Gilded Balloon and Redbeard Theatre Present BORDERS
By: Stephi Wild Jan. 14, 2018
After winning Best Theatre at the 2016 Adelaide Fringe Awards with Echoes, and the Adelaide Critics' Circle Award in 2017 with Angel, three-time Fringe First Winner Henry Naylor returns to Holden Street Theatres, 34 Holden Street Hindmarsh, for the 2018 Adelaide Fringe for the Australian premiere of his multi-award-winning hit, Borders from 13 February to 18 March in The Studio. NOTE: both venue and performance times have changed since the 2018 Fringe Guide was published.
Winner of the Best of Edinburgh Fringe and The Scotsman Fringe Fist Award in 2017, Borders is the tale of two vastly different artists - operating on opposite sides of the planet. One is a well-known London-based paparazzo, who is almost as wealthy and famous as the B-List celebrities he photographs. The other is an anonymous Syrian graffiti artist, who risks her life trying to bring down the Assad regime. Told as two intercut monologues, their lives appear unrelated... until they collide in a shocking denouement.
Inspired by the playwright's encounters and interviews with refugees, Borders is a unique and humane take on the Syrian emergency, giving voice to the voiceless. Tackling Western inertia, it's an urgent, moving and occasionally hilarious commentary on one of the great crises of our times, and was one of the biggest hits at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
In addition to winning or being nominated for all four of Edinburgh's leading Theatre Awards, Borders was also one of the best reviewed shows, receiving an astonishing 21 five- and four-star reviews. The show's success will see Borders embark upon month-long transfers to London's leading off-West End venues, The Arcola, and to one of New York's leading off-Broadway venues, NYTW.
Henry Naylor has written for many of the UK's leading TV and radio shows (he was the Lead Writer on the celebrated Spitting Image). Since 2014, his series of Arabian Nightmares plays has become some of the most successful and acclaimed works on the international Fringe circuit - winning, and being nominated for a staggering 27 major international Fringe Awards. In Borders, Henry resumes his collaboration with director Michael Cabot, the artistic director of London Classic Theatre. They have been developing a minimalist style, aiming to strip theatre back to the essentials of script, performance and direction.
Henry Naylor's Arabian Nightmares trilogy - Echoes, Angel and The Collector - were published by Nick Hern Books in January 2017. The script of Borders has also been published.
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