Linus Karp Was Hit With An Umbrella - Linus Karp on bringing Linus Karp Was Hit With An Umbrella to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
- Cultural Dose
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Awkward Prods return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Linus Karp Was Hit With An Umbrella, a more personal and introspective new show from the creators of the critically acclaimed Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story and Gwyneth Goes Skiing. Taking a real-life homophobic attack in Soho, London as its starting point, the production explores the emotional aftermath of hate crime, queer visibility and the uneasy search for closure through the company's distinctive blend of comedy, storytelling and theatrical invention. We caught up with Linus and Joseph to hear more about the show.
For people who know you from Diana, Gwyneth Goes Skiing or The Fit Prince, what kind of experience should they expect from Linus Karp Was Hit With An Umbrella?
Linus: Umbrella will still have the hallmarks of what an Awkward Prods show is. Even if it does have a different tone, I think the main theme of queer joy is very much present. I am excited to take audiences on a more personal journey this time.
Your shows are famous for pulling the audience into the chaos, and that participation continues here. How does that relationship with an audience change when the story is real and it's yours?
Linus: We're doing it slightly different this time, I'm very much looking forward to seeing how it will play out. The way we involve the audience means that we create the show together, which makes every performance feel unique and special.
How did the writing process for this show begin? Did you have a clear show narrative in mind?
Linus: I have worked harder on this script than any previous ones - I've also worked with the amazing Haley McGee as dramaturg, she's created Age is a Feeling, one of my favourite theatre pieces of all time. Her involvement has definitely elevated the show and my writing.
You and Joseph have been together for over ten years, and last year you married on stage at the Fringe - a real first! What made you want to celebrate your relationship that publicly?
Linus: The Fringe is very special to us, so it felt fun to do it there. It also felt right to do something big, joyful and queer a year after such a horrible, queerphobic attack.
Many people think of Soho as a symbolically safe queer space. Did the attack alter your relationship with places that once felt secure?
Linus: Yes. I went from never feeling scared in public to feeling like I can be attacked anytime, anywhere. It does get better with time but can still be a struggle.
Joseph, you're behind the scenes every night while Linus retells something that happened to both of you. How do you look after each other through a run like this?
Joseph: We’ve been together 12 years this year. I think if we didn’t have each other’s backs unfalteringly, we wouldn’t have made it this far. Revisiting something so traumatic every day of the festival will definitely be a journey for us, but we supported each other through the real events, so I know we’ll be able to do it through the show. Crucially, we know when the other wants to be social or fun/silly etc., and when they just want to sit in silence and have some proper downtime, so we have to respect that always!
The legal process never gave you a real ending. Has performing the story every night done what the courts couldn't, and helped you both find closure?
Linus: At time of writing, I am yet to perform, so we shall see! It has been so fascinating putting this piece together, I think it will be both emotional and joyful to perform it.
You're also bringing back Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story for the final week of the festival. What's it like performing your most personal show and one of the more ridiculous Awkward Prods show side by side?
Linus: I love performing Diana at the Fringe, I've never known anything quite like it. I think performing what is a more personal and potentially emotional show and then going directly into the mad, queer, ridiculous celebration that is Diana straight after will make sure the day ends on a high!
At the end of the festival, what would make this run feel meaningful or successful for you both?
Linus: I am very happy and grateful that people want to come and see the show. If I can create a show and an experience full of queer community, resistance and joy it would mean the world.
Linus Karp Was Hit With An Umbrella will be performed at 8:20pm at Underbelly Bristo Square from 5th-30th August.
