Matthew Shelley
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Fringe veteran Paul Andrew Perez was in the midst of writing a new teenage pop rock musical for the Edinburgh Fringe when he died in April.
He was someone I’d known and admired for many years. He worked with ordinary American teenagers to create musicals their lives and challenges, and gave them the astonishing opportunity to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Despite the fact that only three songs were finished, the teenagers, their parents and Paul’s colleague Todd Twining decided that the show must go on.
The Idiot’s Guide to Breaking Your Own Heart will have a short run from 2-7 August.
Darren Neale, Greenside Venues director, summed up their achievement by saying that these young people reflect the genuine spirit of the Fringe and has praised their achievement as “extraordinary”.
The show follows the story of Simon Walker who has a school assignment to write a manual on “How to be You”, to demonstrate whether you are a product of nature or nurture. The final part of the project is to answer two questions:
- What do you contribute to society?
- Does your life have meaning?
Together with his friends, Quentin Bean and Sandy Dachowski, Simon relives the high and low points of his life.
It promises to be a powerful, funny and poignant production and a worthy tribute to Paul, who was an endlessly enthusiastic champion of young people and the ability of the performing arts to express dreams and fears.
You can catch The Idiot’s Guide to Breaking Your Own Heart from August 2nd – 7th at Thistle Theatre at Greenside @ Riddles Court from 18:30 (50mins). Tickets (£12/£10 conc./£5 family) are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Phoebe Bakker
Jasmine Silk
Elisabeth Flett
