COMIMG to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer is Hope Mill Theatre’s (HMT) intriguing comic play Classic!.
It looks to redefine some of history’s greatest novels in their own warped image.
Ranging from Black Beauty to Withering Heights, classics feature at a frantic pace across a sixty-minute runtime.
With a blur of costume changes and surreal imagery you wouldn’t normally associate with novels of this calibre – case in point: Oliver Twist as a film noir.
All of this comes with the goal of breaking the record for for the most novels shared on stage.
Written by Lindsay Wallace and Peter Kerry of Coronation St and Emmerdale alongside writer/director Joyce Branagh – the sister of actor Kenneth Branagh.
The trio are excited to share a project that has been in the works for years before it’s Fringe debut.
As put by Joyce: “I’m so excited to finally get Classic! on stage – we first did a chunk of this in Manchester years ago and to now have a full show in 2022 is brilliant.
“The script is hilarious – really snappy – and we’ve got a great bunch of experienced comedy actors, so the whole thing is going to be very, very silly”.
Classic! will also feature music from Louis Ashton Butler.
Classic! is the latest from HMT, who earned rave reviews with their 2021 revival of Johnathon Larson’s RENT.
HMT Artistic Director Joesph Houston spoke of the play: “Hailing from Scotland, the Edinburgh Festival has played a big part in my life and I have many happy memories of seeing variety of shows.
“Being able to now be a part of the festival with a HMT production, in what will be a very special year and its triumphant return, is a dream come true.
“From the minute we read Classic! we knew this was a show destined for Edinburgh, with its fast paced, funny humour and a top-notch group of actors, you will never need to read another classic novel again!”
Classic! will run at the Pleasance Courtyard from the 3rd to the 28th of August.
