From multi-award-winning Documental Theatre, Scaffolding is an explosive show about strength, love and community. Written by Lucy Bell and starring Suzanna Hamilton under the direction of Lillian Waddington
Brought to the stage by Bristol Old Vic and Documental Productions, and part of the Pleasance Theatre Trust’s Edinburgh National Partnerships Programme, the show has been built around the lived experience of
both carers and those with cognitive disabilities, using first-person interviews and archive materials to bring realism to the work.
The production’s chief aim is to document British life in all its variety through playful, thought-provoking audio, theatre and music. Ahead of its performances at Edinburgh Fringe, we caught up with Bell to find out more.
Q&A with Lucy Bell
How does it feel to be making your Edinburgh Fringe debut?
It feels so, so, so brilliant to be making our Edinburgh Fringe debut – I have been many times and watched other people’s shows and now I’ll be bringing mine before I hit 50!
I am a carer and mum of three so being supported by Bristol Old Vic and The Pleasance has made this long-held dream vaguely viable for the very first time.
What can you tell us about your show and its inspiration?
I was inspired to write SCAFFOLDING because I live in a small rural Devon community where all human life meets in the village parish church and all sorts of tensions simmer underneath. I was kind of fascinated to explore the murky beliefs people reach for when they feel completely desperate.
My daughter has complex needs and drug-resistant epilepsy so being powerless to help her at times has made me dig deep into where to find meaning against the odds. I had the idea of a parishioner, who has nowhere else to turn, clambering up scaffolding round the leaking steeple and staking her claim to be heard. The play takes all the assumptions we have about what makes a person important and flips them on their head. We want people to leave feeling a tiny bit transformed.
How do you think audiences will react to the show?
Possibly they’ll shoot some beer out their nostrils laughing at one of the many funny bits, but I also think they’ll be profoundly moved – Suzanna Hamilton is a brilliant actor.
How have you been preparing for the festival?
By basically not sleeping any more. We are a tiny team of fierce women – everyone is doing about ten jobs at once to be ready for the fringe but my kids don’t really respect this and still come and jump on my bed at 5 in the morning.
Will you get a chance to enjoy the rest of the festival?
Oh yes – I intend to binge on new writing theatre. EdFringe is a great place to stock up on inspo for the year of writing ahead. It’s a magical place to be.
Do you have any Fringe anecdotes you can share with us?
I first went to EdFringe when I was 20. I remember doing an all-nighter in the Grass Market, kissing a statue of Greyfriars Bobby and fighting with my best friend over a man with his arm in a plaster cast. I don’t remember much else.
