Q&A : Crybabies

Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer nominees, Crybabies (James Gault, Michael Clarke and Ed Jones) return with their new creation: Bagbeard. After snagging a Best Newcomer nomination for DangerBrigade in 2019, nothing could stop them (shy of a global pandemic and an unexploded World War 2 bomb on Dean Street which got in the way of their Soho Theatre run). Since their live plans were put on hold, the trio have acted alongside Tim Key and Diane Morgan in Afterlife, gained over 2 million likes on TikTok and joined the main cast of an upcoming Netflix series. Now they’re back on stage with their trademark absurdity, ready to give Edinburgh audiences an hour of wonderful, oddly heartfelt nonsense.

We aggressively interrogated them about their unstoppable trajectory to limitless fame and world domination.

Bagbeard, the main character of the play, is an alien who lives on a forgotten island off the coast of England. Is your play inspired by real life events?

A few years ago, we were rehearsing for a show in Norwich and James had nowhere to stay. He ended up sleeping in a tent in the woods of our old university grounds. To get himself through the cold and terrifying nights he would wear an off-licence bag on his face and pretend it was a big blue beard. Thus, Bagbeard was born.

How fun is it to create sci-fi without having to use green screens and lengthy post-production?

What began as a cripplingly demoralising process has actually become really exciting. The constraints of not having any post-production stuff forces you to think more creatively about those big visual moments of the show. When you finally land on something which looks effective/isn’t just one of us in a morph suit making laser noises it’s a really great feeling.

Chris Mystery, the science teacher who discovers Bagbeard in the show, is looking for fame. What’s your relationship with fame? Is the quest for fame a healthy one, in your opinion?

When you get to our level of immense fame it certainly does take some getting used to. We remember the first time the barman at Pleasance offered us a 10% performers discount. The three of us just stood there in silent shock, then grabbed each other firmly and said, ‘we won’t ever let this go to our heads’. Unfortunately, that particular barman no longer works at Pleasance. We filed an official complaint against him a week later after he pretended to not recognise us. But no, in answer to your question there is absolutely nothing unhealthy about the quest for fame.

What made you choose sci-fi as the genre of your show?

We actually thought we’d invented the genre ourselves. We even came up with the name. Ed came up with the ‘Sci’ bit (science), Michael the ‘Fi’ bit (film) and James the ‘-’ bit (-). People then politely pointed us in the direction of things like E.T, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of The Third Kind, Dune, The Fly, The Thing, Stranger Things, Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, The Terminatorfranchise, the Alien franchise, The Matrix franchise, the Marvel franchise, the Star Wars franchise and the Star Trek franchise. We were devastated.

Are you a lifelong sci-fi fan?

Literally just found out about it.

You say that Bagbeard is about finding love in unexpected places, do you think the show would be a good first date?

A friend of ours actually brought a Hinge date to a preview of this show. She was planning on calling it quits between them but then after the show she never heard from him again so didn’t have to. So, if you’re wanting to save yourself the bother of an awkward conversion or lengthy divorce proceedings, be sure to snap up two tickets to Crybabies: Bagbeard. 5.50pm at Pleasance 10 Dome 3rd-28th August (not 15th).

Crybabies: Bagbeard, Pleasance Dome (10 Dome), 5.50pm, 3-28 August (not 15)

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