Edinburgh Fringe 2022
Interview
Rachel Causer
Please, Feel Free To Share
Finalist: Popcorn Writing Award 2021
Pleasance Courtyard (The Attic)
Aug 3-14, 17-29, 12:50 / Tickets
June 29, 2022
Please, Feel Free to Share is a dynamic, darkly comic, one-woman show about our personal addictions, the never-ending pursuit of likes, and our growing desire to share all.
Hi Rachel, thank you for talking to The New Current, how have you been keeping during these strange times?
Hi! Thanks so much for talking to me to. They’ve been strange times indeed, ‘unprecedented’ some might say but I’ve been keeping well overall. I was lucky to have a great support system in my company, Scatterjam, as well as (mostly) feeling able to work on new things.
How does it feel to heading to Edinburgh Fringe after everything that has happened?
It feels surreal, but incredibly exciting. We were first programmed in 2020, right before it all unfolded, so this has been a long time coming and I’m proud to say that the show is in a really strong place because of that extra development time.
Will there be any nerves ahead of your first show at The Pleasance?
Yes! Lots! It’s my/our first full run so it will be a steep learning curve for sure, but it feels like the next step in my career and the team at The Pleasance are so supportive of us and the show that I know we will be in safe hands there.
Have you got your The Royal Mile sales patter down for August or are you still tweaking it?
Getting there… I feel like there are two ways to go with it, aren’t there? There’s the nonchalant ‘Come and see this – you won’t regret it’ and the more enthusiastic ‘COME AND SEE US RIGHT NOW PLEASE!’. I think we’ll go for a mix of the two – something like ‘This show is funny, dark and moving – and it’s for anyone who’s ever felt like they didn’t want to be themselves for a bit’
Can you tell me a little bit about Please, Feel Free To Share, what can we expect?
Please, Feel Free to Share is a dynamic, darkly comic one-woman show about our personal addictions, the never-ending pursuit of likes and our growing desire to share everything in our lives. I first wrote it because I was absolutely fascinated with the long-term effects of editing yourself online – especially with growing phenomena like Instagram dysphoria and ‘sad-fishing’ and I wanted to see what those things might look like when projected into a real-life, offline situation.
When you preview a show how much does it change before a major festival and do you still allow yourself some flexibility once a run has started?
Well this is our first time so we will be learning on the job but I think you need to keep a show flexible, within reason, so that you can adapt to the needs of the audiences, venue and festival as it progresses. There also might be tweaks to be made to find new things and keep making new discoveries in the text as we go.
Have you always had a passion for theatre?
Very much so. Since making my parents listen to the ‘shows’ and ‘performances’ I would put on as a child, I don’t think there’s been much doubt that this is what I would end up doing. I love it and it’s a hard industry, but I believe in its value too much to ever give it up.
"The fringe is an incredibly inspiring place and when I’ve been in the past, I have been blown away by the array of talent and ideas all together in one place."
What has been the most interesting thing you have discovered about yourself and the theatre you want to create after making this show?
This show has taught me to trust my writer’s voice more, that if something feels slightly difficult to share with others, then that means you’ve said something vulnerable, and likely truthful, that might resonate with audiences in a meaningful way. Also, that theatre really does take a village, and if you like the village that you create work with, to appreciate every little thing they do to support you. I’ve found that in this Scatterjam team.
What one word best describes your show?
Exposing.
In-between your show, do you hope to get a chance to see other shows at the fringe?
Absolutely. I will probably have to be careful not to overdo it actually because there is so, so much I want to see. The fringe is an incredibly inspiring place and when I’ve been in the past, I have been blown away by the array of talent and ideas all together in one place.
What has been the best piece of advice you have been given?
Not to worry about things you can’t control. Although whether I can always put it into practice is another thing…
Do you have a favourite theatre quote?
“We’re all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” – Oscar Wilde
(It’s also in our play!)
And finally, what do you hope your audiences will take away from Please, Feel Free To Share?
I hope audiences have a good time first and foremost! And I hope they see something truthful in Alex, about why feels like she has to lie about who she is, as well as maybe thinking just a second longer before editing something about themselves online and why they want to do that.