Edinburgh Fringe Q&A: MEAT

Tell us about your show and what audiences can expect?

Both HoneyBEE and MEAT are multi-medium solo shows, merging stand-up with spoken word with dance with music. The shows are two tight unforgettable hours that leave audiences uplifted. I want to make work that makes people feel less alone; that starts conversations and asks questions. Work that transports audiences elsewhere, makes them want to give their inner child a cuddle and then play a game with them. Work that diminishes shame, alleviates it from festering in silence. Work that leaves audiences with hope. My art is activism; my art is an antidote to the hopeless.

Can you talk about some of the creative team involved?

MEAT, my second play, has been an exciting collaboration with the biggest team I’ve ever worked with: Porscha Present and Rachel Barnes on composition and music, Xana on sound design, Roann McCloskey and Len Gwynn directing, Paul Moss and Emily Rose Oldroyd co-producing with myself, Melanie Gleeson on Movement support and Marketing, and Chess Dillon-Reams choreographing. We’ve all worked extraordinarily hard on this and I’ve been so grateful to be supported by so many brilliant creatives.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your work, both in terms of creation and performance?

My ideas for writing come from art I’ve watched, or listened to, or read; conversations I’ve had, questions that percolate in my brain and start to infiltrate dreams. I have ADHD so my work is rarely made with a traditional linear storyline or form, and after feeling initially like it wasn’t ‘clever enough’ to be taken seriously, I’m really excited by pushing the boundaries and expectations of what theatre can be. I’m driven to make work that starts conversations and provides a different perspective. Artists like Kae Tempest, Jasmine Gardosi, Jade Anouka, Colin Hoult, Salena Godden, Antler Theatre, Pecho Mama, Chris Bush, Self Esteem inspire me and excite me.

Looking at this production, how would you say it links to previous work personally and thematically?

It links to my last play HoneyBEE (also showing at the Pleasance this year) in terms of its multi-genre nature. MEAT has seen an elevation in my practice with having music throughout – I have created an original score for this show which is something I haven’t done before. I have received funding to do an R&D which has allowed me to hire creatives and amazing musical minds. One day I’d love to be working with a live band onstage.

Why is this an important story to tell?

I haven't seen anything like MEAT onstage before, it’s difficult and has taken a long time to develop. But shame breeds in silence. I can’t cure or conquer any of this subject matter in an hour, I can start conversations, I can provide a sense of community and hope.

What would you like audiences to take away from seeing this production at the Fringe?

Joy. Awareness Autonomy. Community. A feeling they are seen and heard. Hope.

Do you tend to take inspiration from events happening in the world around you in terms of your work? Do you think artists have a responsibility to respond to what's happening?

I make work inspired by that which is around me. Around questions I have and the conversations that keep me up at night. I'm not here to lecture, I don't claim to be an expert, I do want to empower people, I do know that right now my two shows have activism thematically woven into them, I do know that telling people off for an hour doesn’t work and can be dull. I want to find joyful play in the gloom, hope in the messy, light in the dark. I think it's an artist's responsibility to make art, it doesn't have to be inherently political or reflective of society. There is as much to be said for escapism and entertainment for entertainment's sake. That is enough.

How do you feel about the current arts landscape in the UK and your part in it?

Does it excite you and inspire you to keep pushing the boat out? It worries me. It's hard to make work as a working class artist, under a Tory government which sees the arts as non essential, it marginalises who gets to make work and limits the representation of voices we get to hear. Making solo work is a slightly more financially viable way of making it work but I'm still, a lot of the time, being pushed to the brink of burn out. I’m more determined than I was when I was younger but I don't feel like the current arts landscape is sadly always one of inspiration. We all wanted to build back better after the pandemic and I'm afraid we haven't.

What can the wider arts community do to get more people involved in their specific disciplines?

Make art for them, and not for reviewers. Get them involved and empowered within artistic spaces. Make it financially viable to be involved.

What’s next for you and how are you feeling about the future in general?

I am hopeful, enough of us are talking about the issues within the industry and new work is emerging that is brave and bold and exciting. Those that can take risks, often are. I’d love to tour my two plays post Fringe. I’m ambitious and excited and also aware post 2020 that none of us ever know what's around the corner so it’s a reminder to take each day as it comes.

How can Edinburgh audiences keep up with you beyond the festival?

Via my website: elledillonreams.com, Instagram or Twitter.