Name: Looby Mills
Name of Edinburgh show: Walk Swiftly with Purpose
Venue: The Space on the Mile; Venue 39
Performance time: 13th-18th August 11:05am | 20th-25th August 11:35am
Show length: 50 minutes
Ticket price: £9:50 (conc. £7)
Can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your performing background?
I’m 23 and terrifyingly no longer classified as a graduate so I’m unsure as to where I’m standing these days, but I went to Warwick University where I studied Film Studies and English Literature. The real holy grail of my Uni experience was doing a Radio Show where I had a special segment dedicated to Harrison Ford called ‘Ford Focus’ (it won an award and I’m embarrassingly proud*). I started acting with my pinnacle role as ‘Hawaiian Dancer No.3’ in the school nativity but I only considered it as a profession after getting into National Youth Theatre. Then since leaving Uni, I’ve been living in London working mainly as an actor but also as tutor, script reader and show reporter.
*Come see our show and I’d be more than happy to dazzle you with relatively pointless trivia about Harrison Ford after the show.
Tell me about your show, what it is all about?
It’s about four friends, Eve, Lana, Robbie and Misha. They’re provocative, pretentious, playful and on the cusp of adulthood; They have lived mostly in their imagination when suddenly real-life interrupts and their loyalties are tested. During the course of the play they reflect upon themselves and their relationships while navigating how to grow up in the 21st Century.
How long have you been working on this show and what is it that makes it relevant to audiences in 2018?
I joined the cast back in May and it’s been an utter dream to work on. Everyone that is a part of this play has made it such a beautiful experience and I think that that loveliness will translate to an audience. It is filled with all the emotional extremities that one might experience as a teenager; it’s joyous, its’ heart breaking and it’s scary. Basically, everything it is to grow up! I feel each person that watches the show would be able to take away something unique which I think is kind of wonderful!
Do you have any top tips for surviving the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – both for performers and visitors to the event?
As a first timer to the Fringe I’m pretty useless here! I’ll be that annoying person picking everyone else’s brains but I would imagine sleeping, eating and having a vitamin C in the morning couldn’t hurt.
What has been the funniest or most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you on stage?
I was in a school production of Mamma Mia where the cast got a bit boozy before, I was playing Sky and half way through belting out ‘Lay All Your Love on Me’ to my friend playing Sophie I did a full banana slip across the stage. Bit of a disaster as a play but the audience (our parents) seemed to find it entertaining! Here’s hoping it will be the one and only time I’ve mainlined wine before performing on stage…
Who are your biggest inspirations in the industry and why?
As an actor – Charlize Theron. I respect her character choices as well as her attitude to the industry. At the time when she got into Hollywood she could have easily been typecast but she forced people to see past how her ‘look’ might fit to support a film or often a male lead, and made the industry take her seriously as professional to enable her to tell real stories with honesty – take ‘Monster’ or her new film ‘Tully’. She uses the platform that she has been lucky enough to receive in order to embrace a role as a positive influencer and activist.
Do you have any pre-show rituals?
I like to hug a cast member. Sometimes it will be the same person every night, sometimes I change it up. Often, I make sure it’s someone playing a character that my character dislikes…it has no logic I’m afraid, but I think hugs are nice and I’m probably quite annoying in hindsight.
What other acts are you looking forward to seeing at Edinburgh Fringe?
I’m definitely hoping to go up and discover something fantastic myself but, in terms of what I know, Stella Von Koskull is doing a wonderful play called ‘The Welcome Revolution’. Hannah Gadsby is also going to be performing who I’d be desperate to see, her new stand up on Netflix ‘Nanette’ is a progressive approach to comedy and highlights the role it could/should play in speaking out against many prejudices in society, specifically sexual violence against women and homophobia – she’s utterly captivating in sharing her story!
Why do you think people should come and see your show over the thousands of others on at the fringe?
I can’t imagine a better way to start your day at the Fringe! We’re an 11:05/11:35am slot and while there are serious themes which grip the action of the play, at its heart is the all-consuming loyalty and love you have for your closest friends who support you through the pinnacle years of late teenage life. It’s nostalgic in an enchanting way. What doesn’t sound lovely about that?!
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