Our director Gary Merry was interviewed by The New Current about Piaf Remembered. Here’s what he had to say…

Hey Gary, thanks for talking to tNC, how is everything going?

​We’ve been very busy rehearsing, but we’re ready and can’t wait to get to the Festival.

What does it mean for you to be bringing Piaf Remembered at theSpaces this August?

We’re very happy to be heading to this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and are very pleased to be performing at Symposium Hall, a great venue. The Festival will see the premiere of Piaf Remembered, and we’re all looking forward to finally sharing what we believe to be a great show with an audience.

Are there any nerves setting in ahead of your fringe run or are you unfazed by the commotion of the festival?

I think we are pretty all relaxed at the moment, three of us have appeared at the Festival before with other companies so we know what to expect. There will inevitably be a few nerves as the first performance approaches, but we are all professionals so we are used to it. It will be a particularly busy time for two members of the company when we finally arrive, for although Oriana Curls who appears as Piaf and I are only in one show this year, Joe Bickerstaff our pianist, and Katy Jungman who plays saxophone, clarinet, and accordion are both in two other shows at the Festival.

Tell me a little bit about Piaf Remembered, what can we expect?

Piaf Remembered is a mixture of spoken word and French song, an intimate musical cabaret. The core of the piece is of course the songs of Edith Piaf – as beautifully performed by French singer Oriana Curls. But additionally the song is mixed with the recollections of a man who saw her perform live in Paris in 1962. This is very definitely not a Piaf tribute act, nor a lecture on her life illustrated with songs. It is a memory brought to life. We see and hear Piaf through the eyes and ears of a man who recounts his experience of one night nearly 57 years ago. Don’t expect to see a wizened Piaf on her last legs, this is a memory, and for our 8 year old boy Piaf was a beautiful vision who sang like an angel, and moved people with every song.

What was the inspiration behind this show?

The inspiration for the show is the work of Piaf herself. We all share a love of her music, but wanted to produce something more complex than a straightforward gig. Piaf’s final concert at The Olympia in Paris (a venue she performed at many times) in October 1962 was her last in Paris, and has become iconic for that reason. We have featured 11 songs (the same number that Piaf sang that night), but do not replicate the concert in terms of the numbers she performed. We want to share as wide a range of her songs as possible, and in particular share her more joyful side. 

What has been the most challenging aspects of bringing this show to life?

The most challenging part has been cramming all that we want to say and sing into a 50 minute show. It has been an interesting journey for us all. We have certainly discovered a lot more about Piaf’s music – its range and complexity, but also about her life. Interestingly Oriana who is our Piaf, though born in France, did not like Piaf’s music when she was younger. It was only once she arrived in the UK that she began to explore her music and subsequently became a great admirer of all aspects of her work.

Oriana has written about this on our production website piafremembered.co.uk, where there are insights into the musical journeys and thoughts of other members of the company as well.

Have you always had a passion for theatre?

I have always had a passion for performance and have been an actor since 1980. In the last 20 years I have also moved into directing. I co-founded The New Factory of the Eccentric Actor in 1996, and direct nearly all of the productions. Latterly I have been undertaking more writing for performance, though I would certainly not describe myself as a playwright. From a directing and performance point of view I have increasingly become interested in the mixing of the disciplines of music, dance, film, and spoken word. As well as performing the spoken word segments of Piaf Remembered, I wrote the script, and am directing. 

What five words best describe your show?

Song, Music, Passion, Love, Memory.

And finally, what do you hope people will take away from Piaf Remembered?

We hope as a company that Piaf Remembered will inspire people to go out and explore more of the work of Edith Piaf.