EDINBURGH 2016: BWW Q&A - Labels

BroadwayWorld speaks to Michael Woodman, co-artistic director of Worklight, who produced hit Fringe show Labels.

Tell us a bit about Labels

When Joe was young, his Dad was told his surname might be preventing him from getting a job. So they changed it. It worked. Labels is an autobiographic show charting the writer & performer Joe Sellman-Leava's childhood in 90s rural Devon, and tells anecdotes from his childhood and also as an adult as he encounters prejudice and racism in everyday life. It's an incredibly personal, specific story but is quite universal in its message: simply to think twice before labelling people and making assumptions about them.

Why bring it back to Edinburgh?

Well, we feel the topic and content of the show is just as relevant now as it was a year ago - if not more so. The refugee crisis shows no sign of slowing down, questions of identity and what it means to be 'British' have been thrust into public consciousness by the EU referendum and we feel it's vital that there is a broad public discourse on that - and this is our way of contributing a little bit.

We also absolutely love this Fringe - it's a superb place to get the show seen by lots of people and to join artists who are making some brilliant, bold and bizarre work. We can't wait to be amongst it during August, meeting some wonderful people and seeing some great stuff.

What have you been up to since last year's Edinburgh run?

Gosh. Where to start?! Well, after last year's show at Pleasance we've been on an amazing UK tour of the show and we've also been fortunate enough to take the show to Perth and Adelaide in Australia for a couple of months too! It's been a bit of a whirlwind and it's such a privilege to be able to continue to tour the show and put it in front of new audiences night after night.

How has audience response been?

It's been wonderful. It's always fantastic to speak with people after the show and hear their stories and how the show resonates with them. I've been amazed at how many people have a name change, similar to Joe's family, in their family history and at how readily people share these stories. I think it's wonderfully empowering to hear these stories and for them to be shared after the show.

What's next for Labels?

Well, we're continuing our tour of the UK and also jetting off to the east coast of the US in the autumn, which we can't wait for. We feel that the message of the show and the responses it gets are important, so we'll be touring it as far and wide as we can. We've already got dates booked until spring 2017 so hopefully that continues. For us as a company, we'll be returning to Edinburgh in 2017 with a show responding to addiction in all its guises and how it affects society as a whole, called Fix.

Timings and ticket information for Labels can be found on the edfringe website.

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