Lilly Burton
LILLY BURTON is a pro-choice powerhouse of performance art. She is a graduate from the East 15 Acting and Contemporary Theatre Course. She is also a member of the acclaimed Soho Young Company, at the Soho Theatre.
ALL ABOARD! is a comedy-cabaret about abortion...obvs! This is Lilly's story: a bracing, booming and brash autobiographical tale. A misadventure unravelling from the inside out. Here's to the people who felt lonely, guilty, relieved, ashamed or nothing at all. The people who bled a lot or not that much. The people who think about it often and the people who don't.
All Aboard! At Termination Station is a "comedy-cabaret about abortion". How do you balance humor, clowning and the inevitably political commentary of the show?
When I set out to start making this show, it was going to be very serious, very groundbreaking, lots of badly written spoken word poetry with drawn out metaphors that frankly even I didn't fully understand. I tried to share some of this material with a poor friend of mine and said, "Lilly, just tell me what you mean" and I did and when I did she started to laugh. "oooooh" I thought, "this show's supposed to be funny?" I didn't want to explore my abortions through comedy at first but the more serious I tried to be the sillier it became, we all like to pretend to be something we're not I suppose. I was trying to handle and treat the topic in completely the wrong way, how I thought the subject matter should be spoken about and essentially I was going against who I am and for this show, I have to be completely myself because the topic is so personal. I realised I wanted to move away from the stereotypical notion that people who access abortion are troubled or inept in some way, that something must be wrong with you. That it can't just be for the simple fact you're not ready or that you don't want to have a child at all. The reason for cabaret? it encapsulates the glitter, the queerness and the campness. Essentially I had to perform in a style I felt comfortable in, so yes, comedy cabaret and not greek tragedy felt about right for me!
Describe some physical, musical and theatrical moments in TERMINATION STATION. Is there one that always gets a big reaction from the audience? What's your favorite line of dialogue in the show?
One of my favourite moments is asking an audience member to ask me if I’m going to reenact my abortion on stage! Then I throw myself into. Ridiculous reenactment of how I would do this involving cuddle toys, guitar solos and confetti. It’s fun to play around and make something serious so silly. I have my classic song that gets stuck in everyone’s head “schmishmortion” sung to the theme tune of “good morning” from singing in the rain. I love my big dance number at the end in the club. Just a chance for me to show off my moves!
You have a manifesto on your website. Why do you think it's important for women (and people in general) to declare what matters to them?
I think it helps remind me about what matters, as well as play around with the concept of being serious creative activist I wanted to present it as tongue and cheek as well and for my audience identify with me.
Do you think you're going back to Fringe next year? What advice would you give someone producing their own Fringe show for the first time?
I hope so but it’s really expensive and I’ve definitely learnt a lot about where to invest my money. I would say you really need to trust and know then people supporting your work. It’s a Wild West up here so trying to create a network of nice likeminded artist is really important. Try not to compare yourself even though it’s hard your ego can be your enemy. Also trust yourself and the work you do, it’s tough but believing in yourself is the difference between a good and great performance!
Can you tell us about some other female-driven shows you've seen at Fringe this year that you would recommend checking out?
The last show before we die, Gunter, Gush, Alice Cockayne: I showered before I came, Lovefool