Following his mum’s death in autumn, theatre-maker Gaz Tomlinson, known as Quiet Boy, noticed a parallel between the lack of light and his emotions. He turned to music to cope with his pain and to try and find hope again. From this came SAD, a musically driven show that explores grief and the healing power of sound. The Indiependent spoke to Quiet Boy before the Fringe to find out more about this intriguing show.
The Indiependent: What is the premise of the show?
Quiet Boy: SAD is a gig-theatre show about music, grief and healing. It’s a contemporary electronic classical composition with live music and performance; poignant, funny, insightful recorded voices exploring loss, and journeying towards a crescendo of light, joy and hope.
The show deals with very personal subject matter. Do you find it hard to perform the show, considering this?
SAD explores the process I went through when I was grieving my mum dying and how making music and singing became a helpful tool, became therapeutic…and it helped me to find magic again. So, performing the show feels like I take myself on that journey and remind myself of the hope that I found whilst composing it.
What do you hope the audience will take away from your show?
Grief and cycles is something we all share. We all have to go through it, and it doesn’t mean that it has to be a lonely place.
How are you feeling about this year’s Fringe?
I’m really looking forward to having a pint after the show at Summerhall! Connecting with friends, old and new, and having beautiful, rich conversations with lovely people about human things. Eating amazing food at the iconic Mosque Kitchen. Hanging out at the Gallery bar at Summerhall—the coffee’s so good it makes you wiggle. And watching as much music and Fringe theatre as possible.
Who inspires you?
Nick Cave was a huge inspiration for this show because of the grief he’s been through, and [how he transposes] that grief into music with his album Ghosteen, which is about him losing his son. Especially the depth of the way that Nick Cave talks about grief—I found it incredibly helpful when I was feeling at my rawest.
Also, the other person that inspires me is Brigitte Aphrodite (who’s in the show!), who has helped me to form an arc for this piece. In our previous shows, it’s Brigitte who usually leads. She’s supported me to lead on this show and to express my songs, music, and feelings. She’s been a huge source of inspiration now that I’m taking the lead role.
What’s next for you after the Fringe?
Next up will be Punk Alley. It’s a punk inclusive family theatre show by Moxie Brawl that Brigitte and I wrote the music and lyrics for, which will be touring around the UK and Ireland. I’ll also be touring as an actor/musician for the next Frozen Light show called The Bar at the Edge of Time!
SAD will be performed at Summerhall – Anatomy Lecture Theatre at 3pm from 6-13 August as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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