INTERVIEW | JULIE: THE MUSICAL, EDINBURGH FRINGE
The biggest arts festival Edinburgh Festival Fringe is back for 2022 (and it's also the 75th anniversary!) The Fringe runs for three weeks, ending on the August bank holiday weekend. This year it starts on Friday 5 to Monday 29 August.
The last few years show the importance of celebrating the diverse selection of work on display at the Fringe. There is theatre, dance, circus, physical theatre, comedy, music, musicals, opera, cabaret, variety, children's shows, spoken words, exhibitions, and events. There is literally something for everyone in that vast range of work you can enjoy. The 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe features 3,171 shows from 58 countries! There's a full programme available here
In preparation for the festival, I have some great interviews coming up on Theatre & Tonic to showcase just *some* of the exciting work which is heading up to Edinburgh in August. My last interview was with Gigglemug Comedy who will be heading back to Edinburgh this year with RuneSical . You can read that interview here.
Next up we're chatting with Abey Bradbury who has written a brand new original musical which is heading to Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August. JULIE: The Musical tells the life and adventures of historical LGBTQ+ icon Julie D’Aubigny.
So to begin with, tell us where your interest in theatre came from?
I’ve been doing theatre since I was small! My family is very theatrical, both just generally and jobs-wise - my Grandad was a lighting technician, my parents were always taking us to the theatre, and my sister is now a set designer while I perform and write - we joke we should start a family theatre troupe! I’ve always loved all kinds of theatre, from musicals to stand-up to Shakespeare and clowning!
What does it feel like to be bringing JULIE: The Musical to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer?
It feels quite surreal in a way - I still remember writing the first ideas for songs on a tiny midi keyboard a year ago, and now we have a fully fleshed out show I’m so proud of, going to one of the biggest theatre festivals in the world! I can’t wait to get to the Fringe and be able to share this amazing woman’s story!
JULIE is a brand new original musical - how long has it taken you to develop this work?
I’ve been developing the show for about 2 years now. I first discovered Julie D’Aubigny during lockdown, and spent a year researching her and her life. I was then really lucky to get funding from Arts Council and support from Hope Mill Theatre and Leeds Playhouse for a couple of R&D sessions, so I gathered some fabulous performers, who’ve been a massive part of getting the show on it’s feet, and we spent a few weeks testing out ideas, and then I’ve spent several months locked in a room with a piano writing away - which is I’m impressed at myself as I don’t actually read or write sheet music!
You are focusing on the historical LGBTQ+ icon Julie D’Aubigny in this musical. What particularly drew you into telling her story? How did you undertake the research?
Julie D’Aubigny was one of the first public figures to live as an openly bisexual woman, but like countless other Queer women throughout history, her story has been largely forgotten or brushed over, which is a travesty! Bisexual stories and characters are not something we see a lot of in history or in media today, so I’m really excited in being able to tell Julie’s incredibly chaotic and adventurous life to the stage, but also have fully formed, positive bisexual representation as well.
When you were developing this musical - did the music come before the written context or vice versa?
In a way they almost came together. Some songs came really easily, while others took a long time to create, and the same happened with the scenes and the characters - some characters leapt off the page immediately and were so easy to write, while some scenes we’re still workshopping parts of in rehearsals!
You are a Queer and neuro-divergent theatre maker. Why do you think there is a lack of positive and celebratory bisexual (i’d also say neuro-divergent) representation on stage?
I think there’s still a lot of stigma around being bisexual - if you’re with someone of the same gender some people just say you’re gay/lesbian, while being with someone of the opposite gender can sometimes make you feel like you aren’t ‘queer enough’. Growing up I learnt about gay and lesbian sexualities, but was never taught or saw anything about being bisexual, which would have probably helped younger me with some very confusing emotions! While I think representation is getting better, in the past bisexual characters have either been non-existent in history and media, or portrayed as very two dimensional, which is why I’m so happy I get to bring a complex, layered and flawed, but also joyously and unashamedly bi, character to life in Julie.
Which music in this show do you feel will resonate and stick with audiences the most?
Part of my aim for JULIE was to make a show as chaotic as Julie herself was, so we have a real variety of music and styles in the show, so my hope is that there’ll be something for everyone! We have some real ear-worm songs that hopefully people will leave humming, but also music that looks at what it’s like to not fit into the society and box you’re born into, and both the joy of being able to carve your own place in the world but also the struggle that can bring with it, which I feel a lot of people can relate to in some way.
What has been the most challenging aspect in putting a new musical together?
One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced putting the show together is also one of the strengths of the show I feel. I’m a self-taught musician and composer, and I don’t read or write traditional sheet music, so I’ve had to come up with my own system for writing down the songs, and we also play live on stage during the show with multiple instruments between us all, so there is the challenge of creating the best sound and taking music from piano to guitar to saxophone to kazoo (yes, there are kazoos as well!). But because we aren’t following the traditional way of writing and staging a musical it means we’ve been able to find new and exciting ways of doing things, I can learn things from the cast and put it into the music, there’s an element of improvisation and it means we have a real ensemble feel as well, we’re almost like our own rock band! I may have written the music but the show belongs to us all on stage.
Why is this festival and your play important for people to see and support during August?
There’s such an energy and a buzz being at the Fringe, there’s so much going on and things to see, and it just becomes this hive of creativity and joy. There are also so many opportunities not only to get your own work seen, but also to meet other performers and creatives, and potential collaborators. Edinburgh also has some of the best Pie Shops I’ve ever been to, and I’m Northern so I’ve had a lot of pies!
As for supporting JULIE, If you’re looking for a Joyous, Queer, Chaotic evening full of music and comedy, but also a lot of heart, then JULIE is the show for you! To describe the show in (slightly more than) 3 words - BE GAY DO CRIME: THE MUSICAL!
Besides your show, are there any that you’d recommend that people go and watch during the festival?
I know of some fabulous people bringing shows up this year - Lamphouse Theatre are doing War Of The Worlds On A Budget, which is a hilarious one-man musical; Time & Again are doing brand new play called Earwig, which tells the story of Marigold Webb, a deaf entomologist in 1927; and Bloody Mary Live! is also on my list - a historical woman retelling her life through songs and stand-up? It’s right up my alley!
I’m also excited to be surprised by something new - there’s always something great to stumble across!
What do you hope for the future with JULIE: The Musical after the fringe?
After the Fringe this year we have a few more dates in Oct/Nov in Manchester, Cambridge and Birmingham, and then we’re hoping to be able to go on tour next year to venues across the UK - and hopefully return to Fringe again!
We also have a concept album coming out soon, and lots of exciting plans for the future, so keep your eyes peeled!
Where can people come and see you during the festival?
We’re on at Niddry Street (Venue 9) during the Fringe, just at the bottom of The Mile, at 10:20PM on the 15-27(not 21) August! If you’re in Edinburgh also look out for us on The Mile, we’ll be in the bright purple t-shirts with guitars and maybe a swordfight to entertain you!
If you'd like to book tickets for JULIE: The Musical during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, you can book them here.