Blue Devil Theatre, following on the heels of their 5* online production of The Tragedy of Dorian Gray in 2021, bring their new show, a “sly and biting satire” with an LGBTQ slant to the Brighton Fringe next week.
Blue Blood, or How to Kill Your Way to the Top is the extraordinary story of the scandalous adventures of outcast Gabriel Jones as he murders his way through the wealthy Gascoyne family.
A two-hour play by Ross Dinwiddy, based on the novel Kind Hearts and Coronets by Roy Horniman, Blue Blood is “exciting and enthralling”, and visits Brighton in advance of Hastings Fringe and a London transfer planned for the end of 2023.
Where: Ironworks Studios
When: 15-17 May, 7.45pm
Ticket link: https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/blue-blood/
Rich Bright, producer at Blue Devil Theatre, gives us the inside info on this intriguing adaptation.
What’s the best thing about being part of the Brighton Fringe?
The atmosphere: the city comes alive after the hibernation of winter.
With The Brighton Festival, Artists Open Houses and The Great Escape music festival all going on at the same time, the city is a hive of creativity and entertainment.
There’s a unique spirit of mutual support, encouragement, and celebration. It’s fantastic to again be putting on a show in a city we love.
We’ve also been invited, as bursary winners, to be part of a pick of the fringe showcase at the new and exciting Caravanserai, a complex of bars, performance spaces, etc. built from reclaimed fairground rides, this promises to be a spectacular addition to this year’s fringe.
Your Dorian Gray was a delight. Now you’re moving onto much loved Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets for your inspiration, via its inspiration, Roy Horniman’s novel. What should audiences expect?
Thank you and so glad you enjoyed it!
Audiences aren’t going to get a stage version of the Ealing comedy. We are going to deliver thrills, intrigue and dark humour as our ‘hero’ murders his way through the illustrious Gascoyne family, but with a markedly different tone.
The novel is Edwardian and it’s very different to that too, we’ve moved the action to the 1950s with something of a social satire commenting on the darker side of British society of that period – a time that some still see as Britain’s halcyon days but we want to ask some questions about that.
We have assembled a great cast led by Maximus Polling (Dorian in Dorian Gray), and the chemistry between them all is a delight. This should all add up to a rich, engrossing, and entertaining night at the theatre.
Is there going to be a playful feel to Blue Blood, or are you going down the darker route?
A bit of both, the events of our play certainly take much darker turns than might be expected by people who are familiar with the film. But our ‘hero’s’ scandalous adventures along the way definitely take us into some very playful situations to say the least.
What’s next for the show and Blue Devil?
After Brighton, Blue Blood will be playing at The Grove Theatre in Eastbourne on 21 July and The Stables Theatre in Hastings on 28 July.
We are in discussions now to bring Blue Blood to London later in the year for a 3 – or 4-week run and are looking at further dates over the next 12-18 months.
We were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to The Tragedy of Dorian Gray, so there will also be more performances of that in 2024.
Exciting times ahead and we can’t wait to be back in front of audiences again.