Edinburgh Fringe Chats (#101): Hassan Govia, BECAUSE

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 Hassan Govia to find out more about Because.

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

Because is about a young man named Jade who begins to spiral after hearing some unexpected news about his female namesake who he used to go to school with. The idea was first conceived during the height of the pandemic when I decided to use the time I had to try and work on something I originally had no interest in engaging with: a solo show! Uncertainty was at an almighty high, particularly in relation to death and wellbeing, and there were no easy answers. Rather than channelling that energy into a Covid narrative, I instead imbued Jade’s story with a conflation of those anxieties at their core alongside matters I have long desired but been nervous to address theatrically, namely my own personal experiences of bullying and emasculation.

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

We first developed Because at the Lyric Hammersmith as part of their inaugural Artistic Residencies’ Scheme. Ever since I wrote it, Edinburgh felt like the place it needed to be, and I looked into this seriously last year. Long story short, the timing didn’t align but we decided to stage the show at the 2024 Camden Fringe instead, and the critical response we received as well as feeling inspired by what we achieved artistically propelled us to continue that momentum and reconsider the Fringe this year. Ultimately, Edinburgh is the biggest showcase opportunity I have had to date as an artist, and I knew as a theatre-maker it was terrain I would have to try out eventually. Hopefully we did the right thing but going all in for 2025!

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

Unexpected, unsettling and raw.

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

Having a character like Jade, a thirtysomething man of British Caribbean origin, front a narrative like this provides more nuance to conversations and works that centre on the mental health of Black men - think Nouveau Riché’s ‘For Black Boys…’ meets ‘Black Swan’.  So I hope audiences are able to broaden their horizons regarding this, and further recognise experiences of mental health and being a person of colour (in tandem or not) are far from monolithic.

That said, above all else, my aim has been to craft a compelling dramatic work that audiences can fully engage with. I believe there is plenty to take from the show so I am open to whatever conversations may transpire from audiences, and maybe even learning things I would’ve have expected to.

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

Embracing the madness of it all. This year marks my first time at the Fringe in any capacity and that’s exactly what I intend to do!

6. Where and when can people see your show?

Because will play in the Studio at theSpaceTriplex from 1st-23rd August (not 10th) at 15:05.

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