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The Camden Fringe Interviews
Moonstone Theatre chat about Enough.
The abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard was a shocking event, and the subsequent realisation that a serving member of the Met Police was responsible lead to a thorough review that revealed the depths that misogyny and racism were prevalent within the force.
It’s this that lead to Moonstone Theatre writing Enough, which comes to Lion and Unicorn Theatre for Camden Fringe this August. Wanting to know more, we caught up with the team to discuss the show, and why they felt a need to address this on stage.
Hello there, shall we kick off with you are then?
Hello! We are Moonstone Theatre, a Manchester based theatre company embracing change. Set up in 2023 to create opportunities not only for ourselves but also for other creatives who share our vision for contemporary, thought-provoking theatre. Even in these difficult times (lack of funding, cost of living crisis) we knew that we had the talent, the passion, and the drive to create something truly special, and we wanted to take matters into our own hands.
We are a team of 4: Co-founders Emily Hunter (Actor / Writer), Gemma Green (Actor / Producer), Kitty Ball (Director) and Riah Amelle (Actor).
What can audiences expect from your show, Enough?
Enough dives into the life of Irie Dayton, a young black female recruit in the British police force, as she navigates a culture riddled with misogyny that challenges her beliefs and career. The play raises significant questions about the coexistence of normalised predatory behaviour alongside the rise of social media and societal calls for transparency.
Enough. is a black box studio piece. The intensity, the pace of the 50 minute piece lends itself to this intimate space. The style of dialogue is naturalistic, a real sense of verbatim which contrasts well with the minimal staging, physical theatre and engaging sound design.
In short, we hope audiences come out having enjoyed our play but also questioning, discussing the issues raised in the performance.
Where are you playing, and why that venue?
The Lion & Unicorn Theatre, Kentish Town. 8th, 9th & 10th August 7pm.
The black box theatre was perfect for our piece which is suited to that intimate style of space. Also, we know the Lion and Unicorn is known for staging high quality fringe pieces, particularly drama and we feel very lucky they accepted our show!
What was the inspiration behind the show and how long have you been working on this play?
In March 2021 we were all shocked by the disproportionate police response to the Sarah Everard vigil, a peaceful protest of women standing with candles. It didn’t sit right with Emily and already an idea for a piece was brewing. Fast-forward to the release in the media of the group Whatsapp chats of Wayne Couzens and serving police officers. They were shocking and deplorable in their content. As women we couldn’t believe men with such power and authority spoke about women this way. Gemma and Emily were discussing these reports and in that moment we both said we’ve had “enough”. We knew we wanted to create a piece that shone a spotlight on misogyny in the workplace and after that Emily took the reins to write our play. Although the story happens in a precinct in a city police borough, the issues it highlights could be prevalent in any workplace. How in 2024 can misogyny, sexism and racism still exist in the modern workplace at all?
The show has been performed already hasn’t it?
Enough. was originally premiered at the Greater Manchester Fringe. Following the show being awarded “Best Drama” it returned in January 2024 for a second run, with the script tightened and a couple of new scenes added. Upon our arrival at Camden Fringe the show is unchanged since January 2024.
Any future plans yet?
We hope that after Camden Fringe we will be able to take Enough. to Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2025.
Being Camden Fringe, we all know sets have to be a bare minimum, how have you got around this?
Our staging is very minimal: we use only 2 chairs, a small table and a long bar to create multiple locations. We like to think it is our job as actors to lead the audience to suspend their disbelief and pull them into our imagined world. We like to think we do it as well as we possibly can! Another great way of adding to the space (without lugging around props ) is the use of sound – always something you can transport easily! Our director Kitty has created a superb sound design that is another way of framing the space and engaging the audience.
What made you decide to be part of this year’s Camden Fringe?
We met actors at the GM Fringe who were taking their play to Camden Fringe straight after. We kept in contact, it sounded like they had a brilliant time and it was highly recommended to us to give it a go. We decided to take the plunge (and a road trip!) and so 12 months later here we are, preparing to take part in our first ever Camden Fringe. We also wanted to bring our show to Camden because we want to shine a light on these issues to new audiences and with Enough being set in North London it was the ideal place to take it next.
Any words of advice/ encouragement for anyone thinking about doing Camden Fringe next year?
Life is short. Take the plunge and go for it! Start at the end (the show date) and work your timeline backwards. Knowing your timeline really helps to organise you and your show, ready to perform with lots of wonderful creatives. And never underestimate a good marketing strategy. No one can come and see your hard work if they don’t know about it.
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 absolutely be in the bar afterwards and welcome discussion, drinks and salt & vinegar crisps to show appreciation for our hard work.
Jokes aside, what we really hope people will talk about after the show is: how do “we” create change? How can we start right now?
Seriousness over, if you had to describe your show as a colour, what would it be, and why?
Less of a colour but… it would be a spotlight, shining a spot in a dark room that you can’t take your eyes off.
And if budget was no issue, what’s the one thing you’d love to have?
If budget was not an issue, we’d love to make sure the all creatives involved could actually be paid minimum wage for every hour of time they have dedicated to getting this show up on its feet and toured around the UK.
Our thanks to the team at Moonstone Theatre for chatting to us about Enough.
Enough. plays at Lion and Unicorn Theatre 8 – 10 August as part of Camden Fringe. You can find more information and tickets here.
You can find out more about Moonstone Theatre on their website here.
