ties to America, seeing the news events on TV made me want to write something about marginalised groups.
“Beg For Me explores the implosive intersection of violent misogyny, the alt-right and digital extremism.
“It is a two-hander with actors Rhys Anderson and Nicholas Alban, with me directing and producing.
“The internet means everyone feels involved. Horrific events are not taking place ‘elsewhere’ any more - look at Ukraine, it touches everyone.
“I wrote my play when we were still in the throes of the pandemic, when everyone was sucked in to watching the news and living out the stories.”
The show examines the roles that platforms such as YouTube, Fox News, Twitter, and Reddit, play in further alienating predominantly disenfranchised, young, working-class men and women who, all too often, fall victim to alt-right bait - taking all the rage, isolation and discrimination they feel daily and focusing their upset towards minority groups instead of banding together to help one another and defeating the real enemies at play.
Beg For Me was originally written and performed as part of Mountview’s Catalyst Festival in August 2021 and was performed as part of Camden People’s Theatre’s Sprint Festival in March 2022.
