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The Camden Fringe Interviews
Ciarán Cross on Bogging-off From Blightly
Ciarán Cross‘ Bogging-off From Blightly sees four friends taking over an unclaimed island in the English Channel. Their aim? To establish their own nation, free from the woes they’ve left behind. Sounds a perfect idea doesn’t it, although we suspect in Ciarán’s world things don’t go quite as planned.
The only way to find out more ahead of their Camden Fringe run at Lion and Unicorn Theatre (19 – 21 August) was to grab our passports, hop on a boat and head over to their little island to ask them some vital questions.
Great to chat, do you want to let everyone know who you are first
Hello, hello! I’m Ciarán Cross – the writer and director of Bogging-off from Blighty. So, a little bit about me… I am an actor and writer from Hertfordshire or Essex (depending who you ask), and this is my first time at the Camden Fringe, so thank you all for having me!
It’s a rather interesting title, what can audiences expect from it?
Honestly, it’s a wild, comedic stroll through the landscape of British politics.
I think one of our audience members summed it up the best as: “The crazy love-child of Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies”. All I can say is to expect a show brimming with satire, physical-theatre, and the UK’s primary export…
‘Tongue-in-cheek’ humour!
You’ve sold it to us, where will we find you during Camden Fringe then?
We’ve got the absolute pleasure of performing at The Lion & Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town. A lovely pub theatre (which I hear do a fantastic Sunday roast).
Is Camden Fringe going to be the show’s stage debut?
Bogging-off from Blighty was originally created for The Harlow Community Arts Festival, in which the brief was to create an hour long show with the theme of ‘Community’.
A few hours after getting the brief, I was sitting in a humble Wetherspoons with some old mates, chatting over a pint (or four) about life; our plans post-graduating; shared struggles with housing; and how none of us really knew what the future would hold… The idea suddenly appeared!
So, after getting a team of amazing performers and creatives on board – we ran with the idea and debuted the show in May. This was the first time my work had been performed outside scratch nights or monologue slams, and was a very daunting experience. Though to be entirely honest; I’ve enjoyed every chaotic second of it.
Are there any plans for what comes next after August – for you or the show?
In an ideal world, I’d love to play around with extending the show. There are several story-beats or moments in the show which unfortunately had to be cut for time.
With a slightly longer run-time to play with, I think it could be really interesting to explore these moments a bit more. Getting to work with the actors as we expanded upon the world of the show was a great experience. So, the idea of showing a bit more of the setting and sitting in the world a tad longer really appeals to me.
What is it you hope the audience think once they’ve seen the show?
Ah, that’s a tricky one. Well, for starters, if at least one member of the audience finds it ‘mildly funny’, I’ll be a happy man.
But genuinely, I hope that people start to put themselves into the shoes of the characters. If YOU got to make your own country, what would it be like? What kind of world would you create, and what kind of world would you want to live in?
And most importantly how can you make that world just a tiny bit brighter.
It’s a big question for 7pm on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, but there we go…
Being Camden Fringe, we all know sets have to be bare minimum, how have you got around these budget and space limitations?
Approaching this project, fresh from drama school, and student loans weighing heavy upon our shoulders, we knew that we’d have to build, borrow, and scrape together everything we needed for the show.
Thankfully, with some donations of half-broken chairs, wooden pallets and some borrowed tools – we were able to custom build our set, aiming for both portability, and to further create the world of the play. This show wouldn’t be possible without the friends and family of both the cast and crew – and for that we are incredibly grateful.
What words of advice/ encouragement would you give anyone thinking about doing Camden Fringe next year?
My main piece of advice would be to ignore the inner critic and take the leap.
I lost a lot of time worrying about saying the ‘right thing’ in my pitch, or if I was ‘ready’. My main challenge throughout the entire process was doubting if I could; spending far too much time thinking everyone would take one look at the script and tell me it’s absolutely naff.
That was, until a friend of mine, gave me the advice I needed to press that daunting ‘Finalise Application’ button. “It’s not your job to reject yourself. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” While I’m still not sure if they were quoting The Office, or Wayne Gretzky – it was the push that was needed.
Will you be frequenting the bar after your show, and if so, are you hoping people might stay to ask you about the show?
We will indeed, and we’d all absolutely love to chat with everyone after the show… Right after we all have a well-deserved sit-down.
If you had to describe your show as a colour, what would it be, and why?
Uh, Is ‘River Thames’ a colour? Yeah, probably that.
If budget was not an issue, what’s the one piece of scenery/ set you’d love to have in your show?
You know what… I’d really like a boat.
Thanks to Ciarán for finding time inbetween running his country to chat to us. Bogging-off From Blightly will be playing at Lion and Unicorn Theatre 19 – 21 August. Further information and tickets available here.
