Samuel Winner brings his new show My Friend Travis to Camden Fringe this year.
“Every year for the past five years, James has hosted a spectacular summer barbecue for his friends and family.
Every year, his best friend Travis attends one hour prior due to his social anxiety and fear of meeting new people. However, for the first time, Travis hasn’t shown up.”
Where: Hen & Chickens Theatre
When: 29-31 Jul
Ticket link: https://camdenfringe.com/events/my-friend-travis/
Sam tells us more about the show and his future plans.
What are you looking forward to the most at Camden Fringe?
I’m really looking forward to a few exciting plays, such as But Never Doubt I Love by Marina Wright; Away from Here by Aaron Rooney; and Hot Girl Summer by Isla Fairfield.
We all graduated at the same time from our time together at Mountview, so it has been fantastic to see them writing new works and performing them!
Tell me about My Friend Travis. It’s been described as “Waiting for Godot, except Godot is Travis” and is set at a summer barbecue. What’s it all about?
Absolutely! My Friend Travis is about a man named James, who hosts this yearly summer barbecue, that he invites all his close friends and family to.
But his best friend Travis (the Travis of the title) likes to show up an hour beforehand, due to his nervousness and unwillingness to meet new people.
However, for the first time, Travis doesn’t show up. It sort of takes place in real time, give or take.
It’s a kind of monologue, but I am playing every character, which has been equally fun and challenging.Â
Your content warnings mention a lot of dark topics. Do you find these easy to write about?
In a way yes. I think my main aim wasn’t to write something that entirely focused on very dark themes, such as death, and mental health.
I did use my own personal experience with depression and social anxiety, to help form the structure of the show.
As the play began forming it became more apparent that the story that I wanted to tell was veering more towards those dark themes. But there were moments, where I had to sometimes take a step back, and change some ideas.
I originally had an incredibly serious version of the show, with barely any levity. As it’s progressed in creation, I have added some more humorous moments to counterbalance the serious elements.Â
You are playing the show at the lovely Hen & Chickens Theatre – has that proved a helpful space to develop your show?
Yes. I visited the theatre back in January, and fell in love with the venue, and the intimate nature of it.
It has helped massively when I continued to do rewrites on the script in the months leading up to the first performance.
The show, I think, has become more audience involved than I think it was in the very first draft that I wrote back in June 2023.
What’s next after My Friend Travis?
Lots of stuff! A week after I finish performing My Friend Travis, I’ll be at The Bread and Roses Theatre performing another play that I’ve written titled Alphabet, which will be running from 6th August till the 10th of August.
Then I’ll be off to Edinburgh for Fringe, as I’ll simultaneously be performing in All The Fraudulent Horse Girls at the Pleasance, as well as seeing some shows.
It will be my first time at the Edinburgh Fringe, so I’m very excited! And without revealing too much, this won’t be the last time My Friend Travis will be performed, so stay tuned!
There’s also some exciting film productions that I’ve been involved in in the past year, which will be coming out later this year and early next year. So very busy!Â