Jake Mace
One man’s passion and career have intertwined for decades – but as an aging violinist locks horns with bullish orchestra management, how close can he stay to his love of Bach and music? 2foolish productions are set to answer this question in the return of I Believe in One Bach to Dundee Fringe. We reviewed the piece at last year’s festival – a two-hander written and performed by Chris Brannick alongside the show’s director Karen Kirkup.
We caught up with Chris for a pixelated pint to see where the show is heading now, and what audiences can expect from this quirky, thought-provoking drama.
You can catch I Believe in One Bach as part of Dundee Fringe. Tickets are available through the Dundee Fringe Box Office.
Jake: Hi Chris! Tell us about I Believe in One Bach and the journey you’ve been on with the show so far.
Chris: Karen and I have always done plays with a musical idea behind it, and I Believe in One Bach is based on the music of… well… Bach. Although it has comedy in it, the themes are very dark and – we hope – profound. This play started, about 10 years ago, as a short story. For a while, I’d been haunted by the idea of a musician becoming so absorbed into the music that they actually become the music and transcend into a higher plane.
Easy enough to do in a story… a bit harder to do on a stage.
Quite often, our creative process is that I start to write a play, and as we’re going along, Karen (the other half of Two Foolish, who directs all our plays) will have ideas about how to stage it, and that will inform how I write and edit.
I’m always in awe of her ability to ‘see’ a play on stage, and to let the words talk in an unfussy way, but this time she absolutely outdid herself.
I don’t want to give too much away, of course, but in this case, the staging is the star. Three simple white wooden boxes become a bench, desk, church pew, rostrum, desk of violins… all in a simple white, ethereal way that lets the audience use their imagination.
It premièred at the Brighton Fringe in 2022 and we were blown away by the audience response. The Brighton Fringe Review said it was ‘extraordinarily well-written… the finest new short play of the Fringe’, so we were determined to keep the play alive, to keep performing and improving and polishing it.
We’re really proud of this play – and we think it’s worth 50 minutes of your time!
Jake: So what’s the inspiration behind telling this story in particular?
Chris: I’ve spent most of my career as a professional classical musician, and so writing about musicians, their worries and cares and hopes, was natural – but making that a universal experience that would resonate with everyone was what I wanted to achieve.
Most people get to retire from their jobs. Unless you’re in an orchestra or other salaried position, you just don’t get that choice as a musician (or any other artform). You just become less and less competent, and you have to hope that the skills and experience you build outweigh the inevitable deterioration that comes with age, but at some point… it doesn’t.
This story will particularly connect with anybody who’s wondering what direction their life is taking them in, and anyone who’s ever questioned their life’s purpose – which makes it pretty much anyone, of course.
Jake: Then what are you hoping the audience take away from the experience?
Chris: The audience response has been really powerful – as I say, there are often tears. We want people to feel moved, but also empowered and uplifted. The final scene – no spoilers here – is set to the final music of Bach’s B Minor Mass and the music on its own is moving… add to that what’s going on for the main character, and it can become really emotional.
We want people to think about who they are, how they relate to their job, and to think about what it is that defines them. Big themes!
Jake: Now that we’re gearing up for Fringe, what are you most excited for?
The vibe of the Dundee Fringe is fabulous – we were here last year and the range of shows is fantastic. This is a show that’s developing and every time we bring it out, we find new areas to explore and new ways to reinterpret the dialogue. The small spaces of the Keiller Centre allow us to really engage with the audience and the raw passion of the second half of the play can become really emotional – we frequently have members of the audience in tears.
It’s also great to be able to catch other Fringe shows, of course. It’s inspiring to feed off the energy and ideas of other artists. While we’re there, Scott Redmond’s Gap Year Wanker and the show Chatterbox look great, so we’ll try to catch at least one of those, and of course, Imaginary Porno Charades is unmissable. Did we mention that alongside the extraordinary Heather-Rose Andrews, in 2019 we were the Champion of Champions winning team?
Dundee’s a fun place to visit, too, so our down time will be spent visiting the V&A and we didn’t spend enough time last year at the McManus art gallery – which was just amazing.
Jake: Fitting with the themes of our magazine, if your show was an alcoholic beverage (think cocktails, shots, beers, be creative!) what would it be?
Chris: That’s a tough one – there are so many options! Bach was reputed to drink up to 30 cups of coffee a day, so you’d probably want it to be something coffee inspired. On the other hand, there’s evidence that on an all-expenses paid trip to Halle (paid for by the church), he was downing nearly 5 pints of beer a day.
So we’re going to go for three options – the reader can choose!
- Alan, the main character of the play, becomes disillusioned with his place in the orchestra, so maybe a pint of bitter would get you in his mood.
- Capture the coffee theme with a brisk espresso martini?
- Go adventurous with the idea of beer and have a Lagerita – a Margarita topped with a Mexican lager.
Phoebe Bakker
