Edinburgh Fringe Chats (#21): Polis Loizou, YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES

23 Jun

Conducted by Emmie for Theatre and Tonic

As anticipation builds for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025, we’re catching up with a range of exciting creatives preparing to bring their work to the world’s largest arts festival this August. In this series, we delve into the stories behind the shows, the inspiration driving the artists, and what audiences can expect.

Today we’re joined by Polis Loizou about the show You Oughta Be In Pictures.

1. Can you begin by telling us about your show and what inspired it?

'You Oughta Be in Pictures' is a creepy one-man show about creativity, exploitation and the blurring of fact and fiction. I play a notorious film director in Golden Age Hollywood who's holding an audition in his home cinema. The handsome young hopeful would be replacing the actor of a horror B-movie who's died under unusual circumstances. The show was actually inspired by an impromptu performance of my last show in the Banshee Labyrinth's Cinema Room, where I'll be performing this time!

2. What made you want to bring this work to the Fringe this year?

A moment of insanity, likely sponsored by FOMO. I love Fringe so much – getting to remove myself from daily life by being immersed in a world where all is fringe theatre for a bit. I convinced my wallet by doing PBH Free Fringe. They have such a great ethos, and are now more necessary than ever.

3. How would you describe your show in three words?

Tense. Slippery. Chilling.

4. What do you hope audiences take away from watching your performance?

A sense of dread. I hope it encourages people to engage critically with media and stand up to exploitative people and structures, but ultimately, I'm just a dark-hearted ghoul who enjoys unnerving his audiences.

5. What’s your top tip for surviving the Fringe?

Take time out to do something you enjoy simply for the sake of enjoying it. It's very easy to lose your head during Fringe, so you've got to separate yourself from the chaotic microcosm that is staging and selling a show. You're a human, not a commodity.

6. Where and when can people see your show?

Banshee Labyrinth's Cinema Room (Venue 156) on 2nd-9th August, 12.20pm – yes, doing a creepy show at midday is going to be a bit of a challenge. But I hope the good people of Fringe indulge me.

https://freefringe.org.uk/shows/you-oughta-be-in-pictures/