Edinburgh Fringe 2022
Interview
Alex Roberts
Writer / Performer
No Place Like Home
WINNER: Les Enfants Terribles Award 2022
Pleasance Dome (10 Dome)
Aug 3-16, 18-29, 14:55 / Tickets
June 29, 2022
On a night out in a gay bar, Connor meets Rob. One’s a newcomer, the other has been on the scene far too long. But when a kiss leads to a brutal attack – who’s the victim and who’s the perpetrator?
Hi Alex, thank you for talking to The New Current, how have you been keeping during these strange times?
It’s been strange! Navigating making work in these times has been difficult. We as theatre-makers have definitely been reminded of the fragility of the live performance industry, and it’s been fascinating coming back into familiar spaces, be they rehearsal rooms, theatre or clubs and bars after all that has happened.
How does it feel to heading to Edinburgh Fringe after everything that has happened?
It honestly feels so joyful. There was definitely a version of the world in which No Place Like Home didn’t return, and the work of my co-creators and collaborators didn’t get seen. So we’re overjoyed at winning the Les Enfants Terribles Award 2022 earlier this year and at the prospect that the show will finally get the audience it deserves.
Will there be any nerves ahead of your first show at The Pleasance?
Nerves? Of a boldly complex solo show with multiple characters and movement sequences and hundreds of intricate video projection, sound, music and lighting cues? Never.
Have you got your The Royal Mile sales patter down for August or are you still tweaking it?
We are ready and raring to go! Do you want to hear it? No Place Like Home is a tragic odyssey into gay club culture, fusing spoken work, dance, music and video art. If you like Whitney Houston, the Wizard of Oz and stories with big queer feels - this is the award-winning solo show is for you!
Can you tell me a little bit about your show, what can we expect?
No Place Like Home tells the story of two men meeting in a gay bar in the centre of a city. Through the magic of poetry, dance, music and light we witness the unfolding of their relationship and show the difficulties of trying to find home in a space that many people use for escape. As our Co-creator & Director Cameron Carver puts it, “it will challenge your perspectives on queer spaces that you might not even know that you had.”
When you preview a show how much does it change before a major festival and do you still allow yourself some flexibility once a run has started?
They’ll be loads that shifts. When it comes to previews, that’s the time when our choices are properly tested for the first time. Personally, as a writer/performer that temptation is that the script is never truly ‘finished’ - I’ll probably be changing the lines by the last week of the Fringe!
"What this project has told me is the greatest work you will ever do is that which encourages you to embrace all of yourself."
Have you always had a passion for theatre?
Yep, I’m a proper theatre kid. I spent years in am dram, including three productions of playing Mark in "Rent!" So you I did what every theatre geek does, and turned my hobby into my job.
What has been the most interesting thing you have discovered about yourself and the theatre you want to create after making this show?
The most magical part of working on No Place Like Home has been putting my queerness into my work. As an actor, I’ve often been told my sexuality identity or gender could ‘pigeon hole’ me or negatively affect my career. What this project has told me is the greatest work you will ever do is that which encourages you to embrace all of yourself.
What one word best describes your show?
Cathartic.
In-between your show how do hope to get a chance to see other shows at the fringe?
Loads! At Underbelly, Untapped winners Max Percy + Friends’ This Is Not A Show About Hong Kong. My Son’s A Queer But What Can You Do? by Rob Madge. At Pleasance, Brown Boys Swim by Karim Khan and The Unicorn by Sam Potter.
What has been the best piece of advice you have been given?
“When everything is fluid and nothing can be known with any certainty, hold your own.” - Kate Tempest
Do you have a favourite theatre quote?
“In the particular is contained the universal” - James Joyce.
And finally, what do you hope your audiences will take away from your show?
If you can embrace every part of you, even the parts you think are unacceptable, you’ll always be at home, wherever you are.