Charles Edward Pipe brings his new show Jimmy Made Parole to Brighton Fringe later this month.
“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on. Franklin D. Roosevelt said that. Or George Washington, or Lincoln, or someone. FDR also said “judge me by the enemies I have made”.
Jimmy makes a lot of enemies daily, and he’s at the end of his rope. But he’s hanging on. Join him as he brings you along to get ready for a date; his first since he got out of prison that morning.
Along the way he’ll introduce you to a cavalcade of crooked characters, talk you through a smorgasbord of shady schemes, and entice you with a variety of vices. All in the name of love.”
Where: Grania Dean Studio (Lantern Theatre)
When: 23-25 May
Ticket link: https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/jimmy-made-parole/
Charles opens up about the show below.
Can you tell us a bit about your new show?
Jimmy Made Parole is a one-person romantic crime-comedy about a roguish ex-con preparing for a date on the same day he gets released from jail.
Starting with nothing but the shirt on his back, Jimmy must scam, swindle, and scheme to acquire money, flowers, and a suit, and make it to the restaurant on time.
Through a blend of character comedy, improvisation, and audience interaction, the show explores the optimism inherent to love.
It’s a big anniversary for Brighton Fringe this year – what do you like most about it?
I’ve actually never been to the Brighton Fringe before, either as a performer or just to watch shows!
I’ve been to Brighton a few times at other times of year, and always thought it had an amazing atmosphere, so I’m extremely excited to see what it’s like during the Fringe.
This show has been described as ‘a romantic crime comedy’ and its your first solo show – where did the idea come from and how did you develop it?
A lot of my previous work has also been crime-comedy. My last two major projects were two anthologies called Five Short Plays Loosely Linked by the Theme of Crime and Four More Short Plays Loosely Linked by the Theme of Crime, so there’s a thematic throughline from them to this show.
Because of the short play anthology format, I didn’t have much opportunity to flesh out any of the characters very deeply, so I decided early on that I wanted to do 55 minutes all about one guy. The solo show format felt natural.
I’m very inspired by films and filmmakers – especially the Coen Brothers, for example – and a lot of the movies I love are crime-comedies, so I can’t help but emulate that in my writing.
I love the way the Coen Brothers so perfectly balance darkness and levity. They can very skilfully make a serious scenario seem farcical or present an outlandish circumstance with sincerity.
So in Jimmy Made Parole, we find this character – Jimmy – who’s a criminal, and who has problems with gambling addiction and substance abuse, and who rubs shoulders with unsavoury and amoral people. From the outside, we know that his circumstances are sad and dangerous.
But, as the unreliable narrator of the show, he brings us into his world and shows us things from his point of view. He’s convinced himself that he’s living this glamourous and exciting life, where gambling away all of his money is a thrilling exercise in hope and optimism rather than a crippling addiction.
Most importantly, he’s in love, and he is a genuinely romantic guy. He has a very poetic perspective on a lot of things. So we are drawn in, and laugh along with him and get whisked away by his criminal schemes, and then occasionally reality will rear its head again and end the illusion.
I realised quickly that I wanted to do a lot of improvisation and a lot of crowd-work, in order to really engage the audience, and draw them in to Jimmy’s world. So the devising process has been really fun.
For every beat of the story I’ve been asking myself: “How can I get an audience member involved here?”, “How can I make this moment unique to this specific audience?”, “What do I do here if the audience volunteer does something unpredictable???”.
The end result is a show that feels really loose and relaxed and informal, in a way that perfectly suits the character and the subject matter. It’s got this ragtag, DIY, rough-around-the-edges vibe that I absolutely love.
What else is in the pipeline after these shows?
I’m also taking Jimmy Made Parole to the Bath, Watford, Edinburgh, and Camden Fringes this year! After that, who knows?
Sell us your show in three words!
Jimmy Made Parole!