...and Peggy

Edinburgh, Scotland

How on earth am I going to put this place into words? Walking down the Royal Mile during the Fringe Festival is like having a hallucinatory dream, off-set with quaint cobbles and haunting architecture. It’s not even as though you’ve stepped into a book. Rather, it is like spiraling into the mind of someone who is presently creating a book, concocting a work of fiction.

Among the Where’s Wally scene of costumed performers and leafleters, I spotted individuals in deep silk dresses, telling people about their play ...and Peggy. Jem, Blythe and Elise were not only in Edinburgh for the Fringe, but live and study there too; they could give insight on the way in which the artistic whirlwind of creative chaos that is the Fringe turns the city upside down each August. “It’s alive... and bizarre... strange and quirky... it’s so buzzing” they suggested. “You wouldn’t think a capital city could get any busier, and then it hits the third of August and it’s crazy. It’s like a whole other country moves into Edinburgh, and it gets full of people.”

I think it feels so bazaar, but we’re so used to it... that’s what makes it feel just like home.

Written by the musical director, director and one of the cast, ...and Peggy uncovers the historically accurate but untold story of a character in the hit Broadway show Hamilton.

Peggy doesn’t get a lot of air time, so we thought that we’d give her her own story.

Elise explained: “the girls who wrote it are big fans of the original, and when you’ve seen it and heard the track, you realise that Peggy just sort of fades out, but she’s such an important character. She’s got such an important story to tell, so it’s nice to see that side of it as well.”

The Edinburgh Fringe is a great dream catcher for imagination, so I asked each of the girls what it is that catches their inspiration and makes them love what they do. Blythe, the show’s choreographer said: “I’ve danced my whole life, but I’ve never really been able to do something like this, where it’s brand new - no-one’s ever heard the story or the music or anything. I’ve got to be so creative with it, seeing it come to life on stage. It’s such an amazing feeling that you just don’t get from anything else.”

For Jem, meanwhile, it’s the singing “and putting it all together in a story. You get to tell a story through song and that’s my absolute favourite thing.”

Elise has found that “working with lots of new people and getting to see where others have strengths and weaknesses and where we can help each other is just so nice. It’s definitely made me feel a bit more confident.”

It sounds as though the tight-knit team have grown from strength to strength, building up their own stories as they uncover someone else’s. I hope they had a wonderful Fringe and wish them all the best.