Broadway Baby chats to the talent behind Iolite.
When we were in Edinburgh for the Fringe in 2013 it was a wonderful experience. The audiences were so enthusiastic, the atmosphere was great and the range of shows available to see was incredible. Also, the city had so much to offer, with things to see and do on every corner!
Tell us about your show
Iolite is a musical we have written ourselves. It follows the story of Iolite, from childhood, through a turbulent relationship and beyond. It is loosely based on a brief musical written for our school arts festival. Since then we have developed it, altered the story and written more songs. We have a young cast, talented musicians on piano, violin and cello and the music, lyrics and script were written by members of the cast. Our youngest member is 15 and oldest is 19.
Why did you decide to take your show to Space UK this year?
Whilst at school a few of us were lucky enough to perform at the Fringe, at the Space on Niddry Street, therefore when we decided we would like to premiere this musical at the Fringe the obvious choice was to contact the Space UK, who helped us to choose a suitable venue.
What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival?
The thing we are looking forward to most is all performing together, having the opportunity to put on a show we love and also to have the opportunity to see the numerous other shows and talent.
Why Edinburgh? What’s the attraction?
When we were in Edinburgh for the Fringe in 2013 it was a wonderful experience. The audiences were so enthusiastic, the atmosphere was great and the range of shows available to see was incredible. Also, the city had so much to offer, with things to see and do on every corner!
Have you brought a show to the festival before?
A few of us were members of a group from our school who performed a version of The Canterbury Tales in 2013.
What makes your show unique amongst the thousands of others at the festival?
This is a musical written by us, so it has never been performed before. We hope the music is unique and enjoyable. We also have an incredibly talented and enthusiastic group of musicians and actors putting on the musical.
What has been the biggest challenge in getting your show ready for Edinburgh?
Finding time to rehearse, given we now all study in different cities, and fund raising to ensure we have enough money to do the show justice.
Have you been to other venues at the festival?
Some of us have visited a number of venues at the festival, but a number of our group have not been to the festival before.
How did you create your show?
The music was written around the original idea for a story. An early version was shown at school. This was then re-written to develop the story further, the script was created and more music was written around the new play.
Can you tell us a bit about your company’s background?
Most of the group were at school together, some studying music, some drama and some English (our script writers). A group of us were involved in performing a brief musical in our school arts festival and we were keen to expand on this to take it to the Fringe, encouraged by our drama teachers. Along the way we have gained a few new members, including a sibling and a fellow musical theatre student of one of us, at Midlands Academy of Dance and Drama.
Production Company: Blue Lights
Venue: Space on the Mile Theatre 1
Dates: 11th-22nd August
Times: 13.50 (50 minutes)
