EDINBURGH 2016: BWW Q&A - Scary Shit

BWW speaks to Rhiannon Faith ahead of her 2016 Edinburgh Fringe run with Scary Shit.

What kind of Scary Shit are we talking about?

We all have Scary Shit. If you #ScaryShit the things that come up are bizarre. Mine was talking on the telephone to people I don't know, my partner in grime Maddy had anxieties surrounding her fertility. There is such a massive spectrum of phobias and fears and we lunge into these, and fear in general. It's starts a bit pink, fluffy and ridiculous, but we get to a point when we're like "Man, why are we so afraid, why are we so f**ked up?" Lets deal with that. NOW.

What research did you do for the show?

I felt I was failing as a businesswoman/artist and decided it was time to ask for help. I suggested to my friend (and company dancer) Maddy that I needed therapy and asked if she would be up for having it too. So we both began our journeys by attending six therapy sessions led by psychotherapist Joy Griffiths. We filmed the sessions and used the footage as a way to start talking about our fears, and that became the material for the show. We talk about being women, we test our friendship and we learn how important it is to ask for help, using the voice recordings of our therapist Joy to stay on track. All the dialogue in the show is autobiographical. At times it's ridiculous, difficult, very honest and a little bit outrageous.

What inspired you to write Scary Shit?

It started with a perfectly wanky romanticism - "What would happen if everyone in the world could live without fear, how could that change the world?" But also I was sick of being afraid all the time. I realised I was 32, and letting fear control me, and thought "Let's sort this shit out!"

Who would you recommend comes to see Scary Shit?

It's 16+ purely because there are a lot of fannies and f**king language. So every 16+ human in Edinburgh during 3-29 August should totally come. The audience will experience myself and Maddy unraveling, falling apart and helping each other find ways to talk about Scary Shit, so that everybody feels OK talking about Scary Shit. It's an outrageous, funny, difficult ride, and it's real. It's dance/theatre/comedy/devised/autobiographical/honest/pink with a smutty mouth. Beg much.

There are a number of mental health-related comedy shows at the festival this year - what sets Scary Shit apart from the rest?

They are all so important! The Sick Of The Fringe (TSOTF) is doing an ace programme that we will be involved in. Scary Shit has taught us how to start to fix ourselves, which you see in the show. But setting us apart would mainly be my incredible pink fluffy helmet and kneepads that support lots of lunges, and the dry humping. You deffo don't want to miss that...

Timings and ticket information for Scary Shit are available on the edfringe website.

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