EDINBURGH FRINGE 2023 / INTERVIEW
"Theatre must be straight forward to the point and meant in every shape or colour, but if you deviate from the play, you have lost your task."
David Brückner
Come To Our Show (Please)
Building Bridges Theatre Company
cthearts.com/Come To Our Show (Please)
14-20, August 2023 at 17:30 (45m)
Aug 2, 2023
Centres around two clowns, Anna and Felix, and their quest for home. Whilst touring desperately through Europe, the almost destitute Circus König has ended up in an unknown country where none of the performers speak the language. Together, the clowns embark on a frantic brainstorm as to how they can transcend the language barrier and their own cultural differences in order to sell out the show so they can afford a ticket home. This show is a deep dive into questions of interculturalism in a world where communication has never been easier, yet so complex.
Hi David, thank you for talking to The New Current, how does it feel to be bringing Come to Our Show (Please) to Edinburgh Fringe and C Venues this August?
It feels powerful and exciting at the same time. An act of Sisyphus that hopefully will finally bring the stone to the top. I'm just very happy and grateful to partner with C ARTS on this journey.
As this is your debut Fringe are there any nerves ahead of your run?
I'm not more nervous than I am confident in our show and my crew. However, I feel the stress that many artists can share with me, I think.
What are you hoping to take away from your Edinburgh experience?
I hope to get a polarising reaction and feedback from our audience as well as the recognition necessary to take this story we are telling to wider and bigger venues.
Can you tell me a little bit about how Come to Our Show (Please) came about, what served as the inspiration behind this new piece?
Personally speaking, out of necessity as an artist in a country that is not my home, not being represented and disappearing completely. I needed to tell a story of an artistic ship of migration and so my English co-writer Cathy Wippell and I came up with the circus as this vessel. With her fascination for clowning and my desire for inter-culturalism, meaning the true interchange between cultures, we breathed life into our two main characters.
There is something truly universal about clowns, in this case Anna and Felix, and exploring the themes of home, migrations and identity, which can be incredibly impactful for audiences. How vital are shows like Come to Our Show (Please) in being able to highlight the very real life experience that migrant artists face?
The emphasis on migrant artist already means to me that you do not fit into the present system, which is why I also reject this term. You therefore have to reinvent yourself again and again. The Fringe is thankfully our niche in which we show ourselves and make ourselves understood, because, to this day, we are not integrated into the commercial theatre. If we do not keep telling the story, we will never manifest our place in the system.
What where the challenges you have encountered bringing Come to Our Show (Please) to the stage?
Finding rehearsal spaces and raising money are without doubt the well-known challenges. Especially when you create in a big city like London. But I like to note that it is also a challenge to remember the course of our show and to be aware as a company why we are doing all this for our story.
"We are living in a society that does not support art. Be ready for this."
As a producer how important is the creative collaboration between you and your team when trying to realise the vision you have for a production like Come to Our Show (Please)?
As long as everyone performs the profession for which he or she or they is/are involved, I as the producer can open up and let them explore and develop. Of course, as the co-writer I am also the advocate of the source material, but especially in this matter, communication remains the key to creativity.
What THREE words best describe Come to Our Show (Please)?
Home, Passion, Survival.
Have you always had a passion for theatre and how did Building Bridges theatre come about?
Theatre is the school of life and changed my life when I was 17 years old. Since then, I am celebrating almost 15 proud years of passion for theatre. Hence, it was only a question of time and the right mix of people to give this drive a name. We build the bridge so you can cross it.
What does Come to Our Show (Please) say about you as producer and the type of theatre you want to make?
Theatre must be straight forward to the point and meant in every shape or colour, but if you deviate from the play, you have lost your task.
Do you have any advice, tips or suggestions you would offer anyone thinking about getting into theatre?
While working on Come To Our Show (Please), I heard me saying three things : You already know all the answers, you only have to do it.
You will only find your crew members if you work with them.
We are living in a society that does not support art. Be ready for this.
And finally, what do you want your fringe audiences to take away from Come to Our Show (Please)?
It is not about you. It is about them.