I'll Have What She's Having, is on at Assembly George Square, Studio Four, during August.
Performers Jess Brodie and Victoria Bianchi answer our qustions.
- Tell us about your Fringe show
I’ll Have What She’s Having is an autobiographical performance about Jess and Victoria's experiences of career, relationships and motherhood as viewed through the perspective of another person. The show is a devised comedy that uses sketch, dance and monologue to explore why women feel the need to filter their lives for other people; to be happier, wealthier, thinner and prettier than they really feel. It’s fun, it’s raw, it’s honest and it’s part of a conversation that, in 2018, is more relevant than ever.
- How does it feel to be playing the Fringe for the first time?
Two words: terrifying and exciting! We’re from Edinburgh and Glasgow– so we have both spent a LOT of time around the Fringe and know how daunting it can be and how much work is required! BUT we’re also beyond excited to bring I’ll Have What She’s Having back to the homeland!
- Why did you decide to perform at the Fringe?
The Fringe has always been something we’ve wanted to do from a very young age. Victoria visited it almost every year and Jess worked Front of House every summer through her late teens/early twenties and they have been obsessed with it ever since. Some people want to perform at the National or go on a global tour – we’ve always dreamed of being on at the Fringe. PLUS, the show is unique and fun and has a lively energy that definitely suits a Fringe-going audience.
- If you were not a performer what would you be doing?
Jess would probably be a novelist or a journalist…Or (curveball) something with website design, as the teenage MySpace layout artist in her really enjoys that kind of thing. Victoria would probably be a psychologist… or a lawyer… or an inventor – she’d really like to invent something.
- How do you prepare for a performance?
We have little warm-up rituals we do before a performance. Our favourite is the 'Get Loose' dance. We chant 'Get Loose' over and over again while releasing our limbs like rubber chickens and jumping in a circle. I'm not really sure how that started, but it's something we do before every show and rehearsal now. We're also partial to a tongue-twister, which Jess is terrible at, especially the 'She Sells' one.
- Best/worst advice you’ve been given ahead of your debut show?
Best advice: Look after yourself!!! It's VERY easy to neglect your own needs when you're in the midst of something as intense and all-encompassing as the Fringe.
The worst advice was from one of our dad’s - 'don't worry if it goes badly, no one will see it anyway' – cheers dad!
- Favourite thing about being in Edinburgh?
For Jess, it's amazing to be home with her family as she doesn’t get to see them that much now she lives in London. She particularly enjoys regressing back into her teenage self, which can happen when you’re sleeping in your old bedroom – right?! For Victoria it’s a chance to be in the thick of the action and to enjoy the slapdash lifestyle that she doesn’t get to do so much anymore!
- What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve done?
Probably Victoria's wedding, which was on a remote Scottish island complete with bagpiper, Irn Bru, whisky and shortbread.
- Favouite Scottish food/drink?
Jess: My absolute favourite thing to ever come out of Scotland was the humble Irn Bru Bar. It was like this big flat chewy sweet that had sour sherbet in it. I'll never understand why they discontinued them.
Victoria: DIET IRN BRU – which by the way, you cannot get anywhere other than Scotland (BELIEVE ME I’VE TRIED). It’s all the joy of Irn Bru but with none of the coma inducing sugar!
- Sum up your show in three words
Colourful, messy, truthful.
Show summary
Victoria and Jess. Love. Their. Lives. Honestly, they do. Sure, Victoria would like to get through the day without having baby vomit on her. And Jess would like to have one night out that doesn't result in popping the morning-after pill. Maybe they sometimes want a little bit of what the other has, but that doesn't mean they're unhappy, right? This devised comedy uses movement, monologue and sketch to explore contemporary womanhood and ask why, when we have more choices than ever, every decision we make feels like the wrong one. Supported by CPT.
I'll Have What She's Having is on at Assembly George Square, Studio Four, during August. For tickets, plase visit www.edfringe.com
You can follow Victoria and Jess on Twitter at @MsVictoriaBee and @JessicaB0nnie and visit their Facebook Event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/663277140731070/
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article