Interview: Hopping To Camden with Bunny

Nora Kelly Lester on bringing Bunny Bunny to Camden Fringe

Nora Kelly Lester‘s Bunny Bunny promises us songs about hotel soap, and what’s not to love about that? Although if it’s anything like the hotel soap we’ve experienced, it could be very small. But not deterred by that, we thought we’d hop along to meet Nora and ask what we can expect when the show comes to Lion and Unicorn Theatre as part of Camden Fringe.

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What can you tell us about Bunny Bunny?

It’s a contemporary red nose clown show. There is no fourth wall. It’s a comedy that tackles serious themes without taking itself too seriously. Bunny’s story unfolds in a series of vignettes and interactions with the audience. 

Life isn’t going too good for Bunny. She can’t afford her rent and her career is going nowhere. Her romantic life is in chaos. She explores /reflects on different life roles including having a baby, working for Google, getting “fucking married”, waitressing in a spaghetti restaurant etc. etc. all the while desperately dodging the calls from her landlord and her mother.

Torn between what she wants and what she thinks she should want, Bunny experiences the dilemmas faced by many 30 something women in today’s world. Bunny poses questions, pokes fun, unsettles her audience to make them think and laugh and question their perceptions of her and of themselves.

Your show description says “Men, Money, Motherhood, Sex, Politics, Competition, The World?”, that’s quite a lot to fit into an hour, even before we get to the piggy banks and ex-lovers, were you never afraid of being slightly over-ambitious when you wrote it?

Good question, I guess this is just all the stuff that came out when I started developing the show in the studio. A lot of the text came out of stream of conscious improvisations and scenarios I devised in character as well so I wasn’t exactly sure what the show was going to tackle until it was finished. It’s also all from Bunny’s perspective so it’s not an exhaustive look at all these topics – more of the clown’s perspective on these things. 

And why have you named her twice in the title then, is like “New York, New York, so good they named it twice”?

Oh I like that! That’s what I’ll say when I’m asked from now on. The title came quite instinctively. Bunny just felt like it fit the character and then I liked how the repetition sounded. She’s also in a constant battle with herself so the looping effect of Bunny Bunny feels right for what she is going through. 

You have a background in clown performance, we assume you’ll be bringing that to the fore with Bunny?

Yes, Bunny Bunny is a red nose clown theatre/ comedy show. There are elements of dark comedy in there too and physical humour and improvisation. There’s lots of dialogue – It’s definitely not a silent clown show. Bunny likes to talk.

You did a run of the show in 2022, how much has it changed since that original run?

The show has grown since I did it in 2022. Then it was about 20 minutes long and there was less interaction with the audience. Now it’s more developed. It’s a 50 minute show. She goes through more in this version and there is more audience involvement. 

You’re playing at Lion and Unicorn, what made you want to go to that venue in particular?

I really love the venue. It’s got a great atmosphere, good location. The artistic director David Brady is really supportive. It’s just a great space and I’m really excited to perform there.  

And after Camden Fringe, will we be seeing more of Bunny or is she going to hide away after?

Yes, the next show following Camden Fringe will be in Wexford Arts Centre on the 8th and 9th of September.

Thanks to Nora for her time. Bunny Bunny plays at Lion and Unicorn Theatre as part of Camden Fringe 10 – 12 August. Further information and bookings can be found here.