ED FRINGE 2023 INTERVIEW | Natasha Mould, 2020 The Musical
In preparation for the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Emmie chats with writer Natasha Mould who has written new musical, 2020 The Musical as it heads to one of the biggest arts festivals in the world.
1. Let's begin by pitching your show at the Ed Fringe, tell us about it?
2020 The Musical is a heart-warming and entertaining story of two individuals who tackle the changes brought upon them over the year. We follow our protagonists' lives as they navigate finding new employment, getting furloughed and falling in love during unprecedented times. A reflection of events including bizarre government decisions, emotional ups and downs and overcoming the unpredictable. Resilience will be tested, how will they deal with what was to come? Featuring a West End cast with UNPRECEDENTED levels of talent. I'm sure you have all heard of a Downing Street party or two and guess what!? This time you're all invited!
2. Where did you draw your influences from for this piece?
Back in the beginning of 2020 I was performing as the first cover to the lead Dolly Parton role Doralee Rhodes in 9 to 5, at The Savoy Theatre London. When curtains all closed on the 16th March 2020 I was on the hunt for new employment. I very quickly acquired a new full time job working in care of the elderly, which I absolutely love and I still work in to this day alongside performing. The relationships you build with your clients working in care is second to none, and the sense of fulfilment I end each day with working the job is incomparable. 7 months into my job as a carer working 12 hour days, 6 days a week, I was doing personal care with one of my ladies and I was thinking about the juxtaposition of where I had come from to where I was now. The glamour of The West End, Press nights and red carpets, to literally wiping bums, and I felt that it was an interesting, and beautiful story that needed to be told.
3. What are the challenges of bringing a piece to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
This will be my first ever Fringe experience as both a performer and a spectator so I have no previous knowledge to go off. I definitely underestimated the enormous expense that goes into producing a show at The Edinburgh Fringe, especially one with a cast of 7! Accommodation costs are extortionate, and trying to teach and create the whole show in just 2 weeks of rehearsal was also a huge challenge. Another week of rehearsal with a cast of 7 would be unaffordable so we're doing the best we can with the money we have raised.
4. What can audiences expect from your show?
I think due to the title and subject matter of 2020 The Musical audiences will all be expecting something quite particular. However, I am really pleased to say that this brand new musical will surprise everyone, as it will not be what they're expecting. There is a strong combination of humour and beautiful acoustic ballads with some amazing dance moments. The show explores silly slapstick comedy moments, alongside love and loss. Within every painful moment we experience in life there is always a lesson to be learnt, a silver lining and a positive message or outcome to come from it. That is exactly what 2020 The Musical explores and demonstrates.
5. What are you most looking forward to during your time in Edinburgh for the festival?
I am extremely excited to see how audiences and reviewers perceive my story. I'm also really excited to do lots of networking and meet lots of other like-minded creatives, writers and directors. If I do say so myself, the cast of 2020 The Musical is a group of not only exceptional talent, but amazing humans, and we have had the most fantastic 2 weeks of rehearsals so I'm most looking forward to working alongside such an awesome group of people and creating a summer to remember!
6. What are the main threads within your piece?
2020 The Musical has such universal appeal, every single person that comes to witness our show in Edinburgh have all lived through the year of 2020 and have their own experiences to call from it. The show plays on satire when discussing the questionable government choices, and will pull on your heart strings when you meet our lead character Emily's elderly clients at Opal Care Home. If you love tap dance then this is the show for you! Previous audience members have quoted 'It was the therapy of 2020 that I didn't even know I needed'.
7. Where can people come and see your show?
2020 The Musical will be playing at UNDERBELLY, Bristo Square Cowbarn every day between the 14th - 27th August at 3:55pm.
Playing time - 80 minutes
Get your tickets at the following link https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/2020-the-musical
