WELSH theatre talent is set to be showcased at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with three uplifting shows exploring urgent and topical issues through dance, music, and performance.
The three shows – supported and funded by Wales Art International – will delve into themes from politics, to middle-age and traditional Welsh culture throughout August.
Jo Fong and George Orange’s The Rest of Our Lives is a cabaret of life and near death. It features two middle-aged lives – Jo an old dancer and George an old clown - in an eclectic, spontaneous, predictable and random decline. They are international artists with 100 years of life experience between them, armed with a soundtrack of floor-fillers, a book of raffle tickets and a sprinkling of eco-friendly optimism.
Meanwhile, Common Wealth’s Payday Party is being described as the most glamorous legal political party you will go to. Six artists will share their real-life stories and talents in the hope of getting paid by the audience, with song, dance, rap, spoken word and live music all in the mix.
Exploring what it means to be Welsh, working class and in the arts, Payday Party tackles racism, elitism and class, touching on the cost-of-living crisis, austerity and the conclusion of the investigation into the Westminster lockdown party scandal.
The third show, Dirty Protest Theatre’s Double Drop, is based on experiences of growing up in traditional Welsh culture in mid-1990s North Wales. The play sees the rites and ceremonies of the Eisteddfod - a traditional Welsh-speaking festival - collide with the communion and transcendence of a rave.
The three shows were selected by an expert industry panel to be recipients of the This is Wales in Edinburgh 2022 showcase fund.
Phil George, chair of the Arts Council of Wales, said: “Wales in Edinburgh is a great opportunity to showcase the vibrancy, the edge and the provocation which are strong features of our performing arts scene in Wales.
“I’m sure that the three selected shows will grab attention in that crowded festival.”
Maggie Dunning, project manager of This is Wales in Edinburgh Showcase, said: “We’re delighted to be returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe after the two-year break, with such a bold and inspiring showcase offering.
“These three high-quality, uniquely Welsh productions, chosen by an industry panel, demonstrate the breadth, talent and, highly-skilled performers and companies creating work in Wales.”
The Rest of Our Lives will be performed between August 16 and 28 at the Old Lab at Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Place, while Payday Party will be at AceDome, Pleasance Dome, at 1 Bristol Square, from August 23 to 27.
Double Drop will be at the Anatomy Lecture Theatre in Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Place, from August 3 to 28.
