How London’s Creative Scene Helped Me Take My Show To The Fringe

As she prepares to take her show, Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century, up from London to the dizzying heights of the Edinburgh Fringe, actor and Country & Town House Senior Account Director Olive McHugh looks back on the journey that led her there – including how the play was forged in the crucible of London itself.

An Actor’s Love Letter To London Ahead Of The Fringe

I’m not a member of the ‘Creatives in London’ WhatsApp group, but this is still how we were catapulted together. When singer and fellow creative Yasmin Hass sent the casting call my way, neither of us expected the outcome (despite the key characteristic being deeply resonant to me: ‘almost painfully middle class’). There, I would connect with Dale Robertson, my soon-to-be writer/director and creative tag teamer.

Dale wrote Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century with a ticking clock behind him: he needed to secure his global talent visa to stay in London. And so, as what could have been his final act in London, he was determined to craft an ode to this incredible city, along with the amazing people who made it home. 

Along the way, I began to compile my own love letter to London: to the locations and people who helped to bring this show to life – and to transfer it to the world famous Edinburgh Fringe. If you’d like to see where all these roads in London eventually led, Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century is playing at Gilded Balloon Patter House throughout the festival (5–31 August, excluding 17 August). We’d love to see you there.

Soho Theatre, Dean Street

If there is one place that reminds you where going to Edinburgh Fringe can eventually lead you it’s Soho Theatre. This was the initial home for Fringe transfers such as Jordan Gray, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Richard Gadd and most recently, the next one to watch, Jade Franks. Soho Theatre is the beating heart of London’s Fringe Theatre scene. Attending a show at Soho Theatre is the easiest way to rekindle any faded inspiration. For me, this happened in a heartbeat when watching Jade Franks’ Eat The Rich (But maybe not me mates x), a side splittingly funny and razor sharp portrayal of the class divide in this country, told through Franks’ own experience of attending the University of Cambridge. From Dale writing some of the show here to catch up production meetings and our ongoing manifestations of transferring here, thank you Soho Theatre for constantly being a warm reminder of community, comedy and the joy of sitting in a room full of strangers, laughing.

Petunia’s fabulous coat was found on Portobello Road. (Olive as Petunia in Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century.)

Portobello Road, Notting Hill

Broke & Fabulous follows Alex and Petunia, two larger-than-life best friends navigating the difficulties of following one’s dreams and the compromises we sometimes have to make when living in London. But one thing they refuse to ever compromise on is being fabulous. Creating the costumes for these characters was a focal part of the show – but of course on a shoe string budget. Working with our costume designer Roxanne Ivy (whose most recent work includes being Cynthia Eviro’s dresser on her West End run of Dracula), we shopped for items on Portobello Road. This included digging for treasure at the incredible Lexie’s stall, haggling at the market and picking up a coat from Rebecca Shamoon, the designer who created the signature coat Petunia wears in the play.

Hampstead Ladies Ponds, Hampstead Heath

Arriving at the Ladies Pond after a pilgrimage across the city is like arriving at a female oasis. It’s a place that brings me zen amid the madness of putting on the show – a reminder that one’s stresses (will we ever secure additional posters near our venue? Will we ever break even?) are never as mad as they seem. Swimming amongst gossiping women, mother ducks and ducklings and the formidable regular swimmers all for the price of £5 is the perfect tonic for a week that’s felt a little out of hand.

Olive and Dale rehearsing in Milk Beach.

Lonsdale Road, Queen’s Park

Queen’s Park has been an epicentre of Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century, mainly thanks to Elliot Milne, founder of Aussie restaurant and bar Milk Beach. Created in this leafy corner of North West London, Milk Beach has since moved to Soho, but the original Queen’s Park restaurant was our rehearsal home last year. We would meet there in the evenings, once the restaurant had closed. Without Elliot’s generosity, we could never have made the show. From shooting our trailer as our videographer hung out the back of a moving car with employees on their lunch break to the Gen Z waitstaff giving us a strict talking to on how we need to up our social media game, Elliot and the entire family at Milk Beach were a constant support system for us. The Queen’s Park restaurant has now been transformed by Elliot into Bar Blondie, a southern European-inspired wine bar, along with sommelier Alexandra Price.

Dale in Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century at the Etcetera Theatre.

The Etcetera Theatre, Camden

The very first home of Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century, this 42-seat theatre is a little gem stowed away above a suitably boozy and merry pub. Broke & Fabulous is set in an old theatre that has closed (support the arts) and become a guardianship, where we find our protagonist Alex is living. The Etcetera’s intimate space makes for an amazing up close and personal experience. It’s also one of the principle locations for Camden Fringe which, if you’re not heading up to the Edinburgh Fringe, is worth paying a visit from 3–30 August.

Olive’s graduating class at LAMDA.

LAMDA, Baron’s Court

The real launch moment of my acting career was getting onto the course at LAMDA (the London Academy of the Dramatic Arts). This is also where I met our incredible stage manager Kat Parry who has worked magic in making this show a reality. LAMDA will forever hold a special place in my heart, not only for the incredible training and rehearsal rooms they gave us, but for the incredible friends and community that never fail to amaze or support me, turning up to every show I perform in.

Bank

A slight red herring on this list, I do agree. But given that photography studios are expensive, we met up here on a Monday in March to film marketing material for Broke & Fabulous, including group shots and character trailers. This led to us running around Bank in our costumes and weaving our scantily-clad bodies (the show is about dating in your 30s, after all) around city workers as they tried to buy their lunch.

London King’s Cross

Because where else in London can you get a train straight to the heart of Fringe? While this article may be my love letter to London, Edinburgh is where the next iteration of our venture takes place, and where we get to share our story with a whole new audience. If you’re heading to the Fringe this August, we’d love it if you to came to see Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century at Gilded Balloon Patter House. And hey, it’s not too late to book your train ticket. Hopefully, we’ll see you there.

Olive is an actor and Senior Account Director at Country & Town House. Tickets for Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century are on sale now at gildedballoon.co.uk, priced from £11.25pp.