Extra Ordinary, The Rosemary Branch
Our Camden Fringe interviews are still flowing as we move further through July. We’ve not kept count, but we’re quietly confident of breaking the 100 target we set ourselves when we started this crazy idea! You can find all those currently published here.
Emily Henry‘s Extra Ordinary sounds the type of show you might want to have a tissue or two at hand just in case! The show examines what happens when you are told your unbord child may have Down’s syndrome, something that is very clearly not an ordinary conversation.
We sat down with actor Toby Burchell to delve a little deeper into the show, which will be playing at Rosemary Branch Theatre on 15 and 16 August, tickets available here.
What can audiences expect from the show?
Audiences can expect a play about a young couple living a very ordinary life, like nearly everyone in the audience, until they are given some unexpected news. The conversation that follows this news is a conversation that anyone could have and we hope that audiences will leave thinking and talking about how they would behave/react in the same situation.
Is Camden Fringe going to be the show’s first time on stage, or have you already performed elsewhere?
We first performed Extra Ordinary last year for a limited run at Malvern Theatres. We are now touring the piece up and down the country throughout the summer of 2025. We have so far visited Bristol, Bath, Manchester, Liverpool as well as a few more. The previous shows have gone really well with audiences commenting on the depth of question provoked by the piece, as well as the maturity and openness of the writing.
We wanted to bring Extra Ordinary to the Camden Fringe as we think that this is a topic that more people should be discussing and we hope that audiences will really engage with this throughout our run at the festival.
What was your inspiration behind the show?
Extra Ordinary is based on lived experience, many hours of research and lots of conversations with family and friends who have experienced this, or similar situations.
How long have you been working on the play?
We opened with a limited run at Malvern Theatres last year. The run was hugely successful and so we chose to tour throughout the summer of 2025. We then re-rehearsed the piece for two weeks during May of this year. We spent time working on the script itself as well as the production.
It was really interesting to come back to the play after a break from the run last year. We found that looking at it with a fresh pair of eyes has allowed us to step back and adapt parts that didn’t work or flow so well before. We also worked with a new director which helped bring a different perspective and different angles to the production.
This run has continued the success of last year’s and audiences leave talking about experiences that they have had or how they think they would react in this same situation.
The play has naturally continued to adapt throughout rehearsals as different actors and directors are brought into the room but has remained largely the same.
What is it about your character that you most enjoy?
The play is fantastically written and covers a topic which is very rarely dramatized. It deals with the subject in a sensitive and sympathetic way, allowing the audience to make up their own mind about the subject matter.
Both characters are inceredibly human. They are flawed and their opinions are not black and white. It is lovely to perform a character who has depth to their opinions and their emotions.
How challenging has this role been for you?
It has been really interesting to work on a character who is going through a massive moment in their life. Having not been through that myself it has been fairly challenging but has been interesting to learn more about the subject matter and develop how I imagine that character would react.
What brought you all together?
Emily (the playwright and other actor) and I met many years ago when we were at a youth drama group back in Malvern, where we both grew up. We have stayed friends for many year throughout our times as professional actors. When I set up my production company last year, I was keen to have Emily involved and her play seemed like the perfect piece to tour this year.
Being a fringe festival, we all know sets have to be bare minimum, how have you got around this with your set and props?
This has been a really nice obstacle for us. We only have one piece of set – a flat pack table which gets constructed throughout the piece. The table being constructed is a really clever metaphor and a nice focal point for the actors and also the audience. We see the table constructed as the couple talk through their decision. You”ll have to come along to see if it ever gets finished!
If your show had a soundtrack what songs would definitely be on it?
It’s difficult to choose but something by Fleetwood Mac, perhaps Dreams? The piece has elements that are recognizable to everyone but also a really punchy subject as well as special moments and joy.
What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received during your career, and how has it influenced your work on this show?
To just keep going. Everyone who has been involved in putting this piece of theatre together is keen to be working in the industry and we have found that getting out there and putting on your own work can be hard but that it is incredibly rewarding. We hope that audiences can see that when they watch this production too.
Thanks to Toby for spending some time telling us about Extra Ordinary. It will be playing at Rosemary Branch Theatre on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 August.
