I had the privilege of visiting Edinburgh during the Fringe Festival last week. I was there to meet with two theatre producers, both of whom are interested in bringing some of their work to The Holroyd, ahead of the celebrated Fringe Festival next year. The prospect of this is very exciting.

While there, naturally, I crammed in as many performances as possible from plays, musicals, spoken word, comedy and drag. As with everything, some of what I watched was outstanding and some were still trying to navigate their way. The word festival itself means celebration and that is precisely what each performance was, a celebration of all things artistic and creative.

Two pieces of theatre, in particular, made me think about the impact and power that theatre has on society, if you are fortunate enough to watch live theatre, that is. The pieces were, ‘Making A Murderer’ which is based on the hit Netflix series, and ‘About Money’, a sociopolitical piece of drama that highlights the struggles that working on a zero-hours contract has on already struggling families and how these contracts hinder the development of the people bound to them.

‘About Money’ was heartbreakingly honest; from the truthful acting to the beautifully-written script, by Eliza Geartly. This piece shone a light on issues that many of us are so far removed from, but without being a play that sharply rants and raves about the injustice in a way that becomes unwatchable. Rather, it showed us, through emotional and thought-provoking acting, how these issues impact real people. People who we know.

My reason for this blog is to highlight a well-considered and meaningful idea that both these productions implemented, an idea that I want to borrow, and bring into our space. At the end of each of these powerful productions, further support and information was available to the audience members. This included links to companies and charities who are reacting and responding to the issues, with takeaway literature, helplines and onsite support.

A practical idea like this could help somebody in the audience dealing with similar issues; encourage the general public to support a charity and help to highlight the struggles that many people deal with day-in-day-out. 

As The Holroyd Community Theatre continues to progress and develop, I am going to promote this approach with the external groups that use The Holroyd. From the initial booking through to the performance, if appropriate, we will ask our visiting companies if they would be willing to provide or highlight the support available connected to the issues raised in their performances. In addition to this, trigger warnings will be included in our listings.

Taking some time to visit and watch new productions is always inspiring. This trip has given me lots to think about, some thoughts are practical and some have raised my awareness. 

Hopefully, next year we will be able to offer some of the Fringe Festival performances before they arrive in Edinburgh. The Holroyd is more than capable of hosting all of the productions that I watched and more. We are technically set-up with an outstanding full-LED rig, sufficient sound, 180 seats, dressing rooms and a stunning foyer and bar area.

Michael Jenkins

Creative Director