Young Pleasance: The Next Generation of Theatre

It has been thirty years since the Pleasance opened as part of Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe: two dilapidated union buildings transformed into makeshift theatres, both facing a deserted courtyard-cum-car-park. The story reads somewhat differently now: a multi-venue operation with an international profile and network of alumni that reads like a Who’s Who of contemporary comedy, drama and entertainment.

From the array of successes the Pleasance could boast, Young Pleasance appears to be its most enduring. Headed by joint artistic directors – and brother and sister duo – Tim Norton and Kathryn Norton, Young Pleasance has spent the past 19 years offering dynamic and inclusive opportunities for young people, providing tangible and credible experience to all who participate.

It is Young Pleasance that lies at the heart of its parent’s 30^th anniversary, with three impressive performances that encapsulate the breadth of their audacious ambition.

In collaboration with Fringe First award-winning playwright Joanna Billington, YP begin proceedings with an original large-scale performance typical of the company’s exceptional capabilities. #MyWay charts the efforts of one Sinatra obsessed teenager plunging into the Twittersphere in pursuit of his digital darling – but she’s too busy choosing her Instagram filter. Filled with wry observation of the social media vortex in which teenagers revolve, YP have created a swirling multimedia love story for a technology savvy audience.

“The inevitable onslaught of social media is now a huge part of all of our lives, and the younger generations in particular are using it to their advantage,” explains Linda Bloomfield, co-writer and director. “We wanted to explore all sides of the social media debate, both celebrations and pitfalls, but do so through young eyes. Out of this #MyWay was born; both an observational comedy and coming of age story, featuring characters and scenarios devised by the very young people that know the medium inside out.”

For those still struggling with the complexities of the hashtag, the explicit Sinatra references add a layer of complexity and contrast to the play and – perhaps most importantly – widen its accessibility. “The main challenge we faced with the show was how to make it accessible to a varied audience, including those who maybe aren't as familiar with the worlds of Facebook and Twitter as our young company are. For us, Sinatra is the symbol for the analogue world.”

Bloomfield believes the contrast between analogue and digital unlocks huge theatrical potential, particularly if the two worlds happen to collide. “What might it be like to meet Marilyn Monroe in a chatroom?” Bloomfield teases. “Or if the Rat Pack tweeted a selfie?”

It is, in habitual Young Pleasance style, an ambitious performance. Aside from the inclusion of 30 performers, none of whom are older than 20, #MyWay is technically ambitious, promising a multimedia spectacular. Also, the technological visionary behind the piece, Bloomfield is more than ready for the challenge: “We wanted to take YP in a new direction; one ultimately inspired by the young people in our company, and unafraid of the huge technological advances available in theatre. Many theatre companies are starting to give technology an important role within their work, for example the stunning projections used in Les Enfants Terribles' The Trench or Kill the Beast's The Boy Who Kicked Pigs at last year's Fringe. We are excited to be just as brave this year.”

But #MyWay is not the only brave performance in this year’s Young Pleasance programme, as five YP graduates go it alone in the form of newly devised company, Incognito Theatre. Transforming Nikolai Gogol’s political satire The Government Inspector into a deft piece of physical theatre, Incognito have no intention of making their first Edinburgh entrance quietly; and why should they? With an amassed repertoire of over 17 Young Pleasance performances, Incognito are hardly lacking in experience. “Our company of five actors have trained and performed together for years,” tells one-fifth of Incognito, Alex Maxwell.  “There is a lot of camaraderie and trust between us that allows us to be both creative and fearless in rehearsal.”

Most of us are familiar with Gogol’s classic narrative: a corrupt Mayor and his officials are alarmed to hear rumours of the impending arrival of a government inspector. Evidently this fellow will be travelling "incognito." Thrown into a panic, the Mayor and his officials desperately struggle to stifle public dissatisfaction while deflecting the blame for their many and various misdemeanours onto each other. But who is the government inspector and where is he hiding?

According to director Anna Simpson, Gogol’s 1836 masterpiece could not be more relevant, despite its archaism. “If Gogol could see the overt corruption we have witnessed and come to expect, he would be astounded at how little has changed.  A piece highlighting this ridiculous state of affairs in a heightened, playful way is both urgent and timely.”

It is a big play, frequently adapted and often performed, but Simpson embraces its stature: “The Pleasance turning 30 is a theatrical milestone and it felt like it needed a piece that could match it in importance and relevance.”

The final triumvir is Civil Rogues. Produced by Pleasance and developed at RSC’s The Other Place, Civil Rogues is a new play by Tim Norton. A play that celebrates the value, importance and tenacity of theatre, the audience find themselves transported to 1649: the King has lost his head; the Queen has fled; the Globe has been demolished and all performances have been banned.

It is a performance peppered with Young Pleasance alumni, one of whom is director Marieke Audsley. Audsley insists that although the primary themes of the piece may appear anachronistic to a contemporary audience, censorship is not a problem that belongs only to the past.

“Theatre still suffers from censorship,” Audsley begins, “although it comes in different guises: from funding bodies who decide whether the work you want to make fits their remit and will be appropriate for the audiences that they wish to build and sustain, to venue programmers who decide what sort of image they want to present of their theatre. It's very difficult at the moment to sustain funding and audiences and so there's a careful line to tread between trying new, perhaps very bold things, and choosing projects that will tick established boxes.”

Performed by an exceptionally talented cast of some of the UK’s finest new acting talent, including graduates from LAMDA, Central, Bristol Old Vic and Drama Centre, Civil Rogues – whose title is inspired by an ordinance published by Parliament in the period, declaring that any actors found performing would be branded 'rogues' and punished – is both farcical and thought-provoking, its witty protagonists in the wrong place, the wrong clothes and the wrong occupation.

Although three stand-alone performances, each individual and unique, #MyWay, The Government Inspector, and Civil Rogues are grouped under the Pleasance umbrella and it is an enviable place to stand.  Dedicated to the nurture of our next generation of theatre makers, Young Pleasance have supported over 600 young artists – and that really is something to be proud of. Another 30 years of the same? Yes please.