EDINBURGH 2017: BWW Q&A- DIGS

DIGS is a darkly playful devised piece of theatre about shared living, created and performed by Lucy Bairstow and Jessica Murrain. The duo grapple what it means to be consigned to 'generation rent', and the complex, joyous mess of living together.

Alongside throwing shapes to disco, throwing punches, throwing glitter in the air, they dive into the loneliness, anxiety and everyday violences that emerge in shared living spaces. Combining fiercely robust humour, with delicate portrayals of people struggling to anchor themselves, DIGS is a passionate, personal, political statement from two friends trapped in their overdrafts and in each others pockets.

Why bring it to Edinburgh?

Edinburgh is the best way to bring work you are proud of and excited about to a wide audience. The Edinburgh audience is lively, curious and as ready to laugh as they are to explore the complex social questions of our time. This is the spirit in which Digs was made, so it feels like a natural home for us.

Do you feel it is particularly relevant just now?

In making a show about shared living, we're ultimately asking questions about how we live together - as individuals, yes, but also as communities, as a wider society. We're questioning how we relate to each other, what our rights and responsibilities are, what the future looks like from where we are now. It couldn't be clearer that this is what we're questioning in this country right now. Major recent events, political discourse, the chats you overhear on the bus, the feel in the air, they all point to a society grappling with its identity. That's what we're asking - what have we built, and is this what we want to carry on building?

What sets it apart from other shows at the Fringe?

Theatre with Legs make work that is female, experimental and queer. At the heart of all our work is our relationship as artists and friends. Flirting with the boundary between live art and theatre, DIGS embraces the audience with a mixture of directness and ambiguity, allowing us to create a show that is deeply personal and yet reaches out at the same time.

Who would you recommend comes to see you?

People who want to see work that is female, queer, experimental, passionate, political. People who want to be provoked, to be angry and laughing at the same time. Our generation - the one the Tories creepily refer to as 'The Youth'... People who want to talk about loneliness, anxiety, the way we live together and what the future holds, but without boring ourselves to death!

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

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