Two Stones One Bird explore the true power of human connection at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Name: Two Stones One Bird
Name of Edinburgh show: Face 2 Face
Venue: theSpace @ Surgeons Hall Theatre 3
Performance time: 15:05
Show length: 50mins
Ticket price: £10 / £8 concessions

Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your performing background?
After both attempting to take the drama school route we thought, “Let’s take matters into our own hands”, so we started a theatre company together! We started small and wanted to give other actors that we knew the chance to perform! We have worked with many people from different acting backgrounds: those trained at drama school, not trained at all, has an agent, doesn’t have an agent. But we all have one thing in common…. wanting to create a career doing something we love. Two Stones One Bird wants to give them a platform to perform. We have had several shows in the past, the first of which was O.W.N. – an original writing night, where we took submissions from new writers and chose three to perform in front of an audience. After the amazing response we had, we took on the man himself… Shakespeare!! We looked at different monologues/duologues and got a group of actors together, giving the female actors male monologues, and the male actors female monologues. We gave each speech a modern setting, such as in a nightclub and on Deal or No Deal. Finally, our biggest step before Edinburgh was our ARTS (artists ready to strive) fundraising event in July 2017. We brought a host of different talents together, from photographers and artists to singers and dancers. The two-day event showcased all the talent in different ways; one was an evening of entertainment, and the other a day of hiding our artists within the grounds, letting our audience roam around to try and find them. We managed to raise enough to take our first step towards the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and we have been producing, directing, acting and marketing the show to make sure it’s ready for August 2018.

Tell me about your show, what it is all about?
Face 2 Face is a piece of new writing which explores the idea of human connection in a world where technology consumes us all. It’s a light-heated comedy set in a coffee shop, which is the perfect place to have organic interactions surrounded by screen lit faces. Technology is becoming a greater force within our society; everyday we are becoming more dependent on it. Set 20 years in the future, we see the story of Ben and Emma who are different from the norm. They share one thing in common: the desire to escape from this high-tech world, which is easier said than done. But no matter how much you rely on technology, you cannot dispute the true power of human connection.

How long have you been working on this show and what is it that makes it relevant to audiences in 2018?
Face 2 Face had been brewing in the background since the beginning, but only had 1 scene to its name. After seeing our two good friends Megan and Ben take a show to Ed Fringe 2017 and do incredibly well, it inspired us to take the leap, and that’s when Luke took to writing his first full length play.
Technology has always been present in our lives. People spend hours on social media, but don’t have much time to speak to people in person. Our lives are busy; we are all running on empty because we are in a world where work takes priority, where household chores take priority. We don’t give ourselves time to sit and enjoy each other’s company. We send a text or give them a quick call because it’s a lot easier than scheduling time out of your day to physically go and meet someone, sit down for a few hours and just relax! We think it is important to look at this topic and take notice of how fast things are changing around us. We want to remind people to step back and take the opportunity to meet up with that person you haven’t seen in years, or say to your mum, “let’s go out for lunch one Sunday!”. Just give yourself a moment to have that human interaction.

Do you have any top tips for surviving the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – both for performers and visitors to the event?
We have been to the fringe once as audience members last year, and absolutely loved it! In order to survive I think our top tip would be to take a chance on something you would not have given a second thought about.
This is our first time up as performers so I’m sure we will figure out how to survive one way or another, from watching the determination of Megan and Ben last year I think a top tip for performers to survive the Fringe would be to ENJOY EVERY MINIUTE OF IT!

What has been the funniest or most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you on stage?
Two Stones One Bird has kept its cool so far. But Sophie has felt the embarrassment of an on stage slip up. Whilst performing Bugsy Malone a few years back, she went to start her big solo number ‘Ordinary fool’ but the keyboard died just before the song was due to start so whoever was on music just started playing the instrumental but in the wrong key. She began to sing a lot lower than planned, and she looked up to the control box at the back of the auditorium and saw the sound/lighting operator put his hands on his head and shake it in disbelief. She started to panic but couldn’t leave the stage so just kept singing, strong and wrong!! Thankfully the keyboard came back in and she got back on track by the second verse.

Who are your biggest inspirations in the industry and why?
We are big admirers of the company Kneehigh. The work they create is so imaginative and meaningful, using different art forms to create each of their unique stories.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Oooo, that’s a good one. We don’t have any of yet, but hopefully during our run at the Fringe we will create some!

What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at Edinburgh Fringe?
There are so many different shows being performed up in Edinburgh that we are excited to go and watch, but in particular we are looking forward to watching City Love (c venue – c cubed – main space, 14:00). After their successful run at last years free fringe, they are back, capturing the relationship of Simon Vinnicombe’s characters splendidly.

Why do you think people should come and see your show over the thousands of others on at the fringe?
We are an unknown company, and the theme of this year’s Fringe is #intotheunknown. The Fringe gives us an incredible platform to reach out to thousands of audience members who have never heard of us before, if they choose to come and see the show they may just find their new favourite piece of theatre, but they won’t know unless they come and see it! So, take a leap into the unknown and let us show you what we have to offer!

_____________________________________________________________