Theatre Group and Gone Rogue present ‘Hanging Bruce Howard’

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival, with the 2012 event taking place over 25 days, with 2,695 shows from 47 countries in 279 venues. It was established in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, and takes place annually in Scotland’s capital. The Fringe is a showcase for the performing arts, particularly theatre and comedy, and this year, SUSU’s Theatre Group will once again be making an appearance.

They will be taking up ‘Hanging Bruce-Howard’ which is an original piece of writing by Alexandra Bray. The show is extremely funny with standout performances from Jed Marshall and Caitlin Meredith. Below is a brief outline of the show:

Lloyd Bruce-Howard is an eccentric, middle aged actor long past his peak but looking for that second chance. That chance might just have arrived in the form of billionaire-turned-theatre producer Mr Lupowski, whom Lloyd plans to charm into commissioning the work of old friend Brian Mcleish and land himself the lead role. However his frivolous lifestyle manages to provide all manner of obstacles to his dream of returning to stardom.

I asked the directors, Will Kynaston and Mike Cottrell some questions:

How do you prepare for the Fringe?

There’s a lot of fundraising involved because it obviously costs a bit of money to get a show to Edinburgh. We’ve also had to up our game a bit because we are no longer just performing in the university bubble, we will be in a global and professional setting, and so preparing for that has not been easy, but it has been a brilliant learning experience.

How has the rehearsal process been so far?

We have had a lot of time to prepare and so rehearsals have been quite laid back and enjoyable for all involved. We’ve really bonded as a group and that really comes across in the performance. Also, the fact that it will be at the Fringe and everyone is paying a lot of money to be involved, we all have a vested interest in the production which has meant everyone has just got behind the show to help make it great.

How has it been working with an original script?

It’s actually been quite liberating. We’ve had permission from the writer to change bits and bobs around and mold each character around the performers.

Make sure you catch the previews which are happening on Campus this week. Check out the event for more details.