Edinburgh Fringe Q&A: Tom Greaves

Tell us about your show. What can audiences expect?  

​​FUDGEY – A Boarding School Tragedy (but funny) is a thought-provoking, visceral and relentlessly energetic comedy about a man in trouble, aptly described by Chortle’s Steve Bennett as “Bob Mortimer’s Train Guy but with toxic masculinity”. Hiding behind this caricature, as reality bites and his psyche unravels, I take the audience on a madcap adventure into Fudgey’s past in order to find his (my) future. The show’s a mix of character comedy, clown, theatre, and bouffon (dark satire), all woven into an epic storyline. Three years in the making, with the work-in-progress Goodbye Uncle Fudgey, winning the Mervyn Stutter Spirit Of The Fringe Award 2023, expect this year’s show to be bigger, better, and even more boarding school (yuck!) 

Where do you draw inspiration from for your work, both in terms of creation and Performance?

This is my debut show so I can only speak about creating this one, which came out of a mix of clowning and healing work.  Having suffered a mental health crisis a few years ago, I discovered that being sent to boarding school at the age of seven had had a huge impact on me, and I ended up in therapy groups specifically set up for people who'd been through the same thing.  At the time I happened to be performing a character called ‘Fudgey’ at alternative comedy nights around the country. Coincidentally, he was also a lost boarding school type (amazing what the subconscious comes up with!). Dreaming around this character became a cathartic way to work through my past and explore my new understanding of what made me, me and Fudgey...well, Fudgey.

Do you tend to take inspiration from events happening in the world around you in terms of your work? Do you think artists have a responsibility to respond to what’s happening? 

It is a responsibility, yes. But how you go about it is up to the artist. I read this series of books called My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard (which took me almost two years – there are six of them and I’m a slow reader!), in which the author turns his life growing up, and his difficult relationships with family members and spouses, into a novel. It’s unashamedly personal and his uncle actually tried to sue him for saying bad things about his father. It was brave, vulnerable, and inspiring. Understandably to be the one to start speaking out brings a lot of backlash but there’s so much repression in our culture. So it’s freeing to say the unsayable. And not just for oneself; it allows others to follow suit. I don’t know if I can say that it’s a ‘responsibility’ to tell one’s truth but I do think the more cats out the bag, the better for society.

Why is this an important story to tell?

I'm not unpicking my psyche on stage just for shits and giggles (well partly I am). As the show is about my fallout in later life as a consequence of the trauma of being sent to boarding school. I want people to know that being separated from one's parents at such a young age is devastating for a child and has a huge impact on one's mental health and intimate relationships. I want to take audiences on a darkly funny and meaningful journey that helps them understand how problematic boarding school is. And I want people struggling with their mental health who've had the same experience to know where to turn, and that through understanding and therapy they can heal. Another important thing to consider is the wider impact. One cannot ignore how much of our political landscape has been shaped by alumni of these schools. The cruel, out-of-touch and ruthless policies imposed on populations both nationally and abroad, throughout history, don’t just come from nowhere.

What’s next for you and how are you feeling about the future in general?  

Creating this show feels like a milestone in my career and I’m excited to see how far I can take it. Post-Fringe, I’d love to perform Fudgey in London, at Australian festivals next year, tour to New York, and even the West End...who knows! Alongside performing the show, I’ve also done some interviews with therapists who work specifically in this area and last year I was invited to speak at the Boarding School Survivors Support Charity conference about the making of the show. It’s very validating to have made something that resonates with people who understand all this stuff and I hope the show continues to support the raising of the issue.