ED FRINGE 2023 INTERVIEW | The Fruity Prince, The Pesky Players

With the Edinburgh Festival Fringe now underway, we’ve caught up with some of the artists and creative teams to chat about their work. Amongst all of the things you can see is The Fruity Prince. We’ve caught up with The Pesky Players to find out more..

1. Let's begin by pitching your show at the Ed Fringe, tell us about it?

Forget what your GCSE’s taught you, Queen Lizzy 1stain’t no virgin! She’s seen her fair share of cod pieces and now her secret son ‘The Fruity Prince’ is finally here to tell his side of the story. Henry IX is divided between his royal duties, a love of the stage and a whirlwind affair with his co-star Jonty. Shakespeare is the catalyst that brings them together and Queen Liz is the destructor that drives them apart. Henry’s strange cousin Gertrude is thrown in to save him from a life of sin but will Lizzie’s plan prevail?

2. Where did you draw your influences from for this piece?

We’ve been inspired by the recent focus on reclaiming queer narratives. Many forgotten fruity figures have been outcast from the history books but now we’re finally getting to hear their stories. Productions of ‘SIX’ and Virginia Woolf’s ‘Orlando’ have been our main stylistic influences for creating Henry’s world.

3. What are the challenges of bringing a piece to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

The main challenge is achieving balance with this process. Of course, the priority is to hone a great show that people want to watch but getting our voices out there in such a crowded market can at times feel daunting. Thankfully the great team at our venue Paradise Green are on hand to help with all of the admin (and there’s a lot of it!) Considering this is our Ed Fringe debut, we’re definitely keeping up pace and relishing as many experiences as we can.

4: What can audiences expect from your show?

A night of debauchery and laughter. Decadent Tudor costumes with a sleek modern edge. We have everything from Shakespearean verse to breakdancing, Bardcore bangers to vagabond vogueing.

5: What are you most looking forward to during your time in Edinburgh for the festival?

We’re here for the whole of the fringe month so we’re very excited to see a great range of shows! We’re always looking to broaden our perspectives and see live theatre that offers something completely different to anything we’ve seen before. Even just an afternoon of collecting flyers, we know it won’t be hard to find some totally unique experiences.

6. What are the main things within your piece?

Our key themes are scandal, sexuality and self-discovery. In amongst all the romping, a deepfelt romance between Henry and Jonty blossoms. We look to the obstacles that this couple face and draw parallels to the backlash many same-sex couples still experience today.

7. Where can people come and see your show?

We’re at Paradise in The Vault (Venue 29) at 23:05. See you there and stay fruity x