Jake Mace
Trish Lyons is the writer-performer of upcoming EdFringe show BUZZ – which she describes as ‘stand-up tragedy’ using dark humour and poetry to unpack a stalking in Toronto, a suicide in London, a breakdown and time in a mental hospital. Lyons’ storied personal and professional history as a Fine Art lecturer and post-punk frontwoman blends into the show’s unique storytelling style.
You can catch BUZZ from July 31st to 24th August (not the 11th or 18th) at Assembly Rooms (Front Room) from 15:30 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Trish – your show is described as being about seeing and being seen, of disappearing and of witnessing – tell us what you mean by that and what’s inspired the show.
Trish: We all need to be seen, it is essential to our psychological well-being, but what happens when being seen becomes dangerous, when someone is being stalked, as I was, which I talk about in BUZZ. This is when disappearance becomes a matter of survival. It raises questions about the nature of appearance and seeing. As a visual artist seeing and appearance are fundamental on the level of aesthetics but what does it mean when it is a matter of life and death? I also witnessed a suicide which haunted me for years. This caused me to question what it means to be a witness, as opposed to being a spectator. What I discovered as a witness is our own subjectivity is at stake.
Jake: Tell us about what the audience can expect coming into the show, and what they might not expect about the show.
Trish: I describe the show as a stand-up tragedy which rightly implies that the show is rather serious nonetheless, I’ve written in some funny little bits. It should be noted that my director Lee Brock wisely advised me, to never expect any laughs. She says this to all actors and comedians that she works with. Here’s a little secret from the show: I have made some small hand-held props (that’s the visual artist in me) which have an interactive element.
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Trish: Although I deal with very personal material – I hope that the audience will take away a message of the redemptive power of art. On a very personal level I would love it if the work triggered conversations about buried traumas because as painful as it is, talking about traumas has a profoundly healing effect.
Jake: With Edinburgh Fringe 2025 just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Trish: I absolutely love clowning so there are 3 clowns that I don’t want to miss. I noted that Julia Masli is coming back to The Fringe. Her show HaHaHa in 2023 left me dumbstruck. I’ll also be looking out for Sam Blythe who last year did a one-man clown show of Hamlet that moved me to tears. I also don’t want to miss Elf Lyons’ The Bird Trilogy.
Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Trish: BUZZ is a Mexican Martini (aka a Margarita) – a bittersweet drink with lots of salty reality and plenty of poetry from the heart of the agave plant.
A reminder, you can catch BUZZ from July 31st to 24th August (not the 11th or 18th) at Assembly Rooms (Front Room) from 15:30 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Image Credit: Joe Mazza
