Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017 – Box Clever

nabokov and The Marlowe present Box Clever WORLD PREMIERE

Written & performed by Monsay Whitney | Original live music and clowning by Avi Simmons

4 – 27 August (not Tuesdays), 16:40 (17:40), 14+

Whitney’s frank and moving performance alongside Simmons playful and comic energy, fuses storytelling, clowning and live music to give a voice to the lesser heard, offering insight into the life and experiences of single mum Marnie.

Box Clever explores Marnie’s relationship to love, fear and acceptance and the lengths she is forced to go to to escape relationship patterns, and do the best for herself and her daughter Autumn. Co-commissioned by award winning female-led company nabokov and The Marlowe, Box Clever is based on the life experiences of women writer and performer Monsay Whitney has known personally, socially and professionally.

Writer and performer Monsay Whitney said: “I felt compelled to give a platform to a pocket of society whose voices are referenced frequently but rarely heard. There are many great, urgent, vital depictions of domestic violence victims in the lead up to escape or death. And yet a lack of portrayals of the aftermath. I don’t know what we are supposed to conclude from this… that leaving is the end of the story?

“I hope that Box Clever brings home the harsh reality facing victims of domestic violence who have taken the brave and momentous step of fleeing their homes, highlighting why the right support is necessary for every individual and why funding and personal income is vital to their recovery.”

Monsay Whitney is a writer and performer based in North London. As well as being developed and shown by and at the Lyric Hammersmith, her play Hand to Mouth was chosen by Simon Stephens as part of Theatre 503’s Playwright Presents scheme. She has written for National Youth Theatre, Royal Court, Paines Plough and is writer on attachment at the National Theatre Studio.

Avi Simmons is a singer-songwriter, performer, and clown based in Kent. She is currently working as a clown-musician for nabokov and touring with clowning company Acá Theatre. Avi is an associate artist of Half A String productions, for whom she has recently written a folk music & puppetry production, A Heart At Sea. Combining acoustic guitar with delicate and powerful vocals, she has been performing solo for over seven years. Her debut EP You Said ‘Live’ was released at The Gulbenkian Theatre, Canterbury, in April 2016. Her next EP Hey Why is due for release later in 2017.

Listings information

Paines Plough Roundabout, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, Edinburgh, EH9 1PL

4 – 27 August (not Tuesdays) | 16:40 (17:40) | £9 – £13

Box office: 0131 560 1581 | www.summerhall.co.uk