We chatted to Emmy Happisburgh, Rosa Strudwick and Christopher Freestone about taking the play out on its latest tour of the UK.
How are you feeling about taking ‘ Second Summer of Love’ out on tour?
Emmy: More than EXCITED! We have waited three years to take this show on tour for a few reasons. Firstly, I have a chronic illness, M.E., so I had to wait for a time when I could support my health adequately which meant banking energy and building stamina with rest and a whole food diet (it’s boring but necessary). There was also the small matter of getting some funding together but mainly we waited three years because I am a mother first and then an actor/writer. The show’s first manifestation at Edinburgh Fringe was as a one-woman show in 2022 to positive reviews. I then rewrote it a little in 2023 and tested the new version out at a few “home gigs” in Worthing and Guildford, roping in two more performers including my own daughter, Rosa (already a professional actor with a better CV than me!). Rosa had watched the show in Edinburgh, knew the character of Molly was based on her and definitely did not want it recast for the tour. This meant we scheduled the tour avoiding Rosa’s Key Stage 4 coursework and exams. We have waited to tour taking into consideration the well-being of the company – to say we are excited to finally go would be an understatement!! I have to praise Chris for his patience in waiting too.
Chris: Well what can I say, when the opportunity to be involved was first mooted I jumped at the chance. Having seen the previous Edinburgh shows that Emmy put on, then reading the script, then really getting a feel for what it meant for Emmy as both writer and actor, with this part lived experience she shares, I was all in. It’s such a great story. Then having performed the character of Brian in what was in essence a home gig (for both actor and character) and feeling the warmth and love and compassion from the audience the opportunity to share all of this on tour is very exciting. It’s a story that will resonate in all regions of the country as both a moment in time and a moment of now.
Rosa: I’m excited to take Second Summer on tour because there’s nothing else like it on stage, it’s comedic, nostalgic and heartfelt.
Can you tell us more about what the story is about?
Chris: It’s a coming of age in two halves – the past and the present, its old heads on young shoulders, its learning what’s important, its halcyon days and rose-tinted glasses, it’s a love story and a parable. It’s about friendships and knowing what’s important now in the present and how we remember the past.
Emmy: The lead protagonist Louise is a mid-lifer yearning for “that feeling she used to have about herself” when she was young and essentially she is looking for it in all the wrong places which leads to some comic situations.
The audience witness her “unravelling” including a flashback to the early 90s rave era. However, back in the present day it is all too apparent what toll that era took on Louise’s, and her friends, lives; one of them, her ex-boyfriend from that time, even forgetting the positives that came out of that Second Summer of Love. She also gives a spectacular example of how not to talk to your kids about drugs! To find out how she intends to put this all right and use her mid-life awakening to propel herself forward in a good way you’ll have to come and see the play!
Rosa: The story encapsulates the harmonious aspect of the rave scene in the 90’s and rave culture, even though I knew nothing about it beforehand, it’s a story I could really get my teeth into and thoroughly enjoy when I was watching as an audience member at the Pleasance. I hope that others who come to watch it this time around will have the same, authentic experience, and enjoy it as much as I do. It’s also about my mum’s midlife crisis.
Emmy: what mid-life crisis?
How does it feel to be working with director Scott Le Crass on the show?
Chris: I mean yeah, I must have done something quite special at some time and somewhere to get this opportunity. So in answer to your question, I feel pretty lucky. I learnt a lot from Scott during the last run of the show and am looking forward to where he takes it (and me) for this one.
Emmy: I first watched Scott’s work in 2019 when he directed “Country Music” at Omnibus which is in my top 5 most beautifully directed plays I have seen in London to this day – and I’m including the big theatres in that like the National and Almeida etc. I couldn’t believe when he accepted my invitation to direct “Second Summer of love”. Most people you meet working on the London fringe are kind, inclusive, warm and talented. Scott is absolutely in this bracket but he is the ‘best of the best’ the fringe has; in the future I think he’ll end up working with big names in the most prestigious theatres – I honestly feel so thankful to have caught him before he “levels up”!
Rosa: Scott Le Crass is an absolute diva and we love him. He’s paving his way through the industry and it’s incredible to have the opportunity to be working with him.
Emmy: Rosa means “Diva” with the gen Z meaning of the word! As in someone who “slays”!
What are you most looking forward to about audiences seeing ‘ Second Summer of Love’?
Chris: I suppose to say “to witness their reaction” is obvious as whilst I’m throwing it out there that it is a universal story, it’s not necessarily a universal experience, well not the past part of the journey anyway. Therefore, I’m hoping it will resonate in some quarters but more importantly I’m just looking forward to the enjoyment audiences will experience with this. It’s a journey, a bloody good one.
Emmy I cannot wait to connect with our audiences all over the country. I wrote this for the original ravers who met in fields and warehouses in nightclubs in the early 90s it is a story that will resonate with them and all of that generation will ‘get’ the cultural references and comedy. However it also appeals to a younger audience. One student reviewer at Edinburgh Fringe said it was “uplifting and entertaining” and “will make you wonder what your mum was up to in 1993” I love that! It’s good that it makes the younger generation see their parents as people living their lives for the first time too.
Rosa: My mum work her butt off on stage in the flashback section! There’s not a dull moment in the whole play, and I think taking this show on tour allows more people to come and experience something unmatched.
How has it been working on the production so far?
Rosa: It’s really good fun, and the thing I love most about it is getting to act with my mum on stage.
Chris: I feel the experience is a sign from the universe that I’m doing ok, it’s clearly showing me I’m on the right direction by having this shared experience with friends. Peace and one love yeah.
Emmy: This company really have my back and that feeling is utterly priceless. I love working in theatre but working in theatre with friends and family is honestly a dream come true and I keep having to pinch myself that it’s real. I am so overwhelmingly grateful. This tour is the ‘career gift’ of a lifetime and I hope the love and respect we have for each other on stage (and the production crew) vibes off the stage and into the auditorium!
By Emma Clarendon
To book tickets for the tour click here.