Jake Mace
Ned Blackburn is writer-performer of the much wordily-titled and much acclaimed EdFringe show An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo, returning this year after a five-star short run and sold out UK tour. The humour-filled piece follows Johnny, an 18 year old on the cusp of graduating from boarding school, navigating his journey through an institution that is rife with shame. We caught up with Ned for a pixelated pint to find out about the journey the show has been on, and what’s coming next.
Catch An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo from July 30th to August 25th (not the 11th) at Friesian at Underbelly, Bristo Square from 12:50 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Ned! We last caught up at EdFringe last year where we very much enjoyed the show – tell us about what you’ve been up to since then.
Ned: Hi Jake! Well since last Fringe, I’ve graduated from Uni, so I’m much wiser, more demure and mature! We also took the show on the road on a short tour of the UK in London, Bristol and Manchester. We had so much fun, lots of new challenges like how to fit the show’s set in my parents car etc…! None of us had ever done a tour before and it was amazing bringing the show to new audiences, especially in Manchester as lots of our friends were there who had never seen the show!
Jake: You’re bringing the show back to EdFringe this year – what are you hoping to achieve this year and what’s changed for you since last year?
Ned: We’re doing a full run this year, another first for all of us, so first and foremost I’m hoping I can just get through a whole month of shows without keeling over! We want to carry on our trajectory from last year’s fringe in that we want more and more new audiences. We were quite shocked last year as a small show with basically no marketing that we could appeal to a wide demographic of fringe goers, so with a longer run this year and a bit more of a push to get the word out we hope we get to continue on that path. Things in the show have changed, namely we have a new actor, Harvey Weed, in the role of Harry & Others.
It’s been amazing re-learning the show with Harvey and finding new things about the role and the show as a whole. For me personally, I feel very at peace with the show. We had no idea what our reception might be last year, and while you can never predict the future I feel comfortable and confident in my role and the writing of the play now, so I’m just really excited to get up to Edinburgh, whereas last year I was probably cacking it!
Jake: Tell us about what the audience can expect coming into the show, and what they might not expect about the show.
Ned: I think they can expect that a lot of their assumptions about the show are probably right just based on the title. It’s a camp ol’ time our show, so they can expect quips about bromosexual rugby lads and awkward PSHE teachers, and maybe even the odd pirouette. But there’s a lot of heart to our show, the setting and arc of our story isn’t necessarily revolutionary but the perspective on that setting and the way that arc plays out is hopefully an expected journey that is funny, scandalous and a reminder that amidst the camp there is a heart that beats and breaks like everyone else’s.
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Ned: I hope that people leave with a couple of one liners they can repeat, that would really give me an ego trip! But I also hope that audiences take away that there is such a plethora of queer stories and ways to tell them. We’re quite firm on the fact that our play isn’t a coming out story, it’s not a tragic piece and it doesn’t fetishsise queer love. Queer storytelling often has to fit into one of those boxes to be commercially successful, so I hope our resistance of that comes across and that our play sits in a host of other shows fringe goers might see that are unique expressions of queer experiences.
Jake: With Edinburgh Fringe just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Ned: Very excited for the buzz of the Fringe – this is my third Fringe and I can see why people get addicted! I do slightly feel like the rest of the year looks a little grey in comparison to the month of August, so I’m just excited to be around all the technicolour of all the different shows and artists, but at the end of August, I’m sure I’ll be excited for a nap.
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?
Ned: To quote an infamous meme, “a negroni sbagliato with prosecco”. Because I feel like it’s dark and a bit bitter and the fruity side is fighting to break free.
A reminder, you can catch An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo from July 30th to August 25th (not the 11th) at Friesian at Underbelly, Bristo Square from 12:50 (60mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Image Credit: Lizzie Hawke
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
