Edinburgh Fringe regular Sarah-Louise Young is bringing a brand-new show to the city this year, with The Bob Ross Effect. Bob Ross was the presenter and artists on The Joy of Painting, which has gained renewed interest on Twitch and through cosplays, and through a repeat run on BBC4 during the pandemic. Sarah-Louise tells us more …
“A happy little show about the big things in life. Artist, animal-lover and unlikely sex symbol Bob Ross brought art into the living rooms of millions with TV phenomenon The Joy of Painting. With his big heart (and even bigger perm) Bob taught an entire generation to embrace their creativity, with his mantra: there are no mistakes in life, only happy accidents. Sarah-Louise Young (An Evening Without Kate Bush) celebrates his enduring impact in this brand-new interactive show about love, grief and friendly squirrels. Directed by Ali James, original songs composed with Jordan Paul Clarke.”
Where: Piccolo Tent at Assembly George Square Gardens
When: 5-31 Aug
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-bob-ross-effect
What can you tell us about your show? What is it about and where did the idea come from?
The Bob Ross Effect is a joyous celebration of kindness, community, and one man’s mission to prove that there is an artist hidden in the bottom of each and every one of us.
I was inspired to make the show after my close friend and Edinburgh Fringe icon, Lynn Ruth Miller, sadly passed away. I wanted to find a way to share her legacy as a painter and performer, along with my passion for all things Bob Ross.
How would you sell it to audiences in one paragraph?
Whether you’re a fan of Bob Ross or not, our show will lift your spirits and touch your heart. Come for the original songs, storytelling, live painting, and dance, and maybe walk away with an unexpected desire to pick up a paint brush and play.
Do you enjoy participating in the Fringe? And do you have any moments you particularly remember?
This is my 30th year of coming to the Fringe! I love it. Since first coming as a student in 1996, I’ve experienced Edinburgh as a vital place to take creative risks and try new things, and to be inspired and awed by the talent of so many incredible artists.
There are so many amazing memories… watching Peter Straker every night as I worked the door on his show, being asked to step in to replace an actress in a play with less than 24 hours notice and spending the night before locked out of my flat learning lines on the doorstep; seeing a play called Trance about the Manson murders and being so blown away I had to return the next night to see it again; meeting Lynn Ruth Miller when I was co-hosting the Midnight Carousel at C-Venues and making a friend for life.
Winning a Mervyn Stutter’s Spirit Of The Fringe Award was a big high. Along with my Stage Award for acting and my Three Week’s Editor’s Award, it has pride of place on my bookshelf. I’ve also bombed big time and experienced massive highs and lows. I have sobbed at one and five-star reviews for the same performance of the same show!
I was once invited on BBC TV to face off with revered critic Kate Copstick after she gave me a scathing review of my cabaret… but I agreed with her, so we hit it off!
Probably my most life-changing Fringe was when I brought my first solo show here in 1998. I was working on four different productions a day, and Drag King was on at one o’clock in the morning with a free shot of vodka.
It was an exhausting, crazy month, but I met Suzanna Rosenthal, who invited me and the show to London for a four-week run at the Etcetera Theatre. Thirty years later, she’s now producing my new show! So many memories.
What are you looking forward to the most in Edinburgh?
I am obviously very excited to share The Bob Ross Effect with an audience. They are the missing ingredient. I also have a LOT of shows bookmarked to see, especially Elf Lyon’s new piece, Woman On A Verge, and Gary Starr’s Too Clown, which is on for only 3 performances at the end of the festival. Seeing friends every day will be a big part of my month, too.
What’s next for the show?
As I write this, we are only 2 days away from our very first preview in Poole. We have five in total, and it’s so important to strength test your work before bringing it to the fringe. So the next two months are all about fine-tuning it to be Edinburgh-ready. If we do well during August, then fingers crossed we’ll be able to tour it in the UK and Australia. It will alternate with one of my other shows, An Evening Without Kate Bush. We’re going to need a huge van!