How excited are you all about coming to Brighton in May? Is this your first visit?

Not at all… not one bit… nope - we definitely haven’t had a hand made countdown calendar since before Christmas sat at ADB HQ which Rory eagerly updates at 7am every morning. In all seriousness we are beyond excited and feel genuinely privileged to be able to perform at such a magnificent fringe, we just can’t wait to experience for the first time the joy that our wonderful artform can spread across the city of Brighton.

Talk us through the members of the company and some of the fantastic skills they bring into the mix.

We are composed of four company members, all who graduated from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts MA Acting Course in 2021. Arthur Noah; Co-Producer, Scenographic Designer and Performer, is the company's rascal with a heart of gold bringing a diverse range of physical and absurdist techniques to the group. Adan Osborne; Co-Producer, Designer and Performer, is not from New York City but from Rotherham, our ex professional wrestler has worked with the likes of Frantic Assembly and The Pappy Show. Anastasia Kulaeva; Marketer and Performer, in her own words has an unhealthy love for pickles and an even unhealthier love for comedy. Bringing joy and physicality to all her work, Anastasia creates vibrancy and a dynamism on stage. Rory Gillan; Writer, Performer, and professional individual who hides in Mazes, is the mastermind behind this script. He uses words in ways the rest of us could only dream of, making the audience essential to his work because they are what make theatre so compelling.

When did you personally fall in love with theatre?

We all have various different stories about how, why and when we fell in love with the theatre, so I have given each member of the company 20 words to summarise it: Arthur - Witnessing moments that demand spatial energy and shows which take hold of the audience's attention and keep them, first love - Trainspotting. Adan- Summerslam 2002, Shawn Micheal vs Triple H, Hooked ever since. Ana- I’ve always loved imagery and the language of the body, however, performing is what made me truly fall in love with the theatre, the feeling is second to none. Rory- I saw Matilda: The Musical on Broadway in Sixth Form and its blend of nostalgia, hope and fun enraptured me.

Can you tell us a little about what we can expect to see at Simon Says?

Embodied in its own world, Simon Says follows four members of a cult devised and orchestrated by their self-obsessed leader, Simon. Stuck in a society in which freedom and choice is non-existent, the strongest member of the community, 458 now known as Adam, attempts to break from the hold Simon has over them. Using his own skills of manipulation to entice the members of the group into a revolt. Audiences are in for an experience unlike any other with some truly surreal moments, organised chaos, some not so organised chaos and good whole hearted fun. 

Is Simon Says immersive? Why was this important in the staging? How have audiences responded so far? Do you anticipate audiences identifying with some of the experiences the characters go through?

As a company we find it extremely important to create work that brings audiences into the world of the play, suiting both passive and active audiences, Simon Says uses the audience as a prop and an important part of the stage. The play has been toured to a rapturous audience response, with glowing reviews and picking up the award for the Best Original Show at the Liverpool Fringe. We do see some audience members identifying with the experiences of the characters, a lot of research and development went into the creation of the people on stage and this shows through the depth and relationships between characters on stage. Simon Says at its core is a show which you can just sit back and enjoy, however, we also incorporate so many elements which present the current socio/political world in a way which makes the audience question their own surroundings.

So Simon Says is a comedy? A drama? Or lots of different things?

This is a very good question, one which we debate over often and one that seems to also split audiences. At the heart of Simon Says is a fully fledged comedy, one which uses its dystopian environment to bring out absurdist humour. However managing topics such as manipulation, cults and power structures - led the production to take a darker, more tragic path. The negotiation/conversation we have created between these two genres has developed a show which makes audiences question if they have witnessed a wonderful uprising, or if the cyclical nature of power has taken another victim in modern society.

Theatre of course is entertainment but what is its potential for challenging its audience and making us question how we think? How important is that to you all at All Day Breakfast? 

It’s our role as creatives to firstly entertain and develop work that takes audiences on a journey, but we also have the opportunity to challenge the world in which we live. For us theatre is not about preaching a socio/political point of view, but instead opening up a conversation into some of life’s harsh realities. We have a responsibility as practitioners if we choose to challenge audiences to bring a high level of quality and truth. This is when we believe theatre is at its most powerful, when work negotiates the balance between a fictional world and social realities.