Edinburgh Fringe

 

Firstly I must apologise for my lack of posts of late.  I find it near impossible when Reilly is off school to access anything that actually plugs in – kettle, TV, DVD, Ipad, phone and laptop.  Its been a long 2 weeks so far Reilly is back to not allowing me  to eat or drink  anything when he is around the house which when he is at school is pretty manageable,  while he’s off it’s impossible.  His routine is out and it’s hard on him and in turn us.  But we do best we can and keep moving forward.

Behind the scenes it’s all systems go with The Life of Reilly play.  There is a show at The Cluny in Newcastle on Wednesday which is SOLD OUT and that will warm everyone up nicely for Edinburgh Fringe!  We will play there at TheSpace on the Mile from the 12th – 14th August (not 18th).  It is an incredible venue right in the heart of the festival.  I have to admit I did not realise how freaking massive Fringe is.  It wasn’t until I was flicking through the guide that it actually dawned on me that this is a huge deal for us.

The work going on alongside it is actually more than a full time job.  There’s hundreds of rehearsals obviously,  the Fringe version is only 50 minutes long so the original play has been cut massively.  It works though and I think it will be very popular with the die hard theatre goers who attend Fringe.   The cast are staying in caravans for the duration at Seton Sands a 15 minute train ride out of the centre.  Accommodation during Fringe is a bit like school holidays everything trebles so being such a large cast it was the only sensible option.  It’s taken a lot of planning and everyone in the production has really pulled together.  Scott our autistic actor is travelling back and forward daily which shows his absolute dedication to the play.  Edinburgh is busy and overwhelming at the best of times but Fringe takes it to another level.

This week we’ve been looking at ways to attract attention during Fringe.  We are already shortlisted for a SIT Up award which is Social Inclusion Theatre. This is fantastic and harnesses everything we stand for. We also need to grab the publics attention, never waste an opportunity to educate, be it on the streets or on the stage.

All in all i’m really excited, the reviewers can be brutal so gearing up for the good, the bad and the ugly! We know that audiences across the North East love The Life of Reilly with it’s thoroughly relatable characters, Northern humour and honesty.  Praying the Fringe participants will too. This play is worthy of any stage, wherever in the world as it’s message is a universal one of autism acceptance and love.

Come see it!  Life of Reilly Tickets.

Come say hi if you see us.  If you hear the Death March from Star Wars there may just be the cast of Life of Reilly in tow.

“To change the world, you must first change your mind” – Hendrix.

Let’s change some minds!

xx