Following sold-out runs at Soho Playhouse and beyond, Liz Coin is BACK with this chaotic, feel-good spectacle!
Ticket link: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/lizzy-sunshine
What drew you to the show-within-a-show framing of Lizzy Sunshine?
One of my very favourite plays is “Noises Off”, and I think that inspired the farcical, show-with-a-show, showbizzy nature of Lizzy Sunshine. I love when the character feels like she’s on Broadway with a big budget, when in reality it’s a basement and a dress up box.
What do you think the positives (and negatives…?) of audience participation are?
I love audience participation so much. It’s no longer a piece of theatre that’s the same every night; it’s a ~happening.~ It’s live. It’s only right here, us, right now. Take that, AI! I love that you include “and negatives” because I think a lot of people see the negatives first. The only negative for me is the potential that people will feel nervous or uncomfortable, which is why my #1 goal in Lizzy Sunshine is to make the audience feel safe and chill. It’s clear from the jump that no one will be forced to do anything and, if they do volunteer, they are always the winner of the scene. They aren’t “picked on”; they’re celebrated and cheered.
How prevalent is toxic positivity in the modern world?
What power does staying positive actually have?
To me, it’s the only way to live your life. Things are going to be bad pretty much no matter what. Sadness, grief, hardship, anger- it’s all part of it. But to let it “win” and to become a negative person? If you look for the bad, you’ll always find it. The more you look for the good, the more you’ll find.
How exactly do you make a joke not working actually work and be funny?
You do it a bunch of different ways a bunch of different times on a bunch of different stages. You tell your friends the joke at a dinner party, out of context, and hear what they say. Their reaction or their “riffs” can inform a lot. Or you just cut it and write a new one? I don’t think there’s a magic recipe.
What’s the importance of clowning and improvisation to you and your work?
It’s the foundation! I have clown at the core – there is no 4th wall; I look in the audience’s eyes from the start and say “you’re in the show too.” I exist in the same room everyone else is in, so if someone sneezes, I hear it! From there I do what I’ve prepared, and we all play together. Improv is my special skill/secret sauce that kind of cinches the show together.