EDINBURGH 2022: James Rowland Q&A

BWW Catches up with James Rowland to chat about bringing Learning To Fly to the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Learning To Fly.

Learning to Fly is about an unlikely friendship I made when I was chronically ill as a teenager. I was looked after by a fierce and forbidding old woman who lived over the road and despite all of the natural and cultural obstacles we ended up being very important to each other. It's about the things that brought us together; music, silence, tea, class A drugs and bad plumbing.It's about love.

And you're taking part in two other shows this Fringe?

I am! I'm really excited about both of them. Ten years ago (give or take) I was in a band called the iDioT Circus which never quite had the life it could have because of the various vicissitudes of making art- the singer and songwriter moved to LA to be in movies and the bassist relocated to Portugal to be happy, but somehow out of the maelstrom of the last few years we decided between us to give it a transatlantic try, and the fringe feels the perfect place for it (idiot circus 9pm Assembly Gardens).The other is a new thing. Post-pandemic I felt a real sense of needing to be in gentle spaces with like minded fragile people and my friend Roann Hassani-McClosky and I started a storytelling night to do just that. We're thrilled to be bringing it to the fringe (The Last Thursday Club 11pm Assembly Checkpoint 25th Aug)

How are you trying to make the performance accessible? How are Summerhall accommodating this?)

I think that unequivocally the most important part of live performance is the audience and it is long past time that all shows prioritised accessibility above all else. I'm delighted to be doing my show at Summerhall again as they are making great strides in accessibility.

Personally the thing I can do outside of the regular listings of relaxed performances is offer my time. If anyone reading this thinks that they or anyone they know might benefit from meeting me before the show and discussing their specific needs or requirements I would be delighted to do so. I can be contacted @jdsrowland on twitter or jdsrowland@hotmail.com

What would you like audiences to take away from the show?

Ha! Gosh... A big question. I would love people to feel and think while we're all in a room together and laugh and let our heartbeats synchronise.

In terms of what people take away from it? I think that's up to them. I just hope that people feel it was time well spent.

What's next for the show after the festival?

I'm taking it on tour round the UK which I'm really looking forward to. Doing the shows at Summerhall has always been a wonderful home for my shows and it's a joy to take that feeling on the road. This is also going to be the the first part of a new trilogy in partnership with Attic Theatre company, I'm excited to see what the future brings in what is a scary and uncertain world. I hope that sharing stories in the dark with people across the country and I hope that it is useful for audiences to have me carry on doing so.

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