Wycombe Abbey at the Fringe
27 September 2022 - All
This summer, 13 Lower Sixth girls trekked up to a sunny Edinburgh to visit the Fringe Festival. Accompanied by Mr Harrington and Mrs Woodward, we stayed for five nights and performed our very own play on three of those nights. However, this is only the end of our Fringe story, as you can imagine it began months prior to these performances.
It has always been a dream of mine to go to the Edinburgh Fringe, it is no surprise with its promise of three weeks of hundreds upon hundreds of productions and even a potential sighting of Phoebe Waller-Bridge. So, when the School supported my plea to direct a show, words cannot describe how overjoyed I was. At the time it felt like years away, little did I know quite how quickly the months working towards it would pass. I searched through many plays, toying back and forth between them but eventually settling on DNA by Dennis Kelly. A dark, angsty comedy about teenagers felt very appropriate for the occasion.
Though I have been in School plays before, I have never directed; it certainly came with many new challenges to overcome but also taught me irreplaceable lessons for life. The cast worked extremely hard juggling the extensive number of rehearsals alongside the stresses of LVI. However, it was all entirely worth it in the end and each of the three performances in Edinburgh went amazingly well with every member’s talent displayed. They did me very, very proud.
We had great turnouts each night and one evening a professional reviewer visited; an Editor-in-Chief of Broadway Baby sat in the audience! We were thrilled with his 4-star review and honoured he chose to come.
While in Edinburgh we also had the opportunity to explore the city, walking through the vibrant streets, watching other Fringe shows and eating delicious food before coming back, absolutely exhausted. I have already heard how many of the cast plan to return to the Fringe next year whether in a play or just to watch, and I know for a fact that I can join them in that wish. It was wonderful and honestly, like a dream come true.
Pheobe, UVI
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