It is festival season and that means that in the next month there is so many great comedy festivals to look forward to! This month we are looking at some of the great shows that you can see at the Edinburgh Fringe. So take note because we are going to give you all the information you need for just a handful of some of the great shows happening this year!

Lovefool

Location:   Summerhall – Red Lecture Theatre(Venue 26)

Dates:  Aug 2nd, 4th – 13th, 15th – 20th, 22nd – 27th

Time: 19:15

Price: £15 Concessions £13

Ticket Link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/lovefool

Hello! Tell us about yourself? 

My name is Gintare Parulyte, and I am a Lithuanian-born actress, writer, and director from the tiny geographical snot called Luxembourg. 

After working as an actress in both national and international theatre- and film productions, I turned to writing and directing and brought projects to fruition that have all been selected for film and theatre festivals across the globe.

As a woman and immigrant with some sprinkles of PTSD (I grew up under Soviet dictatorship in Lithuania, and then moved and grew up in Luxembourg), my work tries to explore the trials and tribulations of womanhood, patriarchy, gender norms, the beauty of multi-culturalism, but also culturally-based misunderstandings that can be both humorous and painful. In both my films and my theatre work, I try to be unapologetically and brutally honest, I wish to minimise the distance between the character and each audience member and hopefully get that “Did she really say that? Fuck, she did say that!” effect.

Always searching for the truth, the personal, and the intimate, I yearn to talk about all things uncomfortable, awkward, and absurd, with the hopeful wish to make people feel less alone, more mindful, and more connected. 

Lovefool is the second play I have written and directed and it has been one of the most powerful, empowering, and moving experiences of life. Having all the runs sell out, feeling such a strong connection with the audience both during and after the shows has allowed me to directly feel the play’s affects and it’s a privilege to be able to travel the world with it, perform in Summerhall, and share this story with so many people from such varied and different places and backgrounds.

How did you come up with the name of your show that you’re taking to the Fringe?

Many journalists have written that the title of the play is based on the song by “The Cardigans”. What actually happened is that once I wrote the last sentence of the play, the title came to me instantly, and that’s what I wrote on the title page of my document. Only later did I research the song and its lyrics and realized that it indeed is very fitting with the play’s story about a woman who is looking for love in all the wrong places and people. In the play, I wanted the audience to judge the protagonist, to then discover why she allows herself to be treated badly, to finally and gradually regret for having judged her in the first place.

Tell us all about your show!

Lovefool is a one-hour one-woman play in English produced by the National Theatre in Luxembourg that opened to two sold-out runs, moving reactions and critical acclaim. It’s an unapologetically honest, funny, and raw play about Grace, a young woman hungry for love and looking for it in all the wrong places (and people), who is forced to discover what self-love might look like. It’s about emotionally absent fathers, co-dependent mothers addictions, and the effects of unresolved childhood trauma on our ability to love and receive love as adults.

What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at the Fringe?

I can’t wait to fill my days and weeks with marathoning through the venues and discovering other artists’ works. I am particularly looking forward to seeing Victor Esses’ The Death and Life of All of Us, A Spectacle of Herself  with Laura Murphy, Summer Camp For Broken People by Emily Beecher, Sad by Brigitte Aphrodite and Quiet Boy, among others.

Have you done the Fringe before? What are the key pieces of advice you have been given or would give to new groups or people performing at the Fringe. 

This will be my first time in Edinburgh and my first time at the Fringe, so it’s all very exciting! I was told that as I am sober, my chances of seeing a fraction of the plays I plan to see are quite high and that I should enjoy it as much as I can, despite its intensity.

What have been some of your favourite shows to date and why?

Theatre is a language that is spoken differently in every country. The UK has a very strong history and availability of solo shows, which was not the case in Lithuania and Luxembourg that I grew up in. Thankfully my brother and many close friends live in London, which caused me to visit this intense city a few times per year and discover many plays that have shaped me as a human and artist.

I have always been a particularly big fan of Soho Theatre, where I would see as many plays as possible. I discovered the beauty and power of intimate and honest stories (and solo shows) through Bryony Kimmings. I saw her play Fake It ‘Til You Make It at Soho Theatre and was blown away. My friend and I couldn’t speak during the whole cab ride home as we had so much to process, and we are very chatty friends. I then saw other plays she created and attended her workshop on autobiographical playwriting.

I subsequently wrote, directed, and performed in the autobiographical play A Lithualien in The Land of Bananas, that Bryony mentored me through, about my childhood in Soviet-Occupied Lithuania and my move to “The West” that followed. The show received critical acclaim and made me fall in love with solo shows and theatrical storytelling. 

I have seen many plays, but my other top of the theatre pops are Dust by Milly Thomas and One Woman Show by Liz Kingsman, both very different plays, but that I found incredibly brave, engaging, and inspiring.

Favourite one liner you have done in a show and why?

“When I come home I realize I am too lonely to fall asleep on my own, so I finger myself to take the edge off, and finger a dating app on my phone”. Because…life.

What have been some of the most unique and different comedy shows you have seen this year and why?

One Woman Show by Liz Kingsman at the Ambassador’s Theatre in London. I adored all her perfectly executed meta-meta-meta layers of storytelling and comedy, the way she engaged and surprised the audience constantly. I don’t think I have ever been in a theatre where people laughed so much. I was trying to prevent myself from wetting my knickers, and as both a woman and artist, I was so, so happy for her.

What is the best way to enjoy yourself at the Fringe?

Staying sober, sleeping, being present and aware of my luck and privilege to be there in the glorious company of peers I admire.

Best thing about performing at the Fringe?

Sharing a story that I hope will be a theatre therapy for many.

The most challenging thing about performing at the Fringe?

The intensity. The explosion of energies from all the sides. The fact that the constant concentration makes you less light throughout the process.

What would be your top three items every performer must take to the Fringe?

1) Ear plugs 2) Melatonin spray 3) Vibrator

Who would be your ultimate dream audience member?

Someone who is not afraid to be private in public, to be moved in public, to cry in public.

If people want to find out more about you, where can they follow you on social media?

I am easily reachable on social media under my name and am always happy to connect! @gintare.parulyte

And finally, in three words – Why should people come and see the show?

Lovefool is healing.