Michael Cox speaks with the artistic director of the Traverse about this year's Fringe programme.
Michael: Did you have an overall theme or process in selecting this year’s programme?
Dominic: It’s a strange process because it’s a mixture of the results of lots of conversations that one might have been having for a couple of years and then also responding to work that arrives on my desk or stuff that I’ve gone out and seen and wanted to have. So it didn’t start with a particular theme, like the International Festival would do, but it’s interesting how little themes come together while you’re doing it. And for me, this year has been particularly about relationships we’ve had with companies over the years, with new work coming to fruition or offering themselves in different ways.
For example, Vox Motus, a company that we’ve worked with over the years, are coming to us with a new production in Traverse One, which is a big opportunity for them but, for me, feels very right for the kind of work that they’re doing and for what I want to have on here. The same with Ontroerend Goed, who are going into Traverse One for the first time. Daniel Kitson usually does a late night show, but this year he wanted to do an earlier morning show. So it’s wanting to keep it all fresh, mixing it up a bit, making sure that we have a good mixture of things that are familiar but also things that are brand new.
Michael: In creating this year’s programme, was there a big challenge?
Dominic: There are various challenges from within it. We’re doing these breakfast shows that are being filmed and screened live to cinemas. That’s quite a challenge. It’s an ongoing one, really, but I think that it’s important that we address different ways in which work is being made and which work is being viewed at the moment. So that’s proving a big challenge, but hopefully it will be an insightful outcome. And there are shows like Tim Crouch’s The Author, which is an amazing show I saw in London. It kind of demands a complete re-design of the theatre. So, allowing that to happen between the tight turnarounds we have here has proved pretty challenging.
Michael: And the live broadcast of the breakfast shows on the 23rd. How did that come about?
Dominic: It was a couple of things coming to fruition. I’d been talking to a film producer who was setting up an internet platform for the performing arts who wanted to work with us, and [the company that does] the NT Live and Live at the Met were in discussion as well, and it all just kind of came together.
Michael: Not only do you have productions happening at the Traverse, but there are also other productions happening throughout Edinburgh, aren’t there?
Dominic: Again, I wanted those shows in our programme, and I knew the artistic directors from the theatres they were coming from, so it was just a question of finding a space where these plays would work within the city. The companies have done a lot of work, setting up the venues, and it was just a question of us saying that we’ll have you in our programme if you can make the venue work.
Michael: What thought process do you go through when assigning performance spaces and venues?
Dominic: The whole process of curating the programme is one of...looking at what would make a good programme and what space would make that piece work best. There were some pieces that could only work in the Traverse One space, and I needed to make sure the pieces were strong enough, solid enough, in order to live up to being in the large, exposing space. It’s just a question of matching the piece with the venue.
Michael: What was it about each piece that grabbed you and made you want to bring it to the Traverse?
Dominic: I think audiences in festivals want experiences. They’re going to a lot of things usually in the day: they go see a show and want it to pack a punch, get out, grab something to eat, then go and see another thing. And I’m aware of that; the need for audiences to get what they want. So I think it’s about picking work that will have an impact. I think getting the balance right between what it is an audience expects is very much part of thinking about how effective it works for us.
Michael: That’s great. Now, can you tell me a bit about While You Lie?
Dominic: Sam Holcroft, the writer, is someone who we developed thought our young writers’ group. She was at Edinburgh University, and a couple of years ago we put on a play of hers called Cockroach, which was her first play. She’s a young writer and I think that she’s an extraordinary, original voice. So, when I read this play, which is very extreme in terms of what it’s saying and what happens in it, it felt very much like the right play for us to put in our festival programme.
Michael: With everything that’s happening in August, is there something that you yourself are looking forward to?
Dominic: I’m really looking forward to While You Like, and I’m really looking forward to the Vox Motus show, actually. I’ve seen a snippet of it and it seems suitably insane, very funny, very anarchic, and I’m hoping that it will live up to its early promise. This is my third programme, my third festival at the Traverse, and I think that it’s by far the most exciting.
Michael: Is it becoming easier to programme the festival?
Dominic: It’s never easy. It’s nice when people and companies want to come here. That’s very reassuring, that people still think of the Traverse as the number one port of call in terms of quality, and it’s important that we maintain that reputation and position.
The Traverse’s Fringe programme is on until August 29. Check the venue or website for specific times and prices.
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