Actor, writer and producer Sarah Cameron-West joins us on Close-Up Culture to tell us about her show, Karen.
Hi! First things first, how are you?
I am well thank you! Thank you so much for having me.
In your own words, can you describe for us what your show is about?
Karen is a fast paced and funny 50 – minute show that has been described as “Fleabag meets Peep Show” by Operation Live Theatre. We open to see our Protagonist being dumped on her 30th birthday by her long term boyfriend Joe at Alton Towers mid – way through a calippo. Things go from bad to worse when it is revealed that Joe has been having an affair with her arch nemesis: Karen. Watch our Protagonist navigate a powder keg of heartbreak and identity crisis, exploding in the ultimate office showdown. A battle of self-discovery that will leave you in stitches!
And if you were to condense that into three words, what would they be?
Fast, funny and furious.
What has preparation for the Fringe looked like for you so far?
We just completed our sell out run of KAREN at the Other Palace Theatre in London so we are feeling fully prepared to bring the show up to Edinburgh paired with all the bells and whistles. There are production elements to sort still of course but we are loving diving back into the rehearsal process.
What do you want audiences to take away from seeing your show?
I hope that people firstly laugh and mainly take away that it was a fun and relatable show about heartbreak. I also hope that highlights that the path to processing your emotions lies in tackling them head on and the importance of finding your voice and advocating for yourself. I think the greatest message in KAREN is the importance of learning to use your voice and speak up for yourself.
How did you come up with the concept of your performance?
Initially I wrote KAREN as a 10-minutecomedy monologue for the Velvet Smoke Project Passion monologue competition. I was thrilled to be selected as one of the winners and therefore had the opportunity to perform the piece at the White Bear Theatre in Kennington. It was the most daunting few minutes of my life before coming on stage as although I felt comfortable performing it was the first time I was performing my own writing and worst still, what I thought was funny! Luckily the audience laughed and I was encouraged to turn it into a full one woman show. The 10 minutes I performed are actually the final 10 minutes of the show so I just had to work backwards from there and see what circumstances would lead our Protagonist to that dramatic ending.
Edinburgh Fringe is certainly an incredibly busy event, what are you most looking forward todoing whilst there?
Edinburgh in August is my all-time favourite place to be–it is a creative’s heaven! Getting to see all these amazing shows that when they get transferred to London and sell out you can say you were there right at the start is so special. I love getting to see such a dynamic array of theatre and comedy all for the price of one London theatre ticket! There is nowhere else I would rather be. Also getting to do what you love every day for a full month is such a privilege and it makes you appreciate being in work!
Where can people catch your show this summer?
3:55pm at the Dehli Belly, Underbelly Cowgate from 1-25thAugust (bar 12th& 19th).
And where can people follow your work?
You can follow us on Instagram @Karen.theshow and @KarenTheShow1 on X.
Fina lly, what would be your dream venue or theatre to perform at?
I would love the final chapter for Karen to be at the Soho Theatre – that would be a dream come true. Having taken part in the Soho Theatre Labs it would be amazing to bring it there and celebrate . However, it is already a dream come true to perform my work anywhere to a paying audience and I would love to keep doing that with any theatre that would like to showcase it!
SHOW LINK: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/karen
TWITTER / X ACCOUNT:@KarenTheShow1
INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT:@karen.theshow
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