The SwanWing Team take two shows up to Edinburgh Fringe 2022, returning with a new variant of last year's hit show 'Love in the Time of Lockdown' and a new show first produced at the Battle Medieval Mystery Fair in June 2022, 'Battle: A Modern Mystery Play'.
Edinburgh, the Fringe in 2021, was an unusual experience to say the least. It was quiet, everyone was still worried about Covid and the staff at The Space were extremely strict about get-outs and fresh air. At the same time, there was such a buzz – finally, people could see live theatre again, actors were allowed to perform. Into this we brought our brand new show Love in the Time of Lockdown, written during the pandemic’s worst hours, rehearsed on zoom and outdoors. Actors eventually daring to bubble together, rewriting the stories so as not to risk their own health. It was a great success, 9 sold out performances, lovely reviews, and the play went on to have a total of 24 showings elsewhere. While the SwanWing ensemble, 5 women and a man, was sharing time in their B&B a new script idea was born: A play about war and women. Taking the small town of Battle near Hastings as a starting point and the York Mystery Plays as an inspiration, the Battle play was conceived and became frighteningly contemporary with the war starting in Ukraine. Stories of mothers sending their sons and husbands into battle filled our writers head. At the same time, tales about people’s situations in Lockdown kept pouring in, convincing us that they still needed to be told, too. So here we now have two plays with a cast of 4 – Battle and Love in the Time of Lockdown, everyone playing between 8 and 10 different characters, the writer also stepping in once to make up another. As universal experiences go, everyone will find relatable thoughts and emotions in these plays which are sometimes sad, sometimes funny, sometimes outrageous and often tough to listen to. And afterwards you will want to talk to a friend and share your stories and experiences, too. So put the kettle on!