Edinburgh Fringe Q&A: Trygve Wakenshaw

Tell us about your show. What can audiences expect?  

Silly Little Things is ironically titled really, or flippant, because its story is about friendship and there’s nothing silly or little about that. I guess the show’s about a lot of silly little things that make up a friendship, and those things that lead to its demise. That’s right, get ready for a mimed solo show about an old magician’s love for a rabbit. Also, get ready for magic, music, and physical madness.

Can you talk about some of the creative team involved?  

I couldn’t have made this without the help of my greatest collaborator, my best friend, Barnie Duncan. We’ve made shows together for over 20 years (including the multi-award winning Different Party), and now we live on opposite sides of the world. I was lucky enough to  spend the past couple of months in New Zealand with Barnie performing and winning. And while I was there we started trying to unknot this tangled little idea I had for the show. Barnie helped open it up for me, and it was a dream come true.  

Where do you draw inspiration from for your work, both in terms of creation and performance?  

In creation I’ve been looking at lots of old Jacques Tati films, the film Harvey from 1950 with James Stewart, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach films, Cindy Sherman photo self-portraits, the podcast Song Exploder, and a history of my old emails, photos and videos from the mid 2010s. I’m not sure how much of that influence has made its way onto stage, but I’ve enjoyed the feeling of gently pushing something new.

In performance I think my biggest influence has been the feeling of maturity. I think I’m a different performer to the naughty young man that played Squidboy or Kraken, and now my impishness has to find a new way to express itself, if that makes sense?  

What are your thoughts on the festival in general and how do you feel about being a part of it this year?  

I’m so excited to be coming back with something new. I’m excited to see what other people are making, what is the zeitgeist? I’m excited to see old friends and meet new ones.

Generally I think it’s an expensive enterprise to take a show to the festival, and that can be a stressful thing. It could make artists make more mediocre work because they fear the risk of making something wild and mad and reckless. It could also make it a bit top heavy with established acts, and safe bets.  

I guess I go there because it’s a marketplace. But wouldn’t it be great if it was a marketplace of ideas over a marketplace of performance products? (It might actually be both, I hope that my experience this year will prove it so)

Looking at this new show, how would you say it links to your previous work both personally and thematically?  

My first show Squidboy was created the only way I knew how; with storytelling. I had a  character, a strange world and a cute little question about the imagination. Then I rebelled against “stories” and made Kraken which followed no real logic aside from the here-and-now of my stream of consciousness. Nautilus and Trygve-versus-a-Baby were made of sketches, little scenes but no overarching tale to tell. And now I’m back to story.  

This is the first show I’ve made from a personal story. Usually I just open up the stage to my imagination and let it rip, but this is a story I’ve been going through and dwelling on for the past seven years because I never had any closure. So I guess it’s been a bit of a search for that closure.  

The fun in making a show from it has been in finding an analogy, creating characters to carry the story and finding a way to make it funny. 

Why is this an important story to tell?  

It’s important to me just as a way to process the break-up of an important platonic relationship. It’s important because I’ve explored aloneness in my solo shows as well as characters in conflict, but what does friendship look like and how do you put that on stage?  

Do you tend to take inspiration from events happening in the world around you in terms of your work? Do you think artists have a responsibility to respond to what's happening?  

This question is so huge. I love it, but I’m not sure I can give it a full answer because I do have to get on with finishing making my show. But in brief I’d say: I’m probably not hugely influenced by world events, but I do like to draw inspiration from the world around me.

And secondly, I don’t think artists have any responsibilities. They’ll probably find it easier to get funding if they do apply to make art which responds to current world events. But you can’t say that ‘if you’re an artist it’s your responsibility to do X’, because if you’re not doing that are you not an artist?  

How do you feel about the current arts landscape in your country and your part in it? Does it excite you and inspire you to keep pushing the boat out?  

Really exciting. I think I’ll talk here about the mime/physical theatre arts landscape rather than in general, because I’m still a bit of an outsider here (I’m now based in Prague). But in the Czech Republic there is a deep history of mime, and Laterna Magika was born here (the first multimedia theatre).  This means there’s a really great knowledge of the art from the artists and also from the audience. However, when you have this for a long time there are phases where the art starts to feel a little bit stuck, where the excitement of this new form dies down a little. But I’m excited to be here at this time, because there are some great and passionate artists who are now in positions to revitalise the form, people who are now able to say what mime is and what it can be. I hope that in the coming years we see more and more beautiful and interesting shows from the Czech Republic touring.  

What would you like audiences to take away from seeing this production at the Fringe?  

I’d like audiences to say things like “boy, Trygve would be perfect for that role in the feature film I’m making”, and “don’t we have a gap in the National Theatre for a new production in 2026? I think we should start talks with Trygve right away”.

What show are you most looking forward to seeing in August, and why?  

I wish I had some more under-the-radar picks, but I’ve been a little bit out of the loop, so I’m looking forward to finding out what’s amazing while I’m there. But one show I am already looking forward to is The Umbilical Brothers: The Distraction. I’ve been hearing about this show for the past two years or so and anytime they’ve performed near me I’ve been unavailable, so  finally this will be my chance to catch it at least five times during the festival.

As well as working on my own show I’m delighted to have contributed a little guidance, sound boarding, and outside eyeing to shows by Elf Lyons, Kit Loyd and Tom Greaves, all of whom are excellent and have really nourished my creative little soul. I’d recommend you check out their shows too.

What’s next for you and how are you feeling about the future in general?  

Start of next year I have a big project upcoming: I’m co-creating and performing in a show with Radim Vizvary at the Narodni Divadlo Nova Scena in Prague.

Generally, I feel like the wheels of my career are starting to spin again and that momentum is picking up. Hopefully I will be making a lot more work in the forthcoming years.  

How can Edinburgh audiences keep up with you beyond the festival? 

By signing up for my bi-weekly email newsletter thingies at trygvewakenshaw.net, or by stalking me on instagram @trygvewakenshaw.