This August, Barrowland Ballet presents two shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year – Chunky Jewellery and Wee Man.
Chunky Jewellery is co-created by the company’s Artistic Director Natasha Gilmore, Jude Williams and Ben Duke of Lost Dog. Performed by Natasha Gilmore and Jude Williams, it explores their friendship in a year that saw two births, a death, 18 bursts of laughter, 34,000 tears (each) and one piece of chunky jewellery.
Wee Man, also by Natasha Gilmore, is a powerful and highly physical dance-theatre performance. Performed by an all-male cast of both men and teenagers, this candid and compelling work explores the shifting – and stubbornly static – rules of masculinity across generations.
We chatted to Natasha about the works to discover more…
Q: Thanks for chatting with us, Natasha! Could you tell us about Barrowland Ballet and the work you’re presenting this year.
A: This year, Barrowland Ballet is bringing two different productions to the Fringe. Chunky Jewellery is a personal, autobiographical piece created alongside Jude Williams and Ben Duke. It’s a comedy that uses dance, theatre and music to present itself as a kind of unconventional love story — one that honours deep friendship and the families we choose for ourselves.
Wee Man is a powerful piece performed by a cast of teenage boys and adult men. It uses dance, poetry and spoken word to explore ideas around masculinity, through the lens of two generations.
Q: Who are your collaborators on the shows?
A: Chunky Jewellery is a co-creation between myself, Jude Williams and Ben Duke of Lost Dog.
We have a solid team that includes Vicki Manderson as Associate Director, Davey Anderson as Composer, Shizuka Hariu as Designer and Elle Taylor as Lighting Designer.
Davey Anderson actually stars as a performer in Wee Man that I created, with a team that includes Luke Sutherland as Composer, Elle Taylor as Lighting Designer, Tim Reid as Designer and Costume with Associate Jenny Booth and Text by Kevin P. Gilday in collaboration with the boys and men of the piece.
Q: How does it feel to take your work (whether it’s a new or ‘old’ work!) to this festival?
A: I absolutely love the Fringe so I’m excited for it!
Whilst I’ve presented work at the Fringe, I haven’t performed in a work of my own in the Festivals since Conversation with Carmel in 2011. It may be physically and mentally challenging but I’m ready for the challenge, as it’s also going to be thrilling to dance and perform again.
Q: Why is it important to have festivals and platforms like Made in Scotland in the current climate, especially a festival spotlighting Scottish artists and dancers.
A: To celebrate power art forms and a wealth of talent.
I think it’s also to unpick set rules of society. With Wee Man, for example, it’s interesting or perhaps sad, that young boys and men don’t always feel welcome within dance spaces.
In Scotland you can visit any local dance school and you’ll see a room full of young girls expressing themselves and being physical, so it seems outrageous that the rules of masculinity that we have created don’t always allow men to connect with the art form.
There’s something powerful about a large group of men dancing together, so I think there’s work still to be done there.
Q: What do you hope the dancers in the work and audience watching will experience?
A: For me, it’s to represent the themes of each work through dance, movement, theatre, poetry and for audiences to connect with it.
With Chunky Jewellery, it’s to represent the playfulness of mine and Jude’s relationship, and to represent middle aged women, single mothers and friendship.
With Wee Man, it’s to explore masculinity, including the tenderness and strength of boys and young men.
Chunky Jewellery is presented at Music Hall, Assembly Rooms from Friday 1 August – Sunday 24 August (not 6, 12, 18, 19), 13:30 – 14:45, as part of the Made in Scotland Showcase.
Wee Man is presented at Assembly@Dance Base from Tuesday 5 August – Sunday 17 August (not 11), 19:00 – 20:00.
Header image by Andrew Perry.