EDINBURGH 2022: BLOCK'D OFF Q&A

BWW catches up with Kieton Saunders-Browne to chat about bringing Block'd Off to the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Block'd Off.
Block'd Off is a very powerful and honest collection of stories and experiences from London's diverse working-class (and middle-class) following a handful of characters trying to escape their unfortunate circumstances. It is a play written with representation and compassion at the forefront. There is a bittersweetness to these shared experiences, and it gives us a birds eye view on the social issues that have been relevant in this country for decades.

Why is it so important to tell these stories?
This story talks about the cycle of deprivation, which is often just stigmatised as 'the poor choose to be poor' or whatever shade of that phrase you may have heard. I believe that anyone who watches this play will at least come out questioning that thought. I think that art has the power to change minds from the inside unlike anything else; almost like Inception. When using emotion as a tool we are able to communicate things that would otherwise be seen as an attack or brushed off and labelled as preaching. Stories like these are necessary because, in a way, they are the last hope for political and social change. I don't want class to be a dirty word anymore.

What is the Generate Fund and how important has it been in getting this play to Edinburgh?
The Pleasance Theatre's Generate Fund, for Black, Asian and Global Majority Artists, provides financing, mentorship and programming opportunities to support UK-based Global Majority artists in bringing their work to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It is without a doubt that I would not be able to bring this play to Edinburgh without this support. Edinburgh is such a financial risk that I honestly didn't even dream of it until we applied and were selected as a recipient, so it is a massive deal and a gamechanger for sure.

Who do you hope comes to see Block'd Off?
If you are someone who cares about/has an opinion on the Class System and its effects, or lack of effects, on one's life, then you need to see this play. The demographic of Edinburgh unfortunately doesn't mirror the representation in the play, but I don't think this is a bad thing altogether. I see it as an opportunity to start even more conversations. About government, about interpersonal relationships, about representation, and so much more.

What would you like audiences to take away from the play?
I'd have done my job as the writer of this play if people come away either feeling represented or more informed. I want people to start conversations in their own lives, to empower allies and provide them with another perspective. I want audiences to see that stigma and ignorance can be as deadly a weapon as any, on both sides of any ideology. In an age where we are at the whim of our social echo-chambers and the media's false representation, above all, I want audiences to see working-class people speaking about working-class people on a stage they ordinarily wouldn't be able to.

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