SAUNAS, SONGS & SWEDONIA: Inside the Wild World of The Fit Prince
- Cultural Dose
- Jul 29
- 3 min read
The holiday season is synonymous with festive rom-coms, fairy-tale castles, and unexpected love stories. At the height of August The Fit Prince delivers all that and more – but with a gloriously camp, comedic twist. In this Q&A, we chat with the creative duo behind the show – who also happen to be a real-life couple – about their inspirations, audience antics, and how they’ve built a laugh-out-loud theatrical universe filled with music, puppets, pop stars, and even royalty.
Everyone loves a classic holiday rom-com. Is there one that particularly inspired you to write The Fit Prince?
It’s a culmination of MANY. I would say the biggest inspirations are probably The Princess Switch, The Christmas Prince and The Knight Before Christmas are the golden standard. Vanessa Hudgens is our Queen. That said, it’s also its own original story and doesn't require any previous knowledge.
Tell us about Swedonia, the fictional country where the story is set.
My lawyers said that I have to say it’s completely different from Sweden. It’s just a country known for pop music, flatpack furniture, beautiful nature, saunas and - for some reason - a very unusual orphanage.
As a real-life couple of ten years, what is it like writing and performing together on stage? Do you mostly agree? What happens when you hit artistic differences?
We work very well together and usually have the same sense of humour. Knowing each other so well also means we can be very direct and efficient. When we hit “differences” we have a “discussion” where Joseph realises my opinion was actually better all along.
You use audience participation in your performances.. Have you always had positive experiences? Any horror stories?
It’s incredible to see how audience step up - we only cast people who want to take part so no one is ever caught out. This time we are pushing it further than ever so it will be exciting to see how an Edinburgh audience responds to that - we have complete faith. Last year we had an audience member cast as Gwyneth Paltrow’s husband (obviously), but he received a phone call mid show and left the venue. It could have derailed the show, but the woman sitting behind him saw her moment, picked up his role card and stepped in. So much comedy was added in his “new appearance” - she was an absolute icon.
The show is a big variety of music and comedy. What is the creative process behind putting together such a mix? How do you brief your collaborators? How do you oversee the whole process?
We want to put all the things we love into a show. Normally it comes to us in writing, where we realise a moment needs a song, or a character is better as a puppet or where it’s time for a video appearance from pop star Tove Lo. Two years ago we met songwriter Leland at Edinburgh Fringe, and he’s written music for us since. He normally writes for Troye Sivan, Charli xcx and Ariana Grande, so having his music has really elevated the productions. Over the years we’ve managed to put together an incredible creative team, who all get our vibe and knows how to bring out the best from the source material - it’s so special to experience. Fit Prince is our biggest and most ambitious show so far, and we’ve been able to pull it off thanks to our ridiculously talented and wonderfully stupid team: Leland, Stella Backman, James Appleby, Ciara Pidgeon, Kate Marlais, Gabe Lopez, Sam Carlyle, Chris Darby, Nic Connaughton, Wez Maddocks, Kings’ Head Theatre and our digital performers who are just unreal.
The Fit Prince (Who Gets Switched On The Square In The Frosty Castle The Night Before (Insert Public Holiday Here)) will be performed at 4.40pm in Pleasance Courtyard (Beyond) from 30th July – 25th August (not Tuesdays)
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