Aberdeen-born Annabel Lunney’s work has just been performed on stage for the first time… at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe to a sell-out audience.
“It feels very surreal,” said Annabel.
“The opening show was sold out, which was very exciting.
“I’ve never been to the Fringe before… it was weird to have my work performed on stage – so far my monologues have only been performed online.”
Originally from Rosemount, former Aberdeen Grammar School pupil Annabel has always loved theatre. Growing up, the talented playwright was part of Aberdeen Youth Music Theatre (AYMT) and later worked front-of-house at His Majesty’s Theatre.
Her brutally honest monologue Men Are Trash – which was inspired by young people’s frustrations – caused quite a stir among Annabel’s friends and theatre-lovers online. The video encouraged them to talk about the issues they thought others would perceive too small to worry about.
Sweating The Small Stuff is inspired by anonymous submissions
Inspired by her friends’ remarks and further anonymous submissions, Annabel created Sweating The Small Stuff which is currently getting rave reviews at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Annabel currently studies theatre at the University of York and her play is performed and produced by the university’s drama society York DramaSoc.
She said: “Men Are Trash talked about issues that I was currently thinking about, but something I never talked to anyone about.
“When my friends saw that – even friends from home who never shown any interest in theatre before – started telling me about the issues they were worried about, issues they thought were too small to bring up.
“I collated all of them and then we later opened up a platform for anonymous submissions.”
Show discusses sex education, body hair and more
Working her way through about 70 submissions, Annabel noticed similar topics popping up. Sweating The Small Stuff explores these seven recurring topics: periods, sex education, our brains, online dating, body hair and abstinence.
Annabel said: “We explore different things within each topic/ category. For example, the sex education part is about what people thought was missing during sex education and things they still don’t know or would like to know now as adults.
“When talking about abstinence, the monologue asks why we speak about sex all the time and why that’s a normal conversation to have, but if you’re not having sex, people always ask why.”
It was important to the young playwright to present these important topics in a “stand-up-but-in-the-shower sort of way”.
She explained: “It’s the direction we’ve been giving our actors in the sense that that’s where these kinds of topics are often expressed. When you’re in the shower, you’re speaking to yourself but it feels like you have an audience.”
Sweating The Small Stuff is at theSpace Triplex Venue 38 till August 28. Click here if you wish to purchase tickets.
