With the Edinburgh Fringe Festival about to kick off, we’ve been learning about all the Australians who have secured a spot amongst the thousands of daily performances at the Scottish event. Eight of these performances – including two we featured in our picks list earlier this week – are produced by a company called House of Oz, who have been supporting Australian creativity at the festival for five years now. To learn more about them and the work they do, I caught up with Georgie Black, the London based Founder and Creative Director of the powerhouse production platform.
What led you to London originally?
I have lots of family in London and we’d visit regularly as children on holidays. I always just felt really at home here. I wasn’t a beach bunny growing up in Sydney and London felt more like my vibe.
How did House of Oz come to be, and how has it evolved since then?
I was on the Board of Patrons of the UK / Australia Season of Culture – a bilateral pan-arts festival between the British Council and the Australian Government, which saw artists from one country being sent to perform in the other. Suddenly I realised there was this massive gap in the market process for Aussie performers. Someone needed to create and pave a pathway for Aussie artists so they had a way to get to the world’s stages via the incredible portal that is the Edinburgh Festival.
So I rather blindly rented Kings Hall during Edinburgh Fringe in 2022, turned it into a self styled Aussie leisure and performance pavilion, flew over 155 artists and House of Oz was born. We repeated that in 2023 and then pivoted when wonderful partners came knocking on our door for 2024. Five years in, we now partner with Big Four presenters and Summerhall, and have worked out a streamlined and really impactful model.
When did you first go to the Edinburgh Fringe? Has the festival changed at all since then? And has the presence of Australian talent grown over the years?
I first went as a punter ten years ago and every year it was on since . I ABOLUTELY loved it. The accommodation situation now has become crazy so that means it’s more busy with artists and with more shows than ever. I think the Fringe landscape has always had great Aussies appearing in it but they are much more prevalent now. They make a bigger noise, have more to say and get more attention.
Australians have a long history of export onto London stages (shout out to Olivier Nominee Trevor Ashley currently stealing the show in The Producers). Do you remember the first Australian artist or production you saw in the market?
The first Australian artist I saw in the market must have been Nicole Kidman in 1998 in the “theatrical Viagra” of The Blue Room.
What do you think the general consensus is in the UK of Australian theatre and comedy? Do you think there are any general misconceptions of our talent?
I think there is still a misconception, especially in non-Fringe circles of, “Australian Culture – is that really a thing ?” but if you actually shone a torch over the list of every Aussie who has performed in the UK over the last decade, it would shut that idea down, quick smart. But as to Fringe audiences, they know us, they know what we bring and they are excited for us. The way the festival circuit runs in the Aussie calendar year, Aussie Fringe performers have had almost 12 months to hone their work before they hit Edinburgh of an August – from Sydney in September , Melbourne in October, Perth in January and Adelaide in February, while a lot of UK performers are still writing their shows in July. That means we’re ready, we’re practised and we’re world class.
What are the biggest challenges facing Australian creatives trying to export their talent internationally?
It’s boring as hell, but it’s plain and simple – the F word – funding. We have so far to travel and it’s so expensive , with added risks also associated with flights being cancelled and freight going badly missing. Some Aussies get really, really burnt when they come to Edinburgh. Most of them get into debt to come . Some can re-pay the money, bit by bit, but others don’t manage to be seen in the melee. One of our artists braved Edinburgh on their own, ten years ago and was still feeling the financial effects of that 8 years later – ouch.
With seemingly thousands of daily performances, Edinburgh Fringe is a daunting festival to say the least. What tips do you have for first time attendees?
For first time attendee performers – get a good publicist early – like in January – have great assets – a really eye-catching poster and great social media videos . And flyer with heart for 3 hours a day.
Talk us through the House of Oz program – what are you most excited about everyone getting to experience?
This year we’ve got 8 extraordinary shows – all completely brilliant and all in different genres.
First up is, The Listies, Edinburgh family favourites, on their 13th year with their brand new show, 110% Ready. The best thing about seeing The Listies is that the adults have as much of a good time as the kids do. We’re presenting a really special dance theatre piece called, Glass Child . A glass child is a child that has a sibling with disability so one tends to look through the glass child like they’re transparent and focus on the other child. Because our main performer is a man with Down syndrome, the show is only on for half the festival, so get your tickets quickly to that one – it’s a very moving experience. I am most looking forward to seeing that.
We’ve also got, How not to make it in America, a monodrama where the central actor plays 28 gripping characters. Set in 2001, it’s about a naïve Aussie actor who goes to New York to make it and finds himself in the middle of 9/11. Then there are Fringe faves, Gravity and Other Myths with, Ten Thousand Hours – often cited as , “the best show ever” , it’s a wonderful testament to what the human body can do if you really, really, REALLY try . Making a big splash is Fuccbois – a comedy musical with four female performers playing toxic masculinity boy band members on their “last ever concert” – the songs are tight and poptastic and it’s a laugh a minute hilarious. We’re also presenting, BIRDS by Sons of Susan, an extended sketch show comedy set in climate change Armageddon where Kath and Kim will meet Waiting for Godot.
We’ve also got a really stimulating and thought-provoking immersive dance club meets colonisation and candy floss piece called Daddy by Joel Bray, a First Nations Australian, dancer / choreographer. I predict that show is going to be THE late night go-to. Finally a really extraordinary piece that House of Oz have helped to develop which is a VR experience called, Concerts of the Future where you become a playing member of a symphony orchestra.
Indeed this allowed you to (digitally) bring the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to Edinburgh. What more can you tell us about this experience?
Concerts of the Future came about when our resident genius musicologist, Ciaran Frame, was thinking about how could it be for orchestras to tour in 50 years time. With motion sensor technology he developed in his academic work , you can expect to put on your goggles, move your arms about and find yourself seated in a particular section of the MSO (you can choose your section and try them all if you like), playing the 4th movement of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. It’s going to be epic.
Do you expect productions like this to be more common in the future?
Because Ciaran’s work is true vanguard stuff, I do think we’ll see more people following suit in years to come.
You’ve worked with over 1,200+ performances – is there a show or project House of Oz has worked with that sticks out to you as having set the path for that creative or the project to launch around the world?
Nothing beats Lewis Major’s Triptych which sold out every ticket from day one of every performance, won a brace of awards, received over 35 bookings from various countries to present globally, booked 3 years of touring , caught the eye of the EIF and changed his professional life forever.
Any final words about this year’s program?
The great thing about this year’s program is that our shows are well spaced time wise and geographically so you can see 6 of our 8 shows in one day. Come along and spend the day with us! It’ll blow your senses, feed your soul and give you lots to think about.
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival officially kicks off on 7th August.
For more details about the House of Oz program during the festival, and for a link to buy tickets to any of the shows listed, head to https://www.houseofoz.co.uk/.
