The winner of the Broadway Baby Bobby Brighton 2019 award has finally been announced: FAUX by Loose-Locked.
It’s been a year of real quality at Brighton Fringe this year, making it very hard to pick a winner. FAUX won out amongst stiff competition from shows as wide ranging as Janet, a hilarious tale that brought uncooked dough to life, and the latest from the truly brilliant A&E Comedy, winners of the Bobby in 2017.
However, FAUX’s clever way of taking a serious issue and making it engaging and accessible through charming puppetry and musical theatre won us over. A musical based in a vintage clothing shop, FAUX follows the story of a proprietor who finds her beliefs challenged when the items she is selling begin to come to life. Through a combination of puppetry, songs and comedy, FAUX aims to educate audiences about the increasing number of cases of real fur being sold as fake on British high-streets.
Isabel Pirillo, Performance Designer, Producer and Artistic Director of Loose-Locked, came to collect the Bobby at the superb Bacall’s bar in the Rialto, which was presented by Broadway Baby Brighton publisher, Nick Abrams.
‘FAUX was inspired after I took a trip to Sydney and saw a kitsch vintage shop filled with unusual items and pink faux fur. There was a fantastic lady who pretended to be a manikin,’ said Isabel, ‘She let me take photos afterwards and when I got home and looked through those photos, I realised how much taxidermy and fur there was.’ After hearing news stories about real fur being sold as fake, as well as cultural changes around animal welfare and fashion, such as the rise of veganism, the concept of FAUX was born.
The original script was written by Hannah Hopkins-Jones and Ben Price and made its debut at Camden Fringe last year. After Hannah Hopkins Jones and Bethan Kate-Tonkin reworked the script over the past year, they made it bigger and better than ever, ready for this year’s Brighton Fringe where they played at The Warren: The Hat.
What’s next for Loose-Locked? After their Bobby success, they hope to bring FAUX back to London and could even tour around schools. Our reviewer Simon Lovat asserted that ‘it wouldn’t surprise me if one day, in some form, it found itself in the West End’ and we certainly hope to see FAUX reaching new heights soon! We wish FAUX and all of our nominees the very best in the future and hope to see them back at Brighton Fringe 2020!
Nominees:
Witch Hunt by A&E Comedy
10 Things I Hate About Taming of the Shrew by Gillian English
How Disabled Are You? by The Queer Historian
Ensonglopedia of British History by John Hinton
Janet by Helen and John
Winner:
FAUX by Loose-Locked
