Krista Scott, Stagewright Productions brings her solo play to the Edinburgh Fringe stage this year. The play is centred around the women who played a role if the life if Oscar Wilde. Scott takes some time out of rehearsals to talk to me about the play.

WILDE WOMEN, 14:00 (2:00 pm), Greenside at George Street, Fern Studio (Venue 236)

 

 

Where did the inspiration or ideas come from for your show/production?

 

I wanted to create a solo play that I could produce and perform myself, and I wanted it to have a theatrical connection. I liked the idea behind Women of Will and other one-woman plays centered around Shakespeare’s female roles. I figured if it could work with Shakespeare it could work with Oscar Wilde; I’ve always used monologues and scenes from his plays in my acting courses, so I started gathering that material, then started researching Wilde’s life and associations. Lillie Langtry kept popping up, so I did more digging on her. Given her close relationship with Oscar and her storied acting career, I felt she was the right nucleus to structure the dramatic material around.

 

What obstacles have you faced preparing for the Edinburgh Fringe this year?

 

I know there are hundreds of solo shows at the festival which are self-produced, self-funded and self-promoted, but it’s been a big challenge to wear all the hats of playwright, performer, producer and manager simultaneously. Luckily, I have a great director and a great PR person. The other strain is the financial one, with so many of the expenses due months before the festival’s opening — venue rental, Airbnb, airfare, poster production and distribution… I now see why crowd funding is so important for this kind of undertaking.

 

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

 

In Feb. 2024 I portrayed Texas firebrand and former governor Ann Richards in the one-woman play ANN in Dallas, TX. It was a fluke that I got to perform the role, since I was the understudy, but I went on for five (of the 12) performances. I reckoned if I could pull off that 2.5 hour show with two rehearsals, I could do this 50-minute show that I wrote myself.

 

Why did you decide to the venue you are using?

In 2023 I came to the festival and shadowed an actress I know who was doing a one-woman show at Greenside at Riddles court. I liked the venues, and I liked the people and their business model. I booked with them (Greenside at George Street) as soon as I committed to doing this, in early January.

 

 

 

In one sentence why should someone come to see your show?

 

WILDE WOMEN reunites the legacies of two Victorian feminists, the famously flamboyant playwright Oscar Wilde and the internationally acclaimed actress, Lillie Langtry, and celebrates their contributions to strengthening women’s voices on the stage.

https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/wilde-women

https://edinburghfestival.datathistle.com/event/2668672-wilde-women/