Jake Mace
Eleanor May Blackburn is the writer-performer of upcoming EdFringe theatre piece A Sudden, Disturbing To Do List. Eleanor plays Phoebe, the self-described ‘queen of lists’, who finds herself confronted by a giant fluffy monster when her lists become a ‘list-a-thon’. We caught up with Eleanor for a pixelated pint to find out more about what inspired the show.
You can catch A Sudden, Disturbing To Do List from August 11th to 23rd at Mint Studio at Greenside @ George Street from 21:00 (50mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Eleanor! Your show A Sudden, Disturbing To Do List, explores your relationship to lists, alongside toxic work ethic, OCD, and learning to come to terms with who you are. Tell us about what inspired you to write the show.
Eleanor: Hey! It’s actually pretty wild because this is my 3rd solo show in 5 years and the first time I’ve strayed from the complete and utter autobiographical, this time- it’s a semi. You might think that semi-autobiographical work would free you up as a writer but I found it really challenging! I kept telling myself, well you can’t put that in because that didn’t happen to you did it? So I gave the show a different character name and decided to root it more deeply in the absurd. I created a dark comedy where lists get so out of control they manifest themselves as a physical entity: a pink fluffy monster called Fred. I couldn’t possibly explain why the lists in the play get so overwhelming they come to life 😉 I feel like with toxic work ethic so rife in 2025 there’s definitely times that we probably all feel like we have a little monster sat on our shoulder or breathing down our neck telling us to keep working or remind us yet again just how much we failed.
I have always been a list maker, I feel like most people are or aren’t. Well I definitely am. I’m pretty embarrassed that I stick ‘shower’ on my to do list most days and I write hundreds of them, I didn’t link this to OCD until more recently when it started to feel like it might be becoming a little bit of a problem. You’ll have to watch the show to see the finale but I think our list monsters are definitely not all bad- at times we can certainly live in almost harmony, but when it’s threatening to gobble you up: you might wanna leave the house for a minute.
The piece started as a 10 minute short at a scratch night in the north that I absolutely love: Leeds Pub Theatre. I just tend to word vomit my thoughts and then deal with refining them later. The 10 minute version went down really well and I thought “wouldn’t it be nice if I could make this into a fringe show, but I’d never be able to afford it as a freelancer”, then I got Keep it Fringe funding and I thought “well now we have to write it!”
Jake: As a disabled, neurodivergent, queer, working-class theatremaker, tell us about your process for creating work and how you approach it.
Eleanor: I’m ashamed to admit I don’t always approach the development process in a way that’s quite as caring and access orientated with myself, as I would with other members of a team (when I have the luxury of working with some!) There’s toxic work ethic in the show for a reason and I’m not always kind to myself in the initial stages of a project but I’m working on that and I’m improving all the time. After a brain injury and stroke at 18 (10 years ago) and recently having been diagnosed with MS I struggle with fatigue a great deal and concentration issues and I think I usually default to overworking to combat this, usually resulting in the complete opposite of course.
I’ve been in conversation with an audio description consultant for my show and I really care about others’ access needs, often forgetting about my own. When I went into the rehearsal room with my director however, I was forced to look inwards and reflect on this as we came up with a plan for rehearsals, took regular breaks and went at a pace that suited us both. I think it helped to be able to hold two people accountable for the way in which we worked, if I was on my own, I’d just keep going and going until I dropped (THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO DO IT!!!)
As a working-class creative, I feel so fortunate to be given opportunities to be in these spaces at all. I think my work ethic also comes from this background and I am always very grateful for anything I receive, such as Sheffield Theatres taking a chance on me and including me as one of their supported artists. I have worked on my own for a long, long time due to lack of funds which means, when I do get to work with creatives like my dramaturg Grace Gummer and director Emily Browning, I really grab that opportunity by the horns.
Jake: Tell us about what the audience can expect coming into the show, and what they might not expect about the show.
Eleanor: There are 60 lists in the show (that’s a lot of lists for 50 minutes!) You can expect to be called out a little if you write lists but also see how they help us, like I said the monster isn’t all bad. You can expect silly monster impressions (I don’t play Fred though!), film quotes, bed time stories and hearing from loved ones. It’s a dark comedy so, though it has lists about all the ways Pheobe might die, it’s surprisingly funny and should leave you a bit bemused.
You might not expect to see quite so much of yourself in A Sudden, Disturbing To Do List but it’s a show that is inherently human (despite the monster) and packs a gut-wrenching punch.
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
You: As in my last Edinburgh Fringe show, there’s a message about reaching out- speaking to loved ones if you’re struggling. In Does My Fanny Look Big in This? The message was to ask questions about sex and sex anxiety and talk to others about sex so we can understand consent more. This time Pheobe is ignoring her voicemails and family and friends for a very long time, trapped in her room with her lists and the monster. I hope that audiences will be encouraged to, if they’re struggling, let someone else know and not suffer in silence or alone. Lists aren’t always bad/can be bad, but you’ve always got a better chance of defeating the list monster with an extra pair of hands.
I’d maybe like us to question why we write lists at all. Is there a list in there somewhere?
Jake: With Edinburgh Fringe 2025 just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Eleanor: I love the highs and lows of the fringe. How you can be laughing out loud one minute and crying the next. It’s one hell of a rollercoaster. My favourite thing about the fringe is watching other shows. In 2023 when I was up for 2 weeks with my 2nd solo show I watched 50! I have the list to prove it 😉With a recent health diagnosis I don’t want to push myself too hard at this fringe, I think there might even be such a thing as too much theatre (yes I said it!) but you can bet you’re still going to catch me show hopping a little in between flyering and eating from burrito and shake (as a coeliac veggie the veggie rice box is my best friend.)
Going to the fringe mostly on your own, you make so many friends! Everyone is so welcoming and I’ve made friends for life while having the time of my life! Get me up Arthurs seat this minute.
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?
Eleanor: Giggle juice… oh you haven’t heard of it? We serve it at the play area I occasionally work at, Pheobe’s a freelance journalist and therefore works lots of jobs too. It’s pink, blue, packed full of sugar and comes with a warning: WILL MAKE YOU GIGGLE. It’s also completely made up but Pheobe is 100% certain she’s chugging it 24/7, it keeps her fuelled whilst writing her lists.
A remindrer, you can catch A Sudden, Disturbing To Do List from August 11th to 23rd at Mint Studio at Greenside @ George Street from 21:00 (50mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Image Credit: Shay Rowan
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
