Well, Paul O'Grady has given us another fabulous mention on his show! Last Sunday (31/08) he read out a note from two lovely people who had seen us in Edinburgh.
The note said: 'Dear Paul, Thank you so much for your recommendation of the play The Road to Skibbereen at the Edinburgh Fringe. It was excellent and very moving.' And he added 'I told you it was, didn't I? It's a lovely, lovely play.'
How good is that???
Thanks again, Paul. And thanks to Eileen and Rob - I hope I'm spelling your names right? - for taking the trouble to write in.
Cheers,
Kath
Friday 5 September 2014
Wednesday 3 September 2014
Smashing Audience Numbers
How's this for impressive news!
'The Stage' has just published figures for the 'average audience at an Edinburgh Fringe show' and it's 44 people! That's including for the big shows with big names in big venues. Many of our flyering colleagues were reporting numbers under 10 and some even had to cancel performances when no one showed up at all.
How about us??? Well we had an average of 57!! Even our quietest day was a pretty respectable 28 and we had two days in the high 80s. If we'd been in a typical 60-seat space, we'd have been a sell-out show!
Of course, the four- and five-star reviews helped, as did comments like 'Extremely compelling... Incredibly powerful.. Heart-breaking' from Broadway Baby, 'Lovely comic moments' from Edinburgh Spotlight, 'Unerring, captivating and deftly measured intensity' from EdFringe Review and 'Terrific performance' from The Scotsman.
We're also very grateful to Paul O'Grady who recommended the play as one of his four Edinburgh Fringe picks on his Radio 2 show the very night we opened. Having a little flasher on the flyers with 'Wonderful', Paul O'Grady, Radio 2 on it helped us enormously. Thanks, Paul!
What next for the play? We've got a couple of irons in the fire. Watch this space and be first to know our next move.
Meanwhile, many thanks for your support.
Cheers,
Kath
'The Stage' has just published figures for the 'average audience at an Edinburgh Fringe show' and it's 44 people! That's including for the big shows with big names in big venues. Many of our flyering colleagues were reporting numbers under 10 and some even had to cancel performances when no one showed up at all.
How about us??? Well we had an average of 57!! Even our quietest day was a pretty respectable 28 and we had two days in the high 80s. If we'd been in a typical 60-seat space, we'd have been a sell-out show!
Of course, the four- and five-star reviews helped, as did comments like 'Extremely compelling... Incredibly powerful.. Heart-breaking' from Broadway Baby, 'Lovely comic moments' from Edinburgh Spotlight, 'Unerring, captivating and deftly measured intensity' from EdFringe Review and 'Terrific performance' from The Scotsman.
We're also very grateful to Paul O'Grady who recommended the play as one of his four Edinburgh Fringe picks on his Radio 2 show the very night we opened. Having a little flasher on the flyers with 'Wonderful', Paul O'Grady, Radio 2 on it helped us enormously. Thanks, Paul!
What next for the play? We've got a couple of irons in the fire. Watch this space and be first to know our next move.
Meanwhile, many thanks for your support.
Cheers,
Kath
Sunday 24 August 2014
Scotsman on Saturday
The Scotsman review is out and it's clear we left them wanting more!
Reviewer Sally Stott describes the play as 'a well-observed' and 'heartfelt' and she has special praise for Jessica Corcoran's 'terrific performance', as Lianna. Encouraging writer, Angela Walsh, to develop the work further, Sally says 'it feels like we are just getting to know (the characters) when Lianna's mum... is leaving forever.'
Angela has been planning to expand the play to full-length, so it's great to know she's got The Scotsman's backing for the project. It'll be too long for the Fringe then so 'watch this space' to see where we take it.
And, if you haven't been in to see us, yet, better get your skates on as, incredibly, we've only got two shows left!!!!
See you there,
Cheers,
Kath
Reviewer Sally Stott describes the play as 'a well-observed' and 'heartfelt' and she has special praise for Jessica Corcoran's 'terrific performance', as Lianna. Encouraging writer, Angela Walsh, to develop the work further, Sally says 'it feels like we are just getting to know (the characters) when Lianna's mum... is leaving forever.'
Angela has been planning to expand the play to full-length, so it's great to know she's got The Scotsman's backing for the project. It'll be too long for the Fringe then so 'watch this space' to see where we take it.
And, if you haven't been in to see us, yet, better get your skates on as, incredibly, we've only got two shows left!!!!
See you there,
Cheers,
Kath
Wednesday 20 August 2014
Five Star Review
'I've got news! I've got news!'
Not only a line from the play but true! And it's great news, too.
Today we got a five star review from Broadway Baby, and you can't get better than that!
In summary, they said:
Here's the full review:
Not only a line from the play but true! And it's great news, too.
Today we got a five star review from Broadway Baby, and you can't get better than that!
In summary, they said:
Extremely compelling… Incredibly powerful… Heart-breaking
Here's the full review:
by Kyung Oh on
20th August 2014
Lianna is
a young woman with learning disabilities. Ever since her father died three
years ago, her mother has had the full-on task of taking care of her by
herself. The show opens with Lianna throwing a tantrum, while her mother tries
to coax her into getting ready for her first day at a local college, where she
is to take drama classes.
It is an extremely
compelling depiction of the strength of a beautiful character who finds her
path to self-actualisation in spite of her disability.
The show
alternates between scenes set at Lianna’s home with her mother and the ones set
in the drama classes at college. The drama class discuss Macbeth
together and rehearse for an upcoming performance. The supporting cast that
play Lianna’s classmates and her teacher put on an excellent performance. The
classmates show a lovable joy for acting and a genuine, child-like curiosity
for the text of Macbeth, while the teacher is charming, patient and
adept at leading the class discussions to fruitful grounds. As the play
progresses, Lianna brings in what she has seen from her relationship with her
mother into making astute observations of Lady Macbeth.
I cannot
give enough praise to Jessica Corcoran, playing the role of Lianna. She
perfectly portrays the transformation (rendered so brilliantly by the script)
from self-centred and stubborn at first, to becoming a young woman full of
courage, who resolves to take care of her mother by herself. It is incredibly
powerful to see her find her feet and learn to make friends that she cares for
and trusts as well as realising her talents as an actress. Meanwhile, she also
struggles with the guilt that she might have exhausted her mother into falling
into illness. Angela Walsh - who has written the script - also deserves ample
praise for her role as Lianna’s mother. Full of concern for her disabled
daughter, she is tired but tries as best as she can; once she realises that her
mind has begun to falter, the way she copes and the dissolution of her
character are heartbreaking to watch.
It is a
very powerful script, which has won the award for best production at the Write
Now Festival. It is an extremely compelling depiction of the strength of a
beautiful character who finds her path to self-actualisation in spite of her
disability. One of the later scenes with the mother’s letter was especially moving
- I was in tears, sobbing by the end, and so were the majority of the audience
members.
Tuesday 19 August 2014
Over Half -way
Wow!
It seems like only yesterday we were planning this - now the show is just over half-way through the Edinburgh run!
We've been getting fabulous audiences who have loved the play and given us some great feedback.
It certainly has helped to be one of only four fringe shows recommended by Paul O'Grady on his Radio 2 Sunday show a couple of weeks ago. There has also been a great buzz about the show with people who have seen it recommending it to others.
Were still waiting for some heavy-hitting reviewers to publish their thoughts but so far our favourite review comments are:
It seems like only yesterday we were planning this - now the show is just over half-way through the Edinburgh run!
We've been getting fabulous audiences who have loved the play and given us some great feedback.
It certainly has helped to be one of only four fringe shows recommended by Paul O'Grady on his Radio 2 Sunday show a couple of weeks ago. There has also been a great buzz about the show with people who have seen it recommending it to others.
Were still waiting for some heavy-hitting reviewers to publish their thoughts but so far our favourite review comments are:
'This was a deeply
thought-provoking work, which was deftly conveyed by the entire cast and... well worth seeing. The
writer’s own performance as Lianna’s mother Nora was a particular highlight ' Ben Horton, EdFringeReview
'There
are some lovely comic moments that happen so quickly they take the audience by
surprise.' Isabella Fraser, Edinburgh Spotlight
'Walsh’s
play is both a winning personal story and an authentic treatment of difficult
societal issues.
Lead Jessica Corcoran... (plays) Lianna with an unerring,
captivating, and deftly measured intensity.' Ben Hickey, EdFringeReview
Watch this space, or follow us on Twitter @TheRoadToSkibb for more news as we move into our final week.
Cheers,
Kath
Tel: 0793 523 1013
kathrynrperry@gmail.com
kathrynrperry@gmail.com
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