There's something special and unique about fringe theatre. It holds its own special magic in that it totally takes over your life for a very short space of time, and even though you probably haven't got paid for it, you feel like a professional - even if the venues are a little unusual!
I was first introduced to fringe theatre when I was asked to be involved in the Arundel Festival Theatre Trail, eight plays played at eight different venues over eight days. I jumped at the chance, of course, as I had never done anything like this before. The Arundel Festival was slowly but surely growing in esteem, and I thought it might be a good chance for me to get spotted doing what I love best. Bearing in mind, I was still working my day job at this time and had no inkling that it would be coming to an end in a couple of years, so this was all still a 'hobby' for me.
My first piece was Life Class by William Kenning, directed by my good friend and long term am dram colleague Pennie. I was playing a reclusive genius who had invented the various different types of puzzle you would come across in your daily newspaper. He had made a fortune doing this, his puzzles being published in every national newspaper in the UK and several around the world, so he was able to live very comfortably with his disabled sister who was an artist who specialised in life drawings.
The play deals specifically with him meeting one of the models, a woman who is very confident and assured compared to his shy reclusive demeanour, something he immediately finds attractive but would not dare say anything about to her face. When her commission to the artist is over, unbeknownst to her he commissions a painting of her for himself, just so that he can continue seeing her. When she finds this out, she at first thinks he is some sort of pervert, but then he pours his heart out to her about the accident that he caused which put his sister in a wheelchair which led him to become the way he is around people, and she forgives him for commissioning the painting behind her back. It then becomes obvious to her that he is interested in her and she decides to make the first move and asks him out, much to his delight. He looks around his room at the mounds of newspapers he has accumulated over the years, grabs a black sack and starts shoving them into it with a big grin on his face. Blackout.
It was a lovely piece, very well written, and the venue, the old jailhouse under Arundel Town Hall did not seem detract from the action. If anything, it made it that much more intimate, and it was my introduction to not only fringe theatre, but also to the closeness of the audience that such little productions generated. I got a real kick out of it.
Over the next four or five years, I was asked back again every year, and on a couple of occasions I was asked to do two different plays! That was always interesting, working the rehearsal periods out with two different directors, learning two different 30-40 minute scripts, performing as two distinct characters in different situations. I am very grateful for those times as it kept my mind sharp and gave me the ability to compartmentalise, something that would stand me in good stead as time went on.
So far, I have played a reclusive genius, a Jewish psychiatrist on the run from Nazi Germany, an attempted murderer, a car driver in an accident, a journalist, an ex con, and a marketing exercise host. I can only imagine what I'm going to be doing there next!
Next time: Turning to the Dark Side.
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