American production company Third Sister Entertainment brings their production of Last Laugh, by Zoe Redlich, to the Edinburgh Fringe this year.
“This black box is now a bunker. With global apocalypse at the door, Alice and Bee present their contribution to mankind: one last improv show before the world ends. The two best friends-turned-unlikely humanitarians race against time in their desperate attempt to make you laugh. Just ignore the sirens. In the face of intergalactic doom, Last Laugh is a zealous eulogy to live performance. Thankfully, crusaders Alice and Bee have the toolkit to go out with a bang: monologues, trashcan lids, homoeroticism, puppets and – dare they say it – hope.”
Where: Playground 3 at ZOO Playground
When: 7-30 Aug
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/last-laugh
What can you tell us about your show? What is it about and where did the idea come from?
After volunteering for two summers at the festival, I was inspired to write a play with the frenetic energy, audience engagement, and full-heartedness of so much that I saw in Edinburgh. I had just started taking improv classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles, and I was struck by the concept of a scripted play that is set up as an improv show.
I wanted to poke fun at the intense world of improv while also telling a story about two people – intense, improv people – trying to simultaneously cope with the end of the world and their own superficial relationship problems. I’ve always been drawn to adding otherworldly elements to otherwise grounded text, so that’s where the aliens come in. But now I’ve said too much!
How would you sell it to audiences in one paragraph?
With global apocalypse at the door, Alice (Pimprenelle Noël) and Bee (Lydia Sims) share their contribution to mankind: one last improv show before the world ends. The two best friends-turned-unlikely humanitarians race against time in their desperate attempt to make you laugh. Just ignore the sirens. In the face of intergalactic doom, Last Laugh is a zealous eulogy to live performance. Thankfully, crusaders Alice and Bee have the toolkit for going out with a bang: monologues, trashcan lids, homoeroticism, puppets, and — dare they say it — hope.
Alice and Bee are like the musicians on the Titanic, if the Titanic was Zoo Playground 3 and music was short-form improv. Last Laugh is a loving ode to those heroically making art during the fall of mankind, despite not one person asking them to.
Do you enjoy participating in the Fringe? And do you have any moments you particularly remember?
Many of my favorite memories of the Fringe come from in between moments. There’s nothing quite like sitting at a table in one of the Fringe hubs, food truck acquisition in hand, surrounded by people rushing to catch a show or ecstatically debriefing what they saw that day or flyering for their own performances. The creative energy in Edinburgh is constant, abundant, and contagious, and my favorite moments have been just getting to sit back and soak that in.
One of my favorite moments from attending the Fringe last year as a volunteer was sitting down in Garry Starr: Classic Penguins and taking in the audience. Only at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival could a clown show about classic literature starring a fully nude performer – save the tuxedo – draw a diverse crowd of hundreds of people.
In Los Angeles, where I’m from, a show like that would probably play to a 50-seat theater with an audience of predominantly young creatives. In Edinburgh, incredibly wacky, original art is accessible to anyone – as easy as scrolling through movies on Netflix. Realizing this at that show, and the dozens of others I was lucky enough to go see, is one of my favorite memories of the Fringe.
What are you looking forward to the most in Edinburgh?
As a team, I’d say we’re most looking forward to sharing what we’ve been working on for the past year with a wide, international audience, and also getting to see new works from around the world. As Americans, we’re also very excited about Boots, Greggs, and Tesco. Add in the food trucks and a sunrise Arthur’s Seat hike, and oh boy, we can hardly wait!
What’s next for the show?
We’re not sure yet! It’s been such a joy to work together as a creative team on this project, so we’d love to continue our collaboration after the festival, whether it’s bringing Last Laugh to new venues or crafting an entirely new idea altogether.