Q&A: EDINBURGH 2024: Tanwen Stokes on JEWELS

BWW caught up with Tanwen Stokes about bringing Jewels to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

How did you first get involved in the world of theatre?

When I was around six, I played a little mouse in The Nutcracker. I had one instruction - to gracefully scurry off stage before the Nutcracker entered. Of course, my head ended up being caught in the crossfire of his grand jeté. The consequent brain damage has left me chasing that feeling ever since. I spent my high school years in North Wales and there wasn’t much of a theatre scene, but I spent many years performing with my mum in her amdram Gilbert & Sullivan society. It wasn’t until I went to London for my undergrad that I spent all my time acting in anything and everything (instead of writing my essays). Everyone was writing new stuff which felt equal parts inspiring and overwhelming. It’s really only since going to drama school that I’ve plucked up the courage to put on my own work. So, it’s only the beginning!

Can you tell us a bit about your show, Jewels?

It’s a camp, raunchy and bard-core satire on the hypocrisy and inconsistency of medieval Catholic principles. We follow prostitute Jules ‘The Jewel’ of Cock’s Lane, one of London’s legal brothel sites, as she trades in being a brothel babe for becoming Christ’s eternal bride as an anchoress, a rather severe form of religious subservience in which women would be walled into a small cell for life. Jules is based on the real but forgotten story of the unique case of an anchoress being placed atop London’s largest plague pit in 1348. Nothing is known about her. I got thinking, who was she? Why did she make such a sacrifice? The first book in English written by a woman, Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich, was written from within her anchoritic cell, part of a large canon of literature written by women using devotional writing as a catalyst for their creative (and sexual) expression. Maybe Jesus in his sexy loin cloth could provide them with everything mortal men couldn’t - freedom, safety and sexual satisfaction. It’s raw, honest and sometimes smutty material, from which Jewels was born. With a dark twist, Jewels is an open-ended exploration of the shame, pleasure and existential desperation that comes from existing in a woman’s body – whether that be in the 14th century or the 21st.

 

What was the creative process like for Jewels?

Writing, writing, writing, rewriting. I wanted Jewels to be not only historically accurate but a could-be-true story, with all the anecdotes and passages being lifted as closely as possible from source material. Basically, I had a lot of tabs open while watching a lot of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I always wanted to write about an anchoress, but I originally had the protagonist be very innocent and sexually unliberated. As soon as I settled on making her a sex worker, the words were flying onto the page. I do think I’ve spent most of my creative efforts on the creation of the script itself, but my small and mighty creative team has been the key to bringing it to life. Miriam, my director, really focused on bringing structure, craft and detail into the play, and I knew I could trust James’ playful and high-spirited music to tie it all together with a camp little bow.

What is it like to be both the writer and the performer of a solo show like Jewels?

The writing process felt like quite an academic pursuit - an ironic turn of events from my uni days - not just in my trawling through Middle English literature, but my insistence on philosophical symbolism throughout. It takes a lot of discipline to stop touching the script and just rehearse. I don’t have that discipline. Luckily, my brilliant director, Miriam, does, and when I handed over the script to her it felt quite freeing to relinquish directive control and engage actor mode. Then comes the next unavoidable step - shame. There’s nothing like the vulnerability of standing on stage doing an hour of what might be complete codswallop, but it’s so important to overcome. I live with other actors and writers and we’re not afraid to tell each other if something’s a steaming pile of night soil. It’s quite beautiful, really.

How do you balance the comedy of the story with its more serious subjects like morality and free will?

I’m not sure if I can say that it is balanced. The philosophical content is explored through the comedic moments themselves. In a medieval society where sexual trauma essentially didn’t exist in public discussion, Jules’ incessant bawdiness and storytelling is a coping mechanism for any existential issues she may have. She doesn’t really consider her philosophical musings to be all that deep or relevant until she can’t avoid them anymore. This might leave the audience a bit uncomfortable by the time we get to the darker final few minutes, but that’s sort of the point.

What is it like bringing Jewels up to the Edinburgh Fringe?

A morning slot of an adult show was always going to be hard. And only doing a week run at the Fringe can be more intense than the whole festival: just as we are getting into the swing of things, it’s time to go home. But I’m always blown away by the spirit, intrigue and camaraderie at the Fringe, and I’ve spoken to so many people who are excited to chat about medieval prostitution. Our venue at The Caves is so perfect for Jewels – it’s dark, dingy, dusty and atmospheric. It really feels like I’m in an anchoress cell, and I’m so humbled by the people who file in at 10:50 AM to watch what we’ve created. I do have to spend fifteen minutes washing my feet in the toilets afterwards, though. It’s all part of the Fringe experience!

What do you hope audiences take away from Jewels?

Though we don’t all live under the strict doctrine of the Catholic church anymore, the threat of conservative ideology is a very real presence, with stories like The Handmaid’s Tale feeling uncomfortably relatable. Though Jewels is a period piece, I was inspired by the Barbie movie that came out last year: like Barbie, Jules lives in a box made by men. Her story represents 700 years of unheard voices of everyday women, and I hope audiences can relate to her in some way, though I don’t want it to be a depressing polemic on how little society has changed since the Middle Ages. Above all, it’s a celebration: of our bodies, the delights of our little world, and the relentless human spirit.

How would you describe Jewels in one word?

. . . Audacious! 

Jewels runs until 14 August at Just the Tonic at The Caves - Just the Wee One at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Photo Credit: Kamrul Hasan

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