Edinburgh Quotes and Reviews

The Scotsman (Joyce McMillan)
"High-octane, top-decibel drama... Bursts with talent, potential and energy...Leaves its audience gasping for breath... Racked have left a vivid calling-card on the Edinburgh Fringe, in other words; and my guess is that we'll be hearing from them again."

The Guardian (Lyn Gardner)
"Megan Ford's slice of celebrity wannabe and back-stabbing bitchiness...has a raw energy, a scabrous humour and would appear to be a distressingly accurate portrait of a generation of young women who think that you can never be too blonde, too thin, too rich or too famous. Even if achieving the latter can only be done by having a video of yourself having sex all over the internet. The girls drip envy and bitchiness in equal measure, their personal relationships tainted by unrealistic celebrity worship and the need to walk all over each other to get ahead in the fame game... Performed with real brio, and pointedly reminds that when you join the herd you lose your sense of self."

TimeOut
"Elsewhere, other young female theatre-makers showed a lot of promise. New London theatre collective Racked gave audiences a good time with their headline-grabbing ‘The Assassination of Paris Hilton’ – a thirty-minute play staged at breakneck pace in the bogs of the Assembly Room. This makes up for its shortcomings (a two-strand plot that couldn’t possible be tied up in the time allowed) with performances of tremendous verve, and super-bitchy dialogue."

The List
"There’s a lot to like here – the five plotting Paris-alikes are suitably un-self-aware, decrying the über-valley girl while at the same time embodying her worst traits."

The Herald/ On Stage Scotland
"This short and snappy eavesdropping session is as much about the insecurities and love-hate friendships of five young women as it is about their feelings towards the vacuous heiress of its title... Megan Ford's script certainly has an authentic ring to it - depressingly, this feels more like documentary than satire... This is a very entertaining 30 minutes, and the convincing performances are a delight."

What's On Stage
"A light-hearted poke at our modern-day fascination with celebrity, it also paints a depressingly familiar picture of wayward female ambition. Perhaps the next time protective parents wave their daughters off to the bright city lights, they really will wonder whether that skirt is just a little too short."

Fest/The Skinny
"Spunky, fun..." "Makes an interesting point about the brutalistic social hierarchy of the modern, moronic Anglo-Saxon world, in particular that of young women. Becoming “BFFs” with a celebrity is shown to be the all-consuming preoccupation of this gaggle of hedonistic idiots and it paints a depressingly familiar picture of female ambition, one increasingly born out in reality, as many more young girls harbour the desire to become glamour models than doctors."

Hairline
"This is a fascinating concept and for the large part works pleasantly well as we become fly’s on the wall, eves-dropping on their funny stories and bitchy gossip, performed brilliantly by the all female cast. An unique piece of theatre that never outstays its welcome."

All The Festivals
"Something a bit out of the ordinary... Never tedious or boring."

Evening Standard
"Feistily performed."

British Theatre Guide
"The Assassination of Paris Hilton is a pleasant interlude that amuses and even provokes just a little thought and since that is just what it sets out to do, should be marked up as a success for new company Racked Theatre."

ThreeWeeks
"... I enjoyed it. It has to be one of the fringe's more avant-garde shows, being set in the ladies bogs, which despite being sweaty and cramped, creates a good atmosphere what with its sanitary smell. The acting is over the top, which suits the over the top characters who are hell bent on either schmoozing with Paris Hilton in a desperate attempt to become famous themselves or killing her. The play does well to ridicule the shallow lifestyle..."

Edfringe.com, Audience Review, Jeanne
"**** Four Stars. A great send-up of our vacuous celebrity culture." http://www.edfringe.com/reviews/read.html?id=14763

Official Press Release and Images

The Assassination of Paris Hilton

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

At the Lane Bar, Assembly Rooms 13 – 30 August, 2009

It’s gonna be hot . . .

Racked, a new London theatre collective, will present their first play, The Assassination of Paris Hilton, at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh, Scotland this summer. A site-specific 30-minute comedy set in the ladies’ room of a Hollywood nightclub, the production will take place in the Assembly Rooms ladies’ toilets.

The Assassination of Paris Hilton depicts an exploration of female relationships and the culture of celebrity worship. While three wannabes gossip and scheme, two girls plan to kill the girl they love to hate.

High-energy and fast-paced, the play provides a fun and exciting alternative to the usual theatre fare, and its site-specific, promenade presentation gives the audience a full-on, rush to the head experience.

The Assassination of Paris Hilton may not be your cup of tea, but it’s certainly your shot of vodka.

Company info:

Written by Megan Ford

Directed by Aaron Paterson

Produced by Colin Goodwin

Cast: Megan Ford, Janey Lawson, Meghan Leslie, Lucia Mcanespie, Alison O’Donnell

Press contact:

Megan Ford, Artistic Director on megan@rackedtheatre.com

Or: Assembly Press Office on press@assemblyfestival.com, 0131 623 3050

LISTINGS INFORMATION

Venue: Assembly Rooms, George Street

Dates: 3.00pm and 5.00pm 13-30 August (not the 17 & 24^th)

Extra shows 12.10am 21-22 and 28-29 August

Duration: 30 mins

Tickets: Previews £5, Off peak £8/6, Peak £10/8

Box Office: 0131 623 3030

Websites: www.assemblyfestival.com, www.rackedtheatre.com

Photos by Jamie Zubairi

Artwork by wsbartlett.com

If you're not bored of press mentions yet...

A few more:

The Stage's Edinburgh Blog

Reuters (Which means it will end up in other places, hopefully...)

Another mention from Lyn Gardner at The Guardian on site-specific theatre at the Fringe

And yet another article on site-specific stuff from The Independent

Three Weeks Editor's Recommendation on Page 13

A full-on article on the play from STV (Scottish TV)

Post-Preview Post

We've finished our previews at the Riverside Studios, managed to SELL OUT all four shows, and got some great feedback. Managing the audience in the space seemed to be our biggest challenge. The toilet scenes are fine, but promenading to the final scene in the bar gets messy. We can only hope that the set up at Assembly will be a bit easier.

Everyone at Riverside was fantastic. The ushers, duty manager, front of house manager, box office staff, programme coordinator, and technical crew were all a major help and lovely throughout, which is great considering that the more places we do this play we realise how much of a headache site-specific shows can be for a traditional venue.

Next stop: Edinburgh! The cast will be meeting this week to discuss all of the details and plans for the trip, our daily routine, schedules, etc. I think we're all looking forward to getting there and getting started. The play is so much fun to do with an audience, and adapts to them, so it's suffice to say that each audience will get a different show each time.

In the Thick of It

We've just finished our second day of rehearsals. We've been going through the script line by line and really analyzing what each character means when they speak and why they say it. It's really re-emphasized the importance of the relationships in the play, and uncovered some of the darkness in it, which is lovely to discover alongside the comedy, and hopefully adds some richness to the play.

Interesting conversations have included a 20-minute discussion on the implications of the word "slut" (very interesting with an all-female cast and male director), some thoughts on whether or not you would tell a friend certain doubts about their partner, and of course, lots and lots of celebrity gossip.

Tomorrow, our MAC Makeup Artist (who we've secretly christened Dean-Rudd-Makeup-Artist-to-the-Stars - all one name), will come in and help us with our looks for the show.

There's also still plenty to do on the producing side: flyers to finish and print, travel to book, money to raise, and most urgently, trying to sell out our short Riverside run.

And finally, someone's written another nice article on us. Check it out here: http://deadlinescotland.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/the-assassination-of-paris-hilton-1479/

Top Picks All Around

Soooo, in addition to having been both Lyn Gardner's top pick for The Guardian, AND one of the Evening Standard's top reasons to go to the Fringe, we've had even more mentions:

• What's On Stage is doing a big Edinburgh watch this year and have also chosen the play as one of their top picks. Check us out under the "Comic at the Core" section.
• Variety has mentioned us in their article on the Fringe.
• A theatre blog called Sans Taste has listed us in their Fringe picks.
• And someone else, running a blog for this year's festival, has also listed us as one to see (though they find the fact that we do the play in the bogs slightly worrying.)

Riverside Studios

You can now book to see our London previews at the Riverside Studios on 31 July and 1 August.

There will be TWO SHOWS A NIGHT at 7.15 PM and at 8.15 PM.

Running time is approximately 30 minutes.

Capacity is limited so book early!

TICKETS: £7 (£5 concs.)

To book call the box office on 02082371111

OR book online:

http://www.riversidestudios.co.uk/cgi-bin/page.pl?l=1246965510

Beaten to the Punch

Looks like someone else had a similar idea.

This flash game gives you a chance to kill Paris Hilton in different ways. My favourite weapon is the kinkajou.

http://www.onlinelogo.com/paris.html

Did we mention we have I Killed Paris T-shirts available?

They cost £10. Get in touch on info@rackedtheatre.com if you're interested.

Here's one modelled by original cast member Eleanor Matsuura:

P.S. I feel the need to mention again, that despite the controversial title, the play is not an attack on Paris Hilton, but rather a depiction of female relationships and the culture of celebrity worship.

MAC Attack

Plenty going on this week...

• Spent today meeting with MAC who are providing our makeup for the show. MAC Pro Trainer Makeup Artist Dean Rudd helped design the looks for the characters. It was incredibly fun, and there will be some fantastic and dramatic looks -- very much looking forward to meeting with him again to teach the cast how to apply their faces.

• Filming the YouTube trailers over the next few days. Will be a great way to get us in the mood and excited for rehearsals to start in a few weeks.
  

• MORE PRESS! We've been listed in The Evening Standard as one of their 25 reasons to go to the Edinburgh Festival. Check us out under number 18 by clicking HERE.
  

Updates Galore

It has been a while, and a lot has been happening. Some handy bullet points below to update:

• CASTING: Due to the Royal Court pinching our fab Eleanor Matsuura as Saffron, we were forced to re-cast. After several auditions and re-calls, we found a brilliant actress by the name of Lucia Mcanespie to take over the role. The final cast can now be announced as: Alison O'Donnell, Janey Lawson, Lucia Mcanespie, Megan Ford, and Meghan Leslie.

• FUNDRAISING: On 15th June we held our fantastic Gala in support of the show. We had a red carpet, a singing Paris Hilton look-a-like, performances by the cast, a stand-up MC, darts, a raffle, drinks, cupcakes, and most importantly, an amazing time. Click HERE for photos of the event.

• PREVIEWS: We're in talks with the Riverside Studios for our London preview showings. They should be held on 31st July and 1st August, with two showings a night, should everything go to plan. Check back for more details on the times and booking.

• PRESS: We've recently been mentioned by Lyn Gardner of the Guardian as one of the top picks for the Fringe: Click HERE to read all about it.

• EDINBURGH: You can now book to see the show in Edinburgh. Click HERE for the Assembly Rooms booking page.
  

• MORE: The pop-up performances by the cast on the gala evening were meant to be one-offs, but they were so fantastic that we're putting together some video of the mini-logues they performed to act as a trailer on YouTube. Check back within the next few weeks for the links.
  

not my own work

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2331/2003632016_d32a054d24.jpg

Paris Gets Deep

Inside the mind of Paris Hilton...
Paris answers the Inside the Actors Studio questionnaire.

Hot Hottie Hot

Check the poster out. As Paris would say, Loves It!

Web Stuff

Our new website and email address are up and running.

Check us out at www.rackedtheatre.com

(There's even a link so that you can DONATE to the cause!)

New email: info@rackedtheatre.com

Huge thanks to Will Bartlett for the hard work put in to making it all hot. He also designed the fabulous posters which will be posted later today!

Going Public

It's time we make this thing public.

The Assassination of Paris Hilton is a new play. It is a site-specific comedy exploring female relationships and the culture of celebrity worship, set in the ladies room of a Hollywood nightclub.

We are taking the show to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer and will be performing at the Assembly Rooms from August 13 to 31.

We'll be blogging our process the whole way, from fundraising to rehearsals to the run itself, so keep checking in for updates. This is also a forum for the company to share ideas, inspiration, media, etc., related to the creative development of the show, hence all the previous links.

Also, the company is official now. We are RACKED, and our company info can be found at rackedtheatre.blogspot.com. Contact us on rackedtheatrecollective@gmail.com

GO HERE

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/entertainment/newsid_7855000/7855401.stm