Today the spotlight falls on Oliver Lansley, the multi-talented playwright, performer and founder of Les Enfants Terribles Theatre Company. The Terrible Infants is a quirky, murky tale about “Tum, the boy who eats his mum, Thingummyboy with a face even his mother forgets, Little Linena; the material girl, Manky Mingus and of course little Tilly and her terrible tail.” The story telling, puppetry, live music, and theatricality all create a unique world of new lore for both child and adults alike.
Oliver [with his illustrator/designer Sam Wyer] has produced three magical Virtual Flyers drawing us in with his creative mastery to tell a story: 2006 Edinburgh Virtual Flyer, 2007 Prague Virtual Flyer, 2007 Edinburgh Virtual Flyer. With such skills to catch the public’s attention, we had to find out more about Oliver’s real life story for 10 Questions.
1. What made you become a performer/artist/writer?
I think probably for the same reasons as most artists – I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. A lot of people dabble with this profession at an early age and then end up settling into something else. It’s not really an easy business to making a living in, there’s so much rejection, competition and unpleasantness in the industry that I think if you feel like you could be happy doing something else – do it!
This however is what makes me happy. It has taken me to some amazing places, introduced me to wonderful people and given me some truly unique experiences that I’ll never forget.
2. What is your show/future show about and what should the public expect from your show?
Our current show is called ‘The Terrible Infants’ and it’s full of puppetry, live music, storytelling, physical theatre – a bit of everything really… It’s based on a series of twisted children’s stories written by myself and illustrator/designer Sam Wyer. One of our reviews said it was “Like giving your inner child an enormous sack of sweets and a cuff round the ear” which I think is a pretty good description. It’s suitable for anyone. It’s dark, twisted and funny and has drawn comparisons with the likes of Tim Burton, Roald Dahl, Edward Gorey, Lewis Carol and Shockheaded Peter.
As a company we’ve never tackled a show like this before so it was quite daunting but we previewed it at the ‘07 Edinburgh Festival where we received rave reviews and performed to sell-out audiences so the response has been terrific.
We’ll be touring the piece throughout 2008. I think above anything it’s a lot of fun, the audience and the performers all seem to be having a ball and I think that’s why it works.
3. What is your favourite Festival or Fringe and why?
I think most festivals I’ve been to have something unique to offer. However I guess it would have to be The Edinburgh Fringe, it’s the biggest in the world and having done it for six years running it’s given me some fantastic experiences. There’s nothing else like it, you have to experience it to understand it.
4. What’s your best advice for aspiring artists/performers on the Festival/Fringe circuit?
Enjoy and believe in what you’re doing. There’s no point in doing it for the money – because most of the time you’ll be losing money! You need to be doing it for yourself and for the experience. The fringe/festival circuit offers a pretty unique environment for you to express yourself and do the work you want to do, so make the most of it – You never know what other people will make of your work so the best you can do is make sure you’re happy with it, that you believe in it and then just enjoy it.
5. What is your funniest experience and also worst experience performing or attending a Fringe/Festival?
I don’t think either would be suitable to print here!
6. As you travel performing at different festivals/fringes, where is your favourite place to vacation and chill out and why?
I love to travel with work as it gives you a great flavour of a place and going to a festival often feels like a vacation to me. We did the Prague Festival recently and it’s such a beautiful city it was a real privilege to get to perform out there. I guess I don’t really have a favourite place to holiday as there’s so many places to go it seems silly to go to the same place more than once.
7. Who is the person you most admired and why?
That’s tough… I think you can take a lot of things from a lot of people. I have a great respect for people like Steven Berkoff, he sort of took on the industry, did what he wanted to do and created his own unique style of work. There’s a lot of passion and energy, particularly in his early work, which is very inspiring. And he’s still going. I’ve seen him perform live on many occasions and he’s incredible to watch, very controlled.
8. What is the best tip you have ever been given?
If you’re attacked by a shark poke it in the eye.
9. What is the best book you have read and why do you like it?
I like different books at different times so I don’t think I could pick one favourite book but recently I’ve enjoyed Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis, Under the Skin by Michel Faber, The Wind-up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami, Phillip Pullman’s ‘Northern Lights’ Trilogy and Harry Potter! I like books which are ambitious, tell great stories and have unique voices.
10. If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?
I’d make it better!
For more information about Oliver Lansley and Les Enfant Terribles, please see their website.
