EDINBURGH 2022: Lucy Frederick Q&A

BWW catches up with Lucy Frederick to chat about bringing Lucy Frederick's Big Fat Wedding to the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Lucy Frederick's Big Fat Wedding.
Lucy Frederick's Big Fat Wedding is a show about being a fat bride; finding a wedding dress, dodging diet culture and maintaining a positive relationship with your body. With weddings and marriage quickly becoming a bit outdated and old fashioned, it can be a bit tricky to remember why you want to do it in the first place, but I don't have any family (which I will explain in the show) so I just wanted to feel like a legitimate part of one. It's a show about loving a fat body, self-acceptance and taking up space both literally and figuratively.

What was the inspiration behind writing the show?
I got married in September and found the process of wedding planning really interesting. I love a bit of admin so I did enjoy the planning bit but there's so much about the lead up to a wedding when you are a lady person that can rock the foundations of how you feel about yourself and your body if you're not careful. Plus, everyone has an opinion on your wedding and they don't seem to be shy about sharing it! So working out what it is you actually want is pretty hard when you're not naturally terribly assertive.

Who would you like to come and see it?
I'd love for anyone who struggles with body image to come and see it. Anyone who has just got married or is about to. But most of all I'd love for anyone who struggles with boundaries and self-love to come and see it. Those are my people. Lots of the stuff I write about comes down to self-acceptance and confidence. I'm always probably going to be one of those slightly annoying overly earnest comics that makes a point about something or other. But that's ok. It's who I am!

What would you like audiences to take away from it?
The principle intention is for people to have a laugh. It's a fun show about the mad characters you meet while planning a wedding and the bizarre stuff we put ourselves through as women. But on a deeper level I hope people take away a feeling that it's ok to like the stuff you like, to be the shape and size that you are right now and that anyone who tells you otherwise should get in a bin.

Do you think you know what to expect from the Fringe?
Oh god I don't know - does anyone know? Everything is so expensive this year so I guess those of us who are paying for venues and accommodation and all the rest of it will be looking at those sales reports even more anxiously than in previous years? That's never fun. To be honest though, in spite of all that, I feel pretty excited for this year. I've missed doing the Fringe the last couple of years so it will be nice to get back there. I'm really trying to maintain a bit of a que sera sera attitude to it. I've written a show I love performing and I'll get to hang out with lovely people who I don't get to see as much as I'd like. Anything above that is gravy.

But also it would be nice to get some good reviews and a few sold out shows. I'm not greedy. Maybe an award of some sort. Nothing big.

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Photo credit: Karla Gowlett

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