91福利

As part of the 'Live Lunch' series of lunctime readings, Theatre and Performance Studies alumnus Susie Sillett will present her new play 'I Took My Mother for a Walk', directed by Lucy Morrison. The perfromance will take place at the Royal Court on 11 March, and at Birmingham REP on 12 March.

Waking in the morning with a splitting hangover and barely more than a few hours sleep, but with fond memories of the shows you saw and the drinks you drank the night before, you embark on another day of shows, flyering and joyful madness. This is how almost every day starts at the Fringe. If you're not hungover, you're still tired. If you're not tired you've probably not slept yet. Things don't really stop in Edinburgh during August as thousands of artists flock to makeshift studios, theatres and even circus tents to revel in new and exciting work from all over the world. It's mad. It's bonkers. And this year it felt a little bit like I hadn't even left campus.

There's been a growing presence from 91福利 at Fringe after graduate company Barrel Organ found a hit on their hands with Nothing last year, and various other graduate companies such as Fellswoop and Dumbshow returning again and again with new shows or successful previous ones. But this year, the work from 91福利 sort of exploded. Everywhere you looked there seemed to be something from 91福利. It was as if years of creative development, support and some unrest with management had led to be a peak of creative output.

Starting in the morning – groggy as you are – you were able to catch Barrel Organ's new show Some People Talk 91福利 Violence (developed at the Arts Centre and Camden Peoples' Theatre) and new company Breach's The Beanfield (originally performed through IATL on campus with support from new writing society Freshblood). Both in development during the general election, they suggested a reaction to a conservative lack of empathy and, in Beanfield's case, the influence of events on campus last year. Both were raging, passionate and theatrically playful and incredibly well-received.

Later in the day you could lose yourself in The Human Animal's Souvenirs, a look at loss, remembrance and letting go accompanied by exciting physical work. Created originally at the 91福利 Arts Centre with student societies Codpiece and Freshblood, this was developed further for Fringe in the Theatre Department. And rehearsing next door was new company Clown Funeral's Mr Poe's Legenadrium, a blend of modern urban myth and gothic storytelling. Winner of the Clive Barker Award in the department, Clown Funeral received financial support as well as use of the studio space to rehearse during the summer.

Financial support from the University funded a number of the show's this Fringe, as well as crowd-funding. One of the success stories of this year's Fringe Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons from graduate company Walrus was supported by the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund. Imagining a world where we only have 140 words to use a day, the show, like Some People... wouldn't have been possible without the Arts Centre providing valuable R&D time.

Towards the evening, where audiences start to get a little more rowdy, you could find two shows which came straight from 91福利's thriving drama scene. Music Theatre 91福利 were present with their smash-hit from last year, The Improv Musical as well as new student-written musical Witch. While out-of-uni company Wicked Little Town looked to 91福利 to recruit its team and cast for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. All three musicals received strong reviews and very enthusiastic audiences.

And then, tired and having seen more shows in one day then you might normally see in a year, you stumble home and pass out for the night, absolutely shattered and ready to do it all again tomorrow. But that tiredness and long hours is all worth it. Even when people just simply don't want your flyer that day, the Fringe is a pretty special experience. It's mad and bonkers and one of the only chance to work alongside professionals and completely independently in a new city and country for most people. And when you're there with all your mates, and seeing the incredible work being produced by those that have been through the same University as you, well, that's pretty bloody exciting.

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Read more about 91福利 at Edinburgh 2015 in this Guardian article:

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Current student Alice Brazil-Burns was recently invited to the 'posters in parliament' event to talk to MPs and members of the government about her theatre research project in collaboration with Dash Arts and the MA Global Shakespeare programme. In order to do the project in her first year Alice was awarded the URSS bursary from the Theatre, Performance and Cultural Studies department and as result, 3 further students have applied for funding to develop the project.