EDINBURGH 2019: This Time Q&A

BWW catches up with Ockham's Razor to chat about bringing This Time to the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about This Time.

It's an intergenerational circus theatre show. There are 4 performers : Faith (13), myself and my partner Alex (both 40) and Lee (60). It features acrobatics, doubles, triples and quadruples aerial, swinging cradle and we also tell true stories from our lives. It's a show about age and strength and the dynamics between different generations.

Why is it important to have a diverse cast?

In Traditional circus it was common to have whole families performing in shows so you would see the full range of human experience and possibility, toddlers and grandparents included. One of the losses of contemporary circus is that as the training has become professionalised the range of performers has narrowed and the vast majority of shows feature similar bodies and similar ages. We thought it would be a radical idea to make a contemporary circus show but with a cast of diverse age and experience. It really opened up the stories we can tell and it's a very different experience watching such extreme physical performance from a 13 year old and a 60 year old.

Why is circus the best medium to tell this story?

In circus people cradle, carry and hold each other, they enable each other to fly high above the ground and they also contain and limit and control each other's movement. All these dynamics are ones I certainly recognise from family life!

We have always treated circus as an emotional art form - the trust and reliance and play between people in circus can be deeply affecting and emotional without being sentimental which is what we were seeking for this show.

Who do you think should come and see it?

Anyone that's interested in seeing something genuinely innovative and different. It's moving and funny and thrilling and it will stay with you. People have said they wake up thinking about it.

What's next for the show after Edinburgh?

We set off on a UK tour in the autumn, then who knows, hopefully after Edinburgh we'll have the offer of a vast international tour!

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/ockham-s-razor-this-time

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