What?

A down-on-his-luck impressionist, desperate for a meaty role that will satisfy his artistic cravings, is hired by a man on-the-run to swindle his blind, dying mother with the ultimate deception. Then: dates with Myra Hindley, glam rock gods, charity-cheque-sized death certificates, unexpectedly Cajun long-lost sons, street heroin, proctology appointments, Strava, misguided mobsters and a bit of bird-spotting, all held together by one man and his microphone...

Famous Lost Birds is a unique twist on the classic farce, combining well-loved comedy-of-errors jokes with innovative staging. To create the “impressions”, the actor playing Impressionist will lip-sync dialogue performed by a live actor playing each impersonation, at the corner of the stage into a microphone. To our knowledge, this staging has not been tried before and encapsulates the inventive and collaborative spirit of the Edinburgh Fringe. The show is an ensemble piece, with 7 actors playing 10 characters between them, allowing the show to have a genuine sense of controlled chaos, and enabling the production to stand out from the Fringe crowd, which often consists of shows with one to four performers.

Who?

Our creative team is made up of writers, directors and producers from low-income, state-educated backgrounds, which is sadly an under-represented group in theatre and the Fringe specifically. Our project is completely crowd-funded, and we hope that Famous Lost Birds will improve visibility for voices like ours. We feel that this project is a nuanced approach to the exploration of these themes, whilst still remaining a fresh and entertaining piece of theatre.

Starring:

Charlie Dix

Kara Hughes

Cameron Howden

Zack Maile

Daisy Herridge

Gideon Coleman

So... what's the plan?

Famous Lost Birds has been written and produced with the intention of performing the play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025, taking place from the 1st-25th of August 2025. As part of this production, we are insisting that no part of the cast pays for accommodation or production fees throughout the process. We aim to make sure that talented actors get an opportunity to perform at the festival, without the worry of financial barriers. Thus, we are planning multiple fundraisers throughout the year to cover finances, as well as applying to Fringe bursary schemes.

How You Can Help!

Join the nest and donate to our campaign!