EDFRINGE 2025: Lime Studio at Greenside @ George Street
Honor Santa Barnes
florence
Lime Studio at Greenside
@ George Street
FLORENCE
Performer & Writer: Honor Santa Barnes
Producer & Dramaturg: Eleanor
11 - 23 Aug 2025 | 12:35 (0hr55)
July, 27, 2025
Have you ever longed to be somebody else? This compelling, witty, tragicomic play brings to life the idiosyncrasies of the contemporary art world. The one-woman narrative follows a woman willing to use any means necessary to secure her success. Including creating a new persona, called Florence. We are thrown into a world of colourful characters, high stakes and searing satire as our protagonist navigates life much better as Florence than she could have done herself. However, cracks begin to show that threaten everything she’s worked for...Transferring from Off West End, don’t miss this hilarious, gripping thriller.
Hi Honor, before we start, congratulations on Florence being nominated for Best New Play at the Fringe Theatre Awards. What has it meant to you both, and your team, to get this type of recognition for your play?
We are thrilled. Everyone from the team was nominated in their separate fields (directing, acting, light, sound and set design) so it was just brilliant to see that everyone’s work had been appreciated. It has also been incredibly validating in the run up to Fringe (although I had 100% faith in how El’s vision as the director would come together).
Everything Theatre wrote that ‘For the entire fifty-five minute run time, [you are] beguiling and engrossing in her portrayal of Florence. She commands the stage, utilising it to her advantage through continuous movement and meandering as she recounts her tale of tragedy. ’ As a playwright, actor and director how does it feel to know that such a unique piece of new writing has been so well understood by your audience?
It’s funny because when you write something, you get so close to it that it is impossible to know if audiences will enjoy it. In this case I think the central themes of the play; social masks and identity in particular, have really resonated with audiences which is awesome.
What have you taken from the feedback you’ve gotten so far for Florence?
The most important feedback for me is from El (our dramaturg). After every iteration of Florence we sit down and talk about how to make the play better; where to add scenes/more dialogue to add liveness, how to bring the messaging of the play out more clearly and with greater nuance.
With two SOLD OUT runs already in London in the bag before you transfer Florence to the fringe are there any nerves ahead of your summer run or are you all ready to go?
SO MANY NERVES. Performing a one person play is always terrifying as it is so exposing, and especially if you are the writer as well. However funnily enough, as a co-producer, I have been too busy with the admin to process the nerves properly. The run at The Other Palace was only two nights and on the second night I was just beginning to feel like I was getting into it and was quite disappointed that the run wasn't longer. So I am quite excited to have a chance to perform for a longer period of time and experiment a bit with the work.
What does it mean to you to bring Florence to Greenside later in August?
It is the most exciting thing ever. Performing in Edinburgh has always been a bucket list thing for me. Although I have always said I never wanted to perform a one woman show as it would be too scary… yet somehow here I am.
Can you tell me a little bit about Florence, what was the inspiration behind your new play?
The inspiration of the play really came from a friend who was telling a story about a crazy experience she had had working in a gallery. It made me think that the art world was quite an interesting space to tap into, and not a space I had ever really seen addressed on stage. The crazy characters and dodgy dealings all set in a space of high stakes and big money I thought was the perfect setting for a satirical story. However the key was not the art world itself, but the perspective it is seen from. In this case a character who feels that this space is inaccessible, and so pretends to be someone completely different in order to access it. This opened up a whole nest of themes like inaccessibility of the art world, social masks and deceit. These are the themes that audiences are connecting with.
How much did you allow yourself to draw from your own experiences and did you have any apprehensions about creating a one-woman show that utilised these experiences?
I used to work in art insurance, so a fair amount! However I conducted about 10 interviews with different art world professionals to make sure I was depicting an accurate representation of what the art world was. Any experience I had that has ended up in the play has a lot of changes made to it, and no character is based fully on anyone I know, so I never had any apprehension about that.
"El (Dramaturg/producer) has had a huge influence on the script, and therefore knows the piece inside out. She has an amazing creative vision with the work."
What has the process been like working together on Florence and how essential is the creative collaboration between playwright and their director?
This has been an intensely collaborative process. El has had a huge influence on the script, and therefore knows the piece inside out. She has an amazing creative vision with the work. It was amazing for me to watch her take something that I had written and performed at Nu Pen in a tracksuit with no set, to a whole new level. I think it could have been hard to give away creative control when you have written something and are performing it as well, but I really trust her as a director to make good choices and so am very happy to let her take the lead in direction, to realise her vision for the work. I think this is why we work so well together.
Do you have a favourite piece of art?
I think with art (and theatre) it has to make you feel something intensely, it doesn't matter what the feeling is, as long as its intense. I love the uncanniness of Surrealism. The work of artists like Dorothea Tanning and Salvador Dali make me feel fascinated, moved and uncomfortable all at the same time. Kind of how I want you to feel in the darker moments of my play (don’t worry, a lot of it is funny too!)
And finally, what message would you like your audiences to take with them from Florence?
I want audiences to think about the little lies we all tell, the social masks that we all wear, and the spaces that they feel like they need to change who they are in, in order to fit in.