Director Jessica Millson and writer Lotte Pearl are bringing The Emu War – A New Musical to Edinburgh Fringe.
“Inspired by the true events of The Great Emu War of 1932, this new comedy musical tells the story of WW1 veterans trying to grow wheat in the Australian outback.
Unfortunately, the local emus develop a taste for the crops, so the government sends in the army to fight them. Man vs Emu, who will triumph?”
I had to find out more!
Where: Pleasance Courtyard
When: 31 Jul, 1-13, 15-25 Aug
Ticket link: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/emu-war-a-new-musical
What are you looking forward to most at Fringe?
We are so excited to be in the city of Edinburgh and see all of the amazing shows we’ve been speaking to and reading about.
We feel like The Emu War is very Fringe-spirited with the contrast of the wacky, nonsensical emus, and the heartfelt and human stories of forbidden love in the musical.
We remember seeing the young man dressed as a gorilla dressed as an old man rocking on a rocking chair for 50 minutes.
We want to see more like that. The odder, the better.
What gave you the idea to write about ‘the Great Emu War’ of 1932, and was it always planned as a musical?
Lotte’s brother told them about The Great Emu War of 1932 across the dinner table and they became obsessed with this odd piece of niche history.
The show was always going to be a musical as these surreal stories work so well in musical form.
Lotte and Toby [Little] began writing the hooks, and together came up with the 15 songs in the show (and more!).
Pearl Whirl’s mantra is ‘silliness done seriously’, something we can all aspire to. What ca audiences expect from the show?
Audiences can expect fed up farmers, an evil minister of defence, a war-torn romance, tutu tail feathers, and lots of delicious bread!
You’ve benefited from some support from Seven Dials Playhouse – has this allowed you to do things with the show you couldn’t do before?
Seven Dials Playhouse’s support for The Emu War has been essential! They let us use free rehearsal space, something that we wouldn’t have been able to afford without their help.
Jessie, our director, was able to use the space to rehearse in Alyssa Thabisile Sibanda who is taking over the role of Sandy from Ellie Spooner from the 12th August.
Seven Dials’s support also meant that we enjoyed a sold-out preview with a standing ovation at their studio as part of our preview tour.
The night allowed us to try out new jokes and blocking in front of an unfamiliar audience, which we found very useful.
And what’s next for The Emu War?
The Emu War is ever-evolving, and we cannot wait for you to see what’s in store for us during and post Edinburgh Fringe!