EDINBURGH FRINGE 2024
Interview

HALF TRICK
THEATRE
THE FAUSTUS PROJECT
C ARTS | C venues | C alto - studio
THEATRE / CLASSICAL / DARK COMEDY
Aug 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 23, 25: TICKETS
ANTONIO'S REVENGE
C ARTS | C venues | C alto - studio
THEATRE / CLASSICAL / DARK COMEDY
Aug 4, 6, 8, 10, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24: TICKETS
AUG 2, 2024
The Faustus Project: An actor makes a deal with the devil. One of theatres’ greatest roles is theirs to perform. One problem… they’ve never rehearsed with the rest of the cast. This new version of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus features a rotating cast of brave guest performers taking on the challenges of a devilish ensemble. Much like Faustus, they have no idea what they're really getting into. The Faustus Project is funny, a little dangerous, and an actor’s worst nightmare. With a fresh victim every night, this will be the ultimate theatrical torture…
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Antonio's Revenge: Dad's dead. Mum’s shagging his killer. Girlfriend's crazy. Then Dad’s ghost appears, crying for revenge. What else does one do but start killing? Antonio makes Hamlet look like a little b*tch. This rarely-performed Early Modern hidden gem from John Marston is batsh*t insane, featuring everything you'd expect from a Jacobethan revenge tragedy: feigned insanity, an evil duke, an all-knowing fool, a smoking-hot mum, a ghost dad, a sad girlfriend locked in prison, a plucky kid who’s definitely gonna get murdered, and, of course, cannibalism.
Hi Luke & Courtney, thank you for taking thy time to talk with me ahead of your return to the fringe this summer, how’s your build up to the festival going?
Luke: So happy to chat, we’re all really excited to be back at the festival this year. It was my first experience last year and I was really blown away. The Halftrick team have now relocated to Edinburgh and have been making theatre here in the city over the last few months!
Courtney: The mayhem in the lead up is always so fun, thrilling and dreamlike. Excited to be opening and rip that bandaid off.
You had an incredible run last year as Assembly Festival with Alone, did you image you would get such a response for the production?
Luke: I really didn’t know how ALONE was going to go down when we staged it last year, it was a huge risk touring the show internationally and I was really blown away by the reception that we received. It was the first time that the play had been performed in the UK and in fact it was the first time many of our cast and crew had been outside of Australasia. So to have such a warm welcome meant so much to everyone involved.
Courtney: Having performed in and toured Alone for around three years, it was so validating to have such a successful run on this side of the planet!
Of all the reviews and comments you got for Alone was there any one comment that really stuck out for you?
Luke: The play deals a lot with themes of existentialism and feminism, and our team didn’t really know who to market the show to. It’s a sci-fi thriller but also a monologue show… it’s an odd one to try and find it’s audience. But those who like it really like it. What we didn’t expect is that teenagers really love the show. One young man, actually a group of young men, came along to see the show as part of a school group – and they were really moved by the production. In fact some of them stuck around and helped us pack up the set! Two or three of them then came back at a later date with their Mums. This one young man in particular said that it made him realise what theatre can do for people and how powerful theatre can be… I think we can all think back to that one show that really moved us when we were younger… and I was so honoured that that was what ALONE was for him.
Courtney: I remember one performance where a pack of teenage girls came with their drama teacher - they were very vocal, gasping and whispering through out. Afterwards they came up and exclaimed that they didn’t know acting and live theatre could be like that - ‘were those really the lines or were we just saying what we wanted to?’ That was about the highest compliment I could ever imagine receiving, especially coming from the most important demographic in the world - teenage girls! The tastemakers!
What does Edinburgh Fringe mean to you?
Luke: Edinburgh is this wild, fantastic, energetic, cacophony of unabashed creativity. It is such an exciting place to witness the very best of theatre over such an incredible month. I have never experienced anything like it before and I am so grateful that it exists!
Courtney: A cult of theatre unlike anything else.
Do you feel any pressure as a producer bringing two shows to the fringe?
Luke: It is a huge pressure. It’s not a case of simply making sure that the standard of the production is at the level that you want it to be, but that everyone is cared for and looked after throughout the season. The festival is like running a marathon, and you can crash really hard if you don’t pace yourself. A big learning from last year was to manage the burn out of the cast and crew and that is a big focus for us this year. I think a big pressure last year was touring the show internationally. However, the Halftrick team have now based themselves in Edinburgh so that has made life a little easier!
Courtney: As a first time producer, this has been an absolute whirlwind. I’m so grateful to Luke for his mentorship as I tackle the task.

Can you tell me a little bit about how The Faustus Project and Antonio’s Revenge came about, what inspired these productions?
Luke: Well my involvement really comes from my belief in the extraordinary talent of Courtney Bassett and her team. Courtney and I toured for three years with ALONE and I’m really indebted to her for her contribution to that production – both as an actor and as a script consultant. But I think Courtney can speak more about the inspiration for these productions.
Courtney: The Faustus Project was first performed in New Zealand in 2017. It was Caden Scott’s - the director and my long time collaborators - madcap idea. He doesn’t remember where the idea came from. Maybe from a devil in a dream. I know w wanted to combine improvisation and performance art into the form of Early modern theatre, in the spirit of works such as Shit Faced Shakespeare and Japanese reality TV comedy.
As for Antonio’s Revenge. We’re always looking for lesser performer Early modern theatrical gems. It’s a play that’s hardly ever been performed, and was originally written in 1602 to parody tragedies such as Hamlet and Macbeth, with its completely over the top melodrama and violence. It was written for the boys choir of St. Pauls Chapel. I’d do anything to see that bunch of preteens put this on, but failing that, I think our offering is the next best thing.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced bringing these two shows to the fringe?
Courtney: Money. Time. Tech. Energy. Finding poor sods willing to put themselves through the gauntlet of The Faustus Project. Battling imposter syndrome.
What would you say have been the most interesting things you’ve discovered about yourself in the process of bringing The Faustus Project and Antonio’s Revenge to the stage?
Courtney: What I’m willing to do in the name of putting on a good show.
If you had only 3 words you could choose to describe The Faustus Project and Antonio’s Revenge what would they be?
Luke: Irreverent and gloriously twisted.
Courtney: That’s four words.
What has the process been like for you working with co-directors Courtney Bassett and Caden Scott on these productions?
Luke: My role has really been to assist Courtney on this venture as she steps into the role as a producer. She is doing the herculean task of being the main producer for both productions while acting in both shows while also directing!
Courtney: Co-directing with Caden is like being twin babies in embryo. Totally in sync, hoping we don’t eat each other and both make it out alive.
And how important is the creative collaboration between a producer and the creative team when working on a show like this?
Luke: I think trust is the key thing here. You have to help create an environment where your creative partners can really flourish. For me that comes from trusting the process and trusting those that you are working with.

Where did your passion for theatre come from?
Luke: I’ve always been a writer, my Grandma used to write for The People’s Friend and some of my fondest childhood memories are of sitting with her and telling made up stories. As I got older I became captivated by theatre. I think it’s the immediacy of stage shows and how they suck you in. It’s a bit of a cliche but I think theatre really is the most intimate form of storytelling – there are always those magical moments where you truly believe that the person acting out a scene in front of you is actually having the experience of the character that they are embodying. It’s a huge leap of empathy to connect with a stranger on a stage and I find it truly beautiful to experience.
Courtney: Getting attention and realising people would actually WATCH me while I played pretend - my very favourite thing to do!
How did Half Trick come about and how close have you been able to stick to the mission of the company?
Courtney: Caden Scott and I met doing student theatre in Auckland, New Zealand in 2014. We became best friends and creative partners. We made a lot of theatre, and eventually decided to crystallise all of the themes and content we love into one company when we moved to Edinburgh last year with our other two close collaborators, Alex Medland and James Wright. Our original mission statement was connected with Antonio’s Revenge and the Faustus Project - gory and irreverent versions of classic texts. Our mission has evolved a little bit over the year. Now it is: to stage irreverent reinventions of so-called untouchable classics. We’ve got a couple more things in the works after this that we’re really excited to get to as well.
What advice would you offer anyone wanting to start their journey in theatre?
Luke: Making theatre is a real roller coaster of emotion. Putting your heart and soul onto a stage and then watching people connect with it can be magical… It can also be nerve wracking! But never stop putting your work out there. Never stop learning and remember there is always an audience for your work, you just have to find them!
Courtney: Do it, b*tch. I dare you. Always get car insurance.
And finally, what would you like your 2024 fringe audiences to take away from The Faustus Project and Antonio’s Revenge?
Courtney: Flyers for whichever one they didn’t come to that night.